Chapter 7: Illness Behavior Flashcards
Self-Care
A layperson’s preventing, detecting, and treating his or her own health problems
Age and Illness Behavior
Older adults practice self care in greater numbers than younger people
Older adults use the health care system differently than younger people because:
Visit physicians more than younger adults
Higher numbers of insured (Medicare)
Often in poorer health
Ethnicity and Illness behavior
After much research, it appears that ethnicity has only a minor effect on illness behavior
Mexican Americans have the lowest rates of healthcare utilization compared to any other ethnic group in America
Social Networks and Illness Behavior
People who belong to close families or other closely knit social networks are:
More likely to respond to a health problem by seeking medical attention that is consistent with the beliefs, behaviors and values of that group
Less likely to seek medical care or utilize other medical services that are not supported by the social network
SES & Illness Behavior
Historically, the belief has been in the U.S. that poorer people tend to underutilize the health care system
Reality is the poor mange symptoms of illness differently and use the health care system differently
Pattern of use across the varying
SES are consistent:
Even with the effects of Medicare and Medicaid the poor continue to use the health care system less effectively than people with higher incomes
The sources of medical treatment also vary
Poor: utilize emergency departments or outpatient hospital clinics
Higher Income Groups: utilize private doctors, group practices and tele-medicine
Self Care:
an individual preventing, detecting and treating their own health problems
Why Self Care?
The shift of disease patterns from acute to chronic
A growing dissatisfaction with the medical profession
The recognition of the limits of modern medicine
Increased use of alternative medicines
A heightened awareness of the effects of lifestyle on health
A desire to exercise a personal responsibility for health
Increased access to medical information on the internet
Socio-demographic Variables
Help-seeking behavior often involves interaction between several variables acting in combination to influence specific outcomes in specific social situations even though research tends to focus on one variable at a time, such as age or ethnicity
Gender and Illness Behavior
Females visit doctors and are hospitalized much more often than males
Also believed that females know more about health matters than males
Females take better care of their health than males
Lay-refurral system
Consists of nonprofessionals—family members, friends, or neighbors—who assist individuals in interpreting their symptoms and in recommending a course of action
Culture of Poverty w/ SES
Poverty, over time, influences the development of certain social and psychological traits among those immersed within it
Traits include dependence, fatalism, inability to delay gratification, and a lower value placed on health (being sick is not especially unusual)
Tends to reinforce the poor person’s disadvantaged social position
Financial barriers
Weak – Medicaid removed monetary barriers from seeking care for the poor
(why poor don’t seek care)
Culture of Poverty
Moderate support - Negative attitudes toward medical practices and a willingness to ignore illness
(why poor don’t seek care)
Systems Barrier
Strong support - Long waiting times, impersonal atmosphere of bureaucracies, difficulties locating and traveling to particular sources of care, and poor patient-physician relationships translate into reduced medical care
(why poor don’t seek care)
