Health Beliefs & Behaviour

Question 1

what is a health behaviour?

Answer 1

Any activity undertaken by an individual believed to be healthy for preventing disease or detecting it at an asymptomatic stage

Question 2

what is the number 1 cause for preventable illness and death?

Answer 2

smoking

Question 3

what are the reasons for people being overweight in the UK?

Answer 3

–complex reasons, increased calorie intake, auto-dependency

Question 4

what are the 5 modern day killers?

Answer 4

dietary excess,
alcohol
lack of exercise
smoking
unsafe sexual behaviour

Question 5

what are the 3 levels are which behaviour change can be targeted?

Answer 5

o Population – e.g. smoking ban.
o Community – e.g. spin classes.
o Individual – e.g. healthy eating adverts.

Question 6

what is education most effective for?

Answer 6

discrete behaviours – e.g. getting a child vaccinated

Question 7

what is tailored messaging most effective for?

Answer 7

messages to a particular audience are most effective – e.g. condom use to teenagers.

Question 8

what do also people require to change habitual lifestyle behaviour alongside knowledge?

Answer 8

social support

Question 9

what are the cues for unhealthy eating?

Answer 9

senses (visual, auditory, olfactory)
location
time
emotion

Question 10

what are example of positive reinforcement?

Answer 10

dopamine, boredom, praise for high-fat meal for family

therefore the response is more likely to happen again

Question 11

examples of behaviour where positive reinforcement is not achieved?

i.e. when a response doesn’t receive the responses back to make it happen again in the future

Answer 11

1) Delayed positive reinforcement:
e. g. for healthy eating (effects take too long to have an effect).
2) Going unnoticed:
e. g. efforts at dietary change go unnoticed by others (no positive reinforcement).

Question 12

example of negative reinforcement

Answer 12

avoid painful emotions by comfort eating

Question 13

example of punishment

Answer 13

preparing a low-fat meal is criticised.

Question 14

what are the 4 techniques for inducing behaviour modification techniques?

Answer 14

• stimulus control techniques
• counter conditioning
• contingency management
• naturally occurring reinforcers

Question 15

what are stimulus control techniques?

Answer 15

no “danger” foods in house, eat only at dining table, small plates, etc

Question 16

what is counter conditioning?

Answer 16

identify “high-risk” situations (e.g. stress) and make healthier responses

Question 17

what is contingency management?

Answer 17

encourage partners to praise healthy eating, plan rewards for successful weight loss.

Question 18

what are examples of naturally occurring reinforcers?

Answer 18

improved self-esteem
reduction in symptoms (e.g. breathlessness).

these back up your response as the correct response

Question 19

when can compliance be highest?

Answer 19

when there is a reward as a consequence e.g. money

Question 20

what are the limitations to reinforcement programmes? e.g. money incentive for stopping smoking

Answer 20

o Lack of stimulus generalisation – only behaviour affected was regarding the specific trait being rewarded.
o Poor maintenance – rapid extinction of behaviour once primary reinforcer disappeared.
o Impractical and expensive.

Question 21

what is the let down of fear arousal methods?

Answer 21

high fear levels have negative effects in reducing bad behavioural effects.

Question 22

which group of people have a strong effect on altering behaviour?

Answer 22

friends:
o Adolescents are particularly susceptible.
o Best friends have the greatest effect/influence.
o Training to avoid peer pressure into smoking had a significant effect on reducing numbers of new smokers

Question 23

what is the expectancy- value principle?

Answer 23

The potential for a behaviour to occur is a function of the EXPECTANCY (that the behaviour will lead to a specific outcome) and the VALUE of that outcome.

Question 24

what does the Health Beliefs Model describe?

Answer 24

The likelihood of an action is dependent on the perceptions i.e belief of the person and the modifiers than actually make them do it
[Susceptibility, Seriousness, Benefits, Costs, Cues]

perceptions: look at susceptibility and seriousness of illness
modifiers: knowledge, the perceived threat of the illness and the cues for behaviour change
action: perceived benefits of action, any barriers?

Question 25

what is an outcome efficacy?

Answer 25

individual expectation that behaviour will lead to the outcome.

Question 26

what is self -efficacy?

Answer 26

individual belief that one can execute the behaviour required

Question 27

what are the factors influencing efficacy beliefs?

I.e what are the sources of self-efficacy

Answer 27

1) Mastery experience – goal-related success.
2) Social learning – observational (modelling) learning.
3) Verbal persuasion/encouragement.
4) Physiological arousal – breathlessness is worrying

self-efficacy is the belief that you can behave so required to produce the needed outcome

e.g. I can revise to pass my exam

Question 28

what are the components of the Theory of Planned Behaviour?

Answer 28

This takes into account subjective norms i.e. beliefs of others, in your decision for a health behaviour change

• Internal control factors = self-efficacy.
• External control factors = perceived costs/barriers.

attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control affect the intention for behaviour change

Question 29

what does the transtheoretical model (stages of change) describe?
PC-DARM

Answer 29

On the decision to make a health behaviour change:
begins with pre-contemplation to enter the cycle.
may often go around the cycle a few times before the individual permanently exists the cycle and thus the unwanted behaviour.
- pre-contemplation
- contemplation
- determination/ preparation
- action
- relapse
- maintenance (out to possible permeant exit)
- back to contemplation

Question 30

what is the best form of message to get someone to do stop something?

Answer 30

loss framed message

loss from doing something

Question 31

what is the best of message to accept a treatment? especially in older people

Answer 31

gain framed message

gain from doing something