health behaviours and the COM-B model Flashcards
what is health? (W.H.O, 1946)
A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
why is the WHO definition out of date / not fit for purpose?
- ageing population
- ability to manage chronic health conditions
features of health
- people with chronic health conditions can still manage to have a good quality of life thanks to advancements in medicine
- health is not a binary state
- health on a spectrum
what did Huber et al. (2011) suggest?
proposed shifting the emphasis of health towards the ability to adapt and self-manage in the face of social, physical and emotional challenges
causes of death in the 1900s
- Tuberculosis (TB)
- Diarrhoea
- Heart disease
- Intracranial lesions (vasc.)
- Nephritis
- Accidents
- Cancer
- Senility
- Diphtheria
causes of death in the UK in 2006
men:
- all cardiovascular diseases = 35%
- all cancers = 29%
- respiratory disease = 13%
- accidents and injuries = 5%
- other causes = 18%
women
- all cardiovascular diseases = 34%
- all cancers = 26%
- respiratory disease = 14%
- accidents and injuries = 3%
- other causes = 23%
are diseases just in older age?
cardiovascular disease:
- higher death rates in older age due to cardiovascular disease
- but also a relatively high number of deaths in middle age
- is linear but also link to middle age
cancers:
- not linear
- increase with age, optimum in middle age, then decrease in older age
- peak is 55-64
what causes health outcomes?
- certain behaviours:
–> smoking
–> dietary choice
–> alcohol
–> physical activity - behavioural factors account for around 50% of premature deaths from the 10 leading causes
modern concept of ‘health behaviour’
- dated back to the Doll and Hill (1964)
- studied British doctors in the 1950s and found smoking was a major precursor of premature mortality
define health behaviour
any activity undertaken for the purpose of preventing or detecting disease or for improving health/well being
positive and negative health effects of health behaviour
- positive (aka protective)
–> health behaviour can be defined as “activities that may help to prevent disease, detect disease and disability at an early stage, promote and enhance health, or protect from risk of injury” - negative (aka risky)
–> health behaviour can be defined as “activities undertaken by people with a frequency of intensity that increases risk of disease or injury”
a different (broad) definition of health behaviour
behaviours individuals engage in that affect their health
protective behaviours examples
- wearing a seat belt
- wearing sun screen
- MMR vaccine
risky behahvior examples
- unprotected sex
- drug use
- smoking
- reckless driving
measuring health behaviour (typically)
- use behaviour
–> often the DV - but behaviour is hard to measure
- typically measured using categorical or continuous measurements using self-report questionnaires
- categorical
–> do you smoke? (yes/no) - continuous
–> how many cigarettes do you smoke a day?
limitations to health behaviour questionnaires (self-report)
- social desirability bias (under or over reporting)
- subject to recall bias
other ways to measure health behaviours
- observation:
–> CCTV cameras to observe mask wearing in supermarkets - proxy measures
–> blood tests
–> step counters
–> pill counters
limitations with proxy measures
- not always accurate
–> blood tests results can depend on metabolic rate
–> pill counters rely on pills being taken out of a bottle (are they always taken?)
–> step counters can have errors in measurement and can be falsified
Belloc (1973) - Alameda county study
- ~7000 adults
- baseline postal questionnaire in 1965 followed by regular surveys of death and illness
- 7 baseline negative health behaviors predicted mortality
7 baseline negative health behaviours (Belloc, 1973)
- lack of exercise
- snacking between meals
- smoking
- sleep (more than 8 hours, less than 7)
- skipping breakfast
- regularly drinking more than 5 units of alcohol
- over/underweight
7 features of a healthy lifestyle (Belloc, 1973)
- non-smoking
- moderate alcohol intake
- 7-8 hours of sleep per night
- exercise regularly
- maintain a healthy body weight
- avoid high-calorie snacks
- eat breakfast regularly
relationship between a healthy lifestyle and health (Belloc, 1973)
- relationship was so strong that they proposed that people aged over 75 years who carried out all 7 of the behaviours had health that was comparable to those aged 35-44 who did less than 3
Khaw et al (2008) - health behaviour
- analysed data from the EPIC Norfolk longitudinal study of 20,000 men and women
- baseline showed no known CVD/cancer (aged 45-79)
- followed up over 14 years
results of Khaw et al (2008)
- survival was associated with four health behaviours:
1. not smoking
2. being physically active
3. drinking moderately
4. eating 5 or more servings of fruit and veg a day - the fewer of these behaviours performed the greater the risk of death