Health Behaviours & Health Behaviour Change

Question 1

What are health behaviours?

Answer 1

Activites that may help to prevent disease, detect disease and disability from an early stage, promotes and enhance health, or protect from risk of injury
Can be health promoting or health harming

Question 2

What internal factors influence health behaviours?

Answer 2

Knowledge about risk
Attitudes/beliefs
circumstances (time, finances)
Genetics

Question 3

What external factors influence health behaviours?

Answer 3

Social support
Social norms
Media
Laws and regulations 
Environment

Question 4

What % of cancers could be prevented through behavioural change?

Answer 4

40%

Question 5

What did Belloc and Breslow’s 1972 Alameda County study show?

Answer 5

Longer life was predicted by seven good lifestyles:
7-8 hours sleep
no more than 1-2 units of alcohol per day
no smoking
regular physical activity
no snacking
eating breakfast
moderate weight

Question 6

How has UK health promotion changed?

Answer 6

Now targets non-communicable illness instead of infectious disease by law, education, screening

Question 7

Give some examples of ‘behavioural immunogens’

Answer 7

Exercise 20 mins a day
balanced diet
immunisations
screening for cancer

Question 8

Why did Change4Life have a negative impact?

Answer 8

People think it doesn’t apply
Patronising
People think they’re ok compared to others
Doesn’t take wider context into account e.g. busy mums

Question 9

How can fear campaigns have a negative effect/

Answer 9

If people don’t know what to do about it they will just ignore the situation - have to tell them how to change

Question 10

Which factors influencing health behaviours are seen as more open to modification?

Answer 10

psychological factors

Question 11

What is the theory of planned behaviour?

Answer 11

If you intend to do something, you are a lot more likely to do it.
Intention is affected by a number of factors:
fun
positive outcome
subjective norms
motivation to comply with norms
Self efface (how much control you think you have)

Question 12

What are the problems with the theory of planned behaviour?

Answer 12

intention does not = behaviour
provides only targets for behaviour change not actual methods for change
assumes that people are rational and deliberative (does not take impulse or habit into account)

Question 13

What is habit formation theory?

Answer 13

Habits are formed through repetition in a consistent context and can be used to help individuals learn healthy lifestyle - it will take less effort, time, motivation if it is a habit