Block 6 Flashcards
What are the two types of health behaviour?
- Health-impairing behaviours/habits e.g. smoking, eating a high-fat diet
- Health protective behaviour e.g. attending screenings
Why is it important to study health behaviours?
- there is a relationship between health behaviours and life expectancy
- diseases and disabilities may cause behavioural dysfunction
- treatment schedules and procedures are influenced by behaviours
- lifestyle changes involve behaviours
Describe locus of control
- the extent to which people believe they can control their lives
- internal (controlled by a force within themselves) vs external (controlled by outside forces e.g. luck)
- perceived control can be behavioural or cognitive
Describe the self-efficacy model of health beliefs
- a person’s belief in their capability to exercise some measure of control over their own functioning and over environmental events
- two domains:
1) outcome expectancy - belief that a behaviour will lead to a favourable outcome
2) self-efficacy expectancy - belief that one can perform the behaviour properly
The Health Belief Model says that people are more likely to adhere to treatment when they..
- view their physical problem as severe
- perceive themselves to be susceptible to further negative health effects if they fail to adhere
- consider the likelihood of treatment to be effective as high
- identify few barriers to adherence
- experience few rewards for failing to adhere
- encounter environmental cues supporting adherence
- believe that they can change
Describe the components of the Health Belief Model
Individual perceptions:
- perceived susceptibility to illness affects the perceived threat of disease which in turn affects the likelihood of behavioural change
- perceived benefits vs barriers to behavioural change affect likelihood of behavioural change
Modifying factors:
- age, sex, ethnicity, SES, knowledge etc affect individual perceptions
- cues to action e.g. internal (symptoms) and external (education, media) affect individual perceptions
Describe the theory of planned behaviour
Attitudes, social norms and perceived behavioural control all affect each other and their sum affects intentions and ultimately behaviour
Describe the stages of change model
1) pre-contemplative
2) contemplative
3) determination
4) active change
5) maintenance
6) relapse
Can enter and leave cycle at any stage
What are medically unexplained symptoms?
- physical symptoms not explained by organic disease causing distress and impairing function
- and for which there is positive evidence or a strong assumption that the symptoms are linked to psychological factors
- symptoms are produced by alternative mechanisms which are unconscious
Define illness behaviour
- the ways in which given symptoms may be perceived, evaluated and acted (or not acted) upon
- adaptive or maladaptive behaviours associated with he adjustment to physical or mental illness
Describe two maladaptive illness behaviours
1) illness denial - behaviours to avoid the stigma/inability to accept physical/mental disease
2) illness affirmation - behaviours which inappropriately affirm disease
Describe the sick role (4 aspects)
1) exempts ill people from certain responsibilities
2) given people the right to seek help and care
3) obliges people to seek and co-operate with treatment
4) expects people to have a desire to recover
Explain how the sick role can be maladaptive
- the sick role can be adaptive and help people to recover
- if someone continues in the sick role after their illness is over it becomes maladaptive
How can MUS be identified clinically?
- symptom doesn’t fit with known disease models
- patient is unable to give a clear and precise description of the symptoms
- symptom/disability seem excessive in comparison to pathology
- temporal relationship to stressful life events
- patient attends frequently with different symptoms
- patient is overly anxious about the meaning of the symptoms and has strongly held beliefs about a disease process causing the symptoms
- patient complains of pain in various sites
How should MUS be managed?
- good explanations
- symptom management
- promote self-efficacy
- initiate treatment for co-morbid mental health problem if present
- psychotherapies
Give vulnerability factors for MUS
- genetics (small influence)
- familial transmission (through reinforcement and modelling, use of emotional currency)
- early insecure attachment
- cognitive process (tendency to over-interpret symptoms, catastrophise symptoms)
- central pain mechanisms affected by psychosocial factors
What is the prevalence of MUS?
- 20% in general population
- 10-33% primary care presenting complaints diagnosed as MUS
- 20-50% new secondary care patients present with MUS
What is addiction?
the continued repetition of a behaviour despite adverse consequences
Outline features of a dependence syndrome
- salience: engaging in the behaviour takes higher priority than other behaviours which once had great value
- tolerence
- withdrawal symptoms (physiological)
- relief of withdrawal symptoms through engaging in behaviour
- compulsion to engage in the behaviour
- narrowing of repertoire: neglect of other interests
- reinstatement of behaviour following abstinence
Explain the biaxial model of addiction
2 axis: dependence and problems, creates four categories:
- no significant problems or dependence e.g. social drinker
- high problems, low dependence e.g. binge drinker who gets into fights
- dependence with few problems e.g. methadone maintenance patient
- significant problems and dependence e.g. heroin user with criminal lifestyle
What makes a substance more addictive?
- pleasure producing potency
- rapid onset of action
- short duration of action
- ability to produce tolerance and withdrawal
What did the Adult Psychiatric Morbidity study find?
- 1/6 adults had a common mental disorder
- 1/5 women had a common mental disorder compared with around 1/8 men
- the gender gap in mental illness is most pronounced in young people
- every type of CMD was more common in people of working age
- 25% of people had a hazardous pattern of drinking
- the largest category of CMD was CMD-NOS
People with neurotic disorders are most likely to be…
- female
- middle aged
- separated or divorced
- living alone or as a lone parent
People with psychotic disorders are more likely to be…
- separated or divorced
- living alone
- in social class IV or V
- without higher levels of education