Ch.7 Culture and Health

Question 1

What importance does culture have on health ?

Answer 1

• Its related to health behaviours
• It is an important determinant of people’s perceptions of illness
• Culture affects usage of health services
• Different cultures have different health practices

Question 2

What is culture defined as ?

Answer 2

• The behaviours and beliefs that are learned and shared

Question 3

how may different cultures have different perceptions of illness ?

Answer 3

• one culture may view certain signs or symptoms as an affliction while others consider them normal

Question 4

what is illness defined as?

Answer 4

• personal , interpersonal and cultural reactions to disease or discomfort

Question 5

how may different cultures have different perceptions of disease ?

Answer 5

• Some cultures believe illness can be caused by emotional stress , supernatural causes or bodily imbalance.

Question 6

What is disease defined as ?

Answer 6

• Malfunctioning or maladaptation of biologic and psychophysiologic processes in the individual

Question 7

What is folk illness defined as ?

Answer 7

• The cultural interpretations of physical states that people perceive to be illness , but that do not have a physiologic cause.

Question 8

What are some cultural ways of preventing illness ?

Answer 8

• Many cultures have taboos that concern avoiding illness
• Many concern foods to avoid during pregnancy
• Wide variety of ritual practices to avoid illness

Question 9

What are some risk factors for the leading causes of death related to culture ?

Answer 9

• Nutrition and eating practices
• Tobacco use
• Unsafe sex
• Hygiene

Question 10

What are some ways of improving health behaviours ?

Answer 10

• The ecological perspective
• The health belief model
• Stages of change model
• The diffusion of innovations model

Question 11

Define the ecological perspective

Answer 11

• It states that the health related behaviours are affected by , and affect , multiple levels of influence.
• It states that behaviour both influences and is influenced by the social environment in which it occurs.

Question 12

Define the health belief model

Answer 12

• it states that peoples health behaviours depend on their perceptions of their likelihood of getting the illness , the severity of the illness , the benefits of engaging in behaviours that prevent the illness and barriers to engaging in preventative behaviours.

Question 13

Define the stages of change model

Answer 13

• Change is a process and different people are at different stages of the process

Question 14

What are the stages of behaviour change in the stage of change model ?

Answer 14

• Precontemplation
• Contemplation
• Decision / determination
• action
• maintenance

Question 15

define the diffusion of innovations model

Answer 15

• it states that communication promotes social change
• diffusion is the process by which innovations are communicated over time among members of different groups.
• this model focuses on how people adopt innovation but not how they might maintain what they have adopted

Question 16

when understanding behaviours the assessment of what is required ?

Answer 16

• behaviours that are taking place
• Extent to which they enable better health or may harm health
• underlying motivation for these behaviours
• likely responses to different approaches to changing the unhealthy behaviours