Chapter 3

Question 1

Is health the absence of illness, or is it the attainment of some positive state?

Answer 1

the World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as positive physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely as the absence of disease or infirmity.

Question 2

Disease

Answer 2

the process of physical damage within the body, which can exist even in the absence of a label or diagnosis.

Question 3

Illness

Answer 3

the experience of being sick and having a diagnosis of sickness.

Question 4

T/F: people with disease have to feel ill

Answer 4

False, people can have disease and not be ill

Question 5

Illness behavior

Answer 5

Those activities undertaken by people who feel ill and who wish to discover their state of health, as well as suitable remedies. Illness behavior precedes formal diagnosis.

Question 6

Sick role behavior

Answer 6

Those activities undertaken by people who have been diagnosed as sick that are directed at getting well

Question 7

six conditions that shape people’s response to symptoms

Answer 7

1. personal factors
2. gender
3. age
4. socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural factors
5. characteristics of the symptoms
6. conceptualization of disease.

Question 8

Women tend to report _____ body symptoms and distress than men

Answer 8

more

Question 9

Why are more young adults likely to seek care for health complaints as they age?

Answer 9

age is inextricably tied to both the development of physical symptoms as well as to people’s interpretations of those symptoms.

Question 10

when higher-income people are sick, they are ____ likely to seek medical care.

Answer 10

more

Question 11

Stigma may also prevent some people, particularly ______, from seeking care for symptoms related to ______ ______

Answer 11

smokers; lung cancer

Question 12

four characteristics of the symptoms that determine people’s response to disease.

Answer 12

1. visibility of the symptom
2. perceived severity of the symptom.
3. extent to which the symptom interferes with a person’s life.
4. frequency and persistence of the symptoms.

Question 13

five components in the conceptualization process:

Answer 13

1. identity of the disease
2. time line (the time course of both disease and treatment)
3. cause of the disease
4. consequences of the disease
5. controllability of the disease.

Question 14

Lay referral network

Answer 14

The network of family and friends from whom a person may first seek medical information and advice

Question 15

This limited access to medical care is more restricted in the _____ _____ than in other industrialized nations

Answer 15

United States

Question 16

Well-educated people are more likely to turn to _______ _______ because they are better able to pay for this care, which is less likely to be covered by insurance than conventional care.

Answer 16

Alternative medicine

Question 17

T/F: The interaction between a patient and practitioner is an important consideration in receiving medical care.

Answer 17

True

Question 18

T/F: In fact, patients are significantly more likely to follow a practitioner’s medical advice when the practitioner communicates poorly

Answer 18

False

Question 19

When people have the freedom to choose their practitioners, they value ______ _______

Answer 19

technical competence

Question 20

What role does a person assume when they enter the hospital as a patient?

Answer 20

That role includes some difficult aspects: being treated as a “nonperson,” tolerating lack of information, and losing control of daily activities

Question 21

T/F: reassuring a child is not an effective way to reduce fear in either the child or the parent.

Answer 21

True

Question 22

What factors are related to seeking medical attention?

Answer 22

(1) the obvious visibility of the symptoms, (2) the perceived severity of the illness, (3) the degree to which the symptoms interfere with their lives, and (4) the frequency and persistence of the symptoms.

Question 23

Where do people seek medical information?

Answer 23

Prior to seeking medical care and information from the health care system, people often turn to other people and the Internet.

Question 24

What problems do people encounter in receiving medical care?

Answer 24

People encounter problems in paying for medical care, and those without insurance often have lim- ited access to health care, Physicians may not have a lot of time to devote to a patient, which may create communication problems that reduce patients’ satisfaction, Communication problems include using medical language that is unfamiliar to the patient, as well as focusing on determining and describing a diagnosis rather than allowing the patients to fully describe their concerns.