Chapter 1: The Scope of Health Behaviors

Question 1

does what happens in one part of the world affect us all?

Answer 1

YES

Question 2

the science and the art of health behavior change are…

Answer 2

eclectic, rapidly evolving, and reflect an amalgamation of approaches, methods, and strategies from the social and health sciences

Question 3

what disciplines does health behavior change draw on?

Answer 3

sociology, psychology, anthropology, communications, nursing, economics, and marketing

Question 4

what does psychology contribute to the field of health behavior change?

Answer 4

psychology brings to health education a rich legacy of over one hundred years of research and practice on individual differences, motivation, learning, persuasion, and attitude and behavior change

Question 5

in what settings do public health professionals work?

Answer 5

schools, worksites, nongovernmental organizations, medical settings, and communities

Question 6

m-health

Answer 6

abbreviation for mobile health, a term used for the practice of medicine and use of public health on mobile devices

Question 7

e-health

Answer 7

healthcare services provided electronically via the internet

Question 8

health behavior

Answer 8

refers to the actions of individuals, groups, and organizations as well as those actions’ determinants, correlates, and consequences, including social change, policy development and implementation, improved coping skills, and enhanced quality of life

it includes not only observable, overt actions but also the mental events and feeling states that can be reported and measured

Question 9

preventative health behavior

Answer 9

any activity undertaken by an individual who believes himself or herself to be healthy, for the purpose of preventing or detecting illness is an asymptomatic state

Question 10

illness behavior

Answer 10

any activity undertaken by an individual who perceives himself to be ill, to define the state of health, and to discover a suitable remedy

Question 11

sick-role behavior

Answer 11

any activity undertaken by an individual who considers himself to be ill, for the purpose of getting well. it includes receiving treatment from medical providers, generally involves a whole range of dependent behaviors, and leads to some degree of exemption from one’s usual responsibilities

Question 12

schools as a setting for health behavior

Answer 12

health behavior programs in schools include classroom teaching, teacher training, and changes in school environments that support healthy behaviors

Diffusion of Innovations theory and the Theory of Reasoned Action have been used to analyze factors associated with adoption of AIDS prevention curricula in Dutch schools

Question 13

communities as a setting for health behavior

Answer 13

community-based health promotion draws on social relationships and organizations to reach large populations with media and interpersonal strategies. Models of community engagement and community mobilization enable program planners both to gain support for and to design suitable health messages and delivery mechanisms

community interventions in churches, clubs, recreation centers, and neighborhoods have been used to encourage healthful nutrition, reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, and use peer influences to promote break cancer detection among minority women

Question 14

worksites as a setting for health behavior

Answer 14

because people spend so much time at work, the workplace is a source of both stress and social support. effective worksite programs can harness social support as a buffer to stress, with the goal of improving order health and health practices. Today many businesses, particularly large corporations, provide health promotion programs for their employees

The US affordable care act provides incentives for employees to alter health behaviors, further advancing worksite health behavior change initiatives

Question 15

health cares settings as a setting for health behavior

Answer 15

health behavior change programs for high-risk individuals, patients, their families, and the surrounding community and in-service training for health care providers are all part of health care today

Question 16

homes as a setting for health behavior

Answer 16

health behavior change interventions can be delivered to people in their homes, both through traditional public health means - home visits - and through a variety of communication channels and media, such as the internet, phone calls, and mail. Strategies such as tailored message and motivational interviewing by telephone make it possible to reach larger groups and high-risk groups in a convenient way that reduces barriers to their receiving motivational messages

Question 17

the consumer marketplace as a setting for health behavior

Answer 17

social marketing, with its roots in consumer behavior theory, is used increasingly by health educators to enhance the salience of health messages and to improve their persuasive impact

health information policies intended to support informed consumer decision making, such as policies that encourage adding calorie information to menus and require graphic warning labels on cigarette boxes, have emerged prominently in the past few years

Question 18

the communication environment as a setting for health behavior

Answer 18

there have been striking and rapid changes in the availability and use of new information and communication technologies, ranging from mass media changes to personalized, mobile, and interactive media and a host of wireless tools in homes, businesses, and communities

these channels can be used in any of the settings described above, yet they are unique, increasingly prominent and specialized, and provide opportunities for intervention as well as requiring evaluation of their reach and impact on health behaviors

Question 19

sociodemographic characteristics and ethnic /racial background

Answer 19

socioeconomic status has been linked with both health status and health behavior, with less affluent persons consistently experiencing higher mortality and morbidity. recognition of differences in disease and mortality rates across socioeconomic and ethnic or racial groups has led to increased efforts to reduce or eliminate health disparities

Question 20

life cycle stage

Answer 20

health education is provided for people at every stage of the life cycle, from childbirth education whose beneficiaries are not yet born to self-care education and rehabilitation for the very old

Healthy People 2020 goals stress reaching people in every stage of life, with special focus on vulnerabilities that may affect people at various life cycle stages

Question 21

disease and at-risk status

Answer 21

people who are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases often experience not only symptoms but also distress associated with their prognosis and having to make decisions about medical care. because of this, timing, channels, and audiences for patient education should be carefully considered

successful patient education depends on a sound understanding of the patient’s view of the world