Health Beliefs Flashcards
Define self-care
The action of taking care of your own wellbeing including physically, mentally, psychologically and spiritually. This also extends to people around you e.g., friends and family. In order to avoid illness and accidents. It gives people control over their health
Name the stages of change of behavior in the model
stage 1: Precontemplation
stage 2: Contemplation
stage 3: Preparation
stage 4: Action
stage 5: Maintenance
stage 6: relapse/termination
Define Pre-contemplation and give an example
This is when you are unaware of current unhealthy behaviours and therefore have no intention of changing your behaviour. e.g., unaware of eating unhealthy
Define contemplation and give an example
You have become aware of a behavior you wish to change and have begun to plan, but have not committed to changing it yet. e.g., you are aware you are eating too much processed food and may think about cutting down on takeaways
Define preparation and give an example
Begin planning to make a change and show commitment to it. e.g., planning healthy meals for the week and deleting takeout apps
Define Action and give an example
Have implemented the change you wished to make, e.g., have cooked home cooked meals not ordered takeouts
Define maintenance and give and example
Maintaining the habit and preventing relapse into old habits or termination of new habit. e.g., continuing to cook for yourself and avoiding takeaways
Define relapse & termination and give an example
Relapse is reverting back to old habits (unhealthy behavior), e.g., fell into trap of ordering food instead of cooking
Termination is a complete loss, failure to maintain the healthy behaviour. e.g., stopping cooking meals and ordering regularly again.
What motivates people to change?
Being in control of their life & health, it gives them a sense of purpose and power.
Motivation to change may occur to rid of emotional, physical, mental or spiritual discomfort
What does active change involve?
- active reinforcers (someone to keep you accountable)
- active cues/reminders
- support networks (people)
Why people may relapse back into old unhealthy habits?
- they set their targets too high, it’s too much of a drastic change
- They have a lack of support around them, may need people to keep them motivated or are surrounded by people who don’t agree with the change
- unforeseen life circumstance, sometimes stressful situations arise and we revert back to what we know
Criticism of the behaviour change model
- The intentions of the model is not always clear
- People are often labelled in the stage they are in and not for the behaviour they are trying to adopt
- Constant fixation on the process, weighing up the pros and cons,
- are all stages necessary to go through to make a change
- It is only useful for specific goals e.g., quitting smoking, not for general life changes
How may this impact people following the behaviour change model?
- People attempt to rush the process leading to more resistance in the ability to change. It can make the process longer and makes the person more likely to relapse
- Some people are more ready and motivated to change then others, this can make other people feel lazy
Name the components in the health belief model
- perceived benefits/ perceived barriers
- perceived threat
- self-efficacy
- cues to action
What beliefs are the health model dependent on?
- The benefit of carrying out the healthy behaviour
- The barriers of carrying out the health behaviour
What beliefs may help a person to take charge of their health?
- I value my health
- I believe i could benefit from a change
- I believe i am vunerable to an illness
- I believe the disease could have bad consequences for me
Define threat perception
The degree to which the person sees their current behaviour as a threat to them. This can be broken down to 2 further categories: a perceived susceptibility e.g., illness
The anticipated severity of the consequences
Limitations of the health model
- People may carry out unhealthy behaviours subconsciously
- It may be a learned behaviour e.g., in childhood
- emotion is tied to behaviours
- The want and need for control
What are the possible problems with self-management?
It leads to self-blame and labelling of ourselves
it distinguishes between people who are active and passive about changing their behaviours, allowing blame to be easily distributed
It can create social pressure, as you are responsible for yourself, makes people feel they can’t be supported by other
Define a social network
A social network refers to a persons connection to other people on or offline.
How may a social network influence a person’s behaviour?
Who you surround yourself with changes the way you think and do
e.g., people are more likely to gain weight if their network of people is also gaining weight from their lifestyle
How does a social network work?
It occurs as we imitate those around us and conform to behaviours and beliefs. e.g., social norms and trends
These networks are built through a selection process where we observe people who are similar to us and we can imitate them easily
What is the effect of social class on social networks?
We are more likely to imitate and conform to the social class we are in or aspire to be
e.g., may use different language (slang) associated with that class
How can other people shape us?
We surround ourselves with those we love and value. We can see what is avaliable for us and what we can afford
This leads to a preference being formed, this is kept close to our identity, e.g., preferring certain food, clothing styles.
This can lead us to feel uncomfortable in environments that don’t align with our preferences.
What are the implications of social networks?
It is resourceful, and allows people to offer us things e.g., housing & emotional support
It increases social interaction and increases abundance of people we can lean on to reduce stress
It can improve quality of relationships
Networks can help sustain and stimulate changes in behaviour, it however can also make these changes more difficult
Define Goal setting
The setting of a goal or aspiration, something the person hopes to achieve and reach
Benefits of goal setting
it can stimulate and motivate a person to change
It allows us to focus our attention and efforts on an achievement
Important aspects of goal setting
The goal needs to be set by the person itself or be patient centered. If a professional is involved they need to make sure they know what is important to the person and what they like. The person needs to accept the goal and be motivated by it. It needs to be within their limitations.
feedback on progress is needed, aids in motivation and allows clear progress to be observed
Goal setting is most effective in a group setting
Define Nudge theory
Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness. it involves internal and external forces which may act as a guide in a certain direction
Benefits of a social network
it diversifies our ties, come into contact with more people of different beliefs and lifestyles
It can reduce contact with people who affect us negatively
It increases contact with supportive people e.g., through group activities and hobbies
