Health Behaviour Change Flashcards
smoking stats
About half of all persistent cigarette smokers are killed by their habit—a quarter while still in middle age (35-69 years).
Smoking is the number one cause of preventable illness and death.
On average, cigarette smokers die about 10 years younger than non-smokers.
Current prevalence of 19% in UK adults (45% in mid 70s)
why are we getting fatter?
calorie intake is increasing significantly
-obesity also falls sharply with increased walking, cycling and transit use
5 modern day killers
dietary excess alcohol consumption lack of exercise smoking unsafe sexual behaviour
health behaviour define
“Any activity undertaken by an individual believing himself to be healthy, for the purpose of preventing disease or detecting it at an asymptomatic stage”
How can we help people to adopt health behaviours?
-role of education
Information does have an important role and is most effective for discrete behaviours (eg getting a child vaccinated)
• Messages tailored to a particular audience are more effective (eg complete abstinence Vs condom use to reduce teenage pregnancy)
• But often people need more than knowledge to change habitual lifestyle behaviours, particularly addictive behaviours (eg social & psychological support, skills to change)
cues for unhealthy eating
Visual (eg. fast food signs, sweets at checkout)
Auditory (eg. ice cream bell)
Olfactory (eg. smell of baking bread)
Location (eg. the couch or car)
Time (eg. evening)/ Events (eg. end of TV programme )
Emotional (eg. bored, stressed, sad, happy)
reinforcement contingencies
Positive reinforcement: Dopamine (feel good), filling an empty void/boredom.
Praise for preparing a high-fat meal for the family.
Negative Reinforcement: Avoid painful emotions by comfort eating.
Punishment: Preparing a low fat meal is criticised.
Limited/delayed positive reinforcement for healthy eating: Efforts at dietary change/weight loss go unnoticed by others; Avoiding future health problems is too remote.
behaviour modification techniques:
Stimulus control techniques: •Keep ‘danger’ foods out of the house •Avoid keeping biscuits in the same cupboard as tea & coffee •Eat only at the dining table •Use small plates •Do not watch TV at the same time as eating
•Counter conditioning: •Identify ‘high-risk’ situations/cues (eg stress) and ‘healthier’ responses:
limitations of reinforcement programmes
- Lack of generalization (only affects behaviour regarding the specific trait that is being rewarded).
- Poor maintenance (rapid extinction of the desired behaviour once the reinforcer disappears)
- Impractical and expensive
Peer Influences on Adolescent Smoking
Adolescents are particularly susceptible to social influences given their developmental stage and the importance of school and peer groups
Expectancy-value principle
The potential for a behaviour to occur in any specific situation is a function of the expectancy that the behaviour will lead to a particular outcome and the value of that outcome”
health belief model:
draw it
Decision to get a flu vaccine • Susceptibility – • Seriousness – • Benefits – • Costs/barriers - • Cues – Doctor strongly advises to have it
Decision to get a flu vaccine • Susceptibility – “A lot of people I know have got flu symptoms” • Seriousness – “It’s not something to really worry about” • Benefits – “The vaccination will stop me getting sick” • Costs/barriers - “The injection will be painful and it might make me ill for a while” • Cues – Doctor strongly advises to have it
outcome efficacy
self efficacy
- Outcome efficacy - Individuals expectation that the behaviour will lead to a particular outcome
- Self Efficacy - Belief that one can execute the behaviour required to produce the outcome
Factors influencing self efficacy (Bandura, 1997)
- Mastery experience
- Social learning
- Verbal persuasion or encouragement
- Physiological arousal
