Influences on health and disease

Question 1

Name & define the health-related behaviours that develop due to social factors

Answer 1

Health behaviour: to protect, maintain or promote health
Illness behaviour: diagnoses & treatment
Sick role: what one does to get well that is “appropriate”.

Question 2

List the social conditions of the sick role

Answer 2

patient not blamed, patient exempt from responsibilities, illness legitimate if undesirable, patient expected to seek help.

Question 3

List social and economic factors that influence health and disease

Answer 3

1. education (health literacy)
2. employment (self-identity + financial wellness)
3. income (affordability)
4. SES (education, income, occupation, lower SES = higher mortality + more likely to get sick)
5. social support (are there people around to help take care of you)
6. housing (is it safe?, are doctors/hospitals close by?)
7. ethnic identity (some ethnicities have higher risk of certain illnesses)
8. gender (LGBTQ+ have challenges due to bias)
9. where you live: access to health services, more or less unhealthy foods available, road safety, public transport, parks.

Question 4

List the three psychological factors that influence health and disease

Answer 4

[1] illness perceptions
[2] stress
[3] social support

Question 5

What factors influence how people perceive their illness?

Answer 5

[1] identity: illness label & symmetry rule (think symptoms are related to past illnesses)
[2] cause: self-blame; thinking cause is stress, hereditary, bad luck, negative thoughts, etc.
[3] timeline perception: acute, cyclic, and chronic = influences treatment adherence
[4] consequences: on physical, social and psychological wellbeing + predictors for behavioural responses
[5]** control/cure**: individual beliefs on extent to which illness can be cured or controlled by individual or medical intervention = if person thinks treatment is not helping –> more anxiety + may stop treatment

Changing illness perceptions (by altering symptoms to increase belief condition can be controlled for example) may result in improved outcomes. Increasing perception of control and increase understanding = higher medication adherence.

Question 6

What is the effect of stress on physical health and immune function?

Answer 6

Effects on physical health:
* link to physical health is complex and multifactorial
* psychosomatic diseases (genuine symptoms or diseases caused by stress/anxiety/etc)
* Heart disease
* stress effects behaviour (sleep, diet, alcohol, drugs, relationships) if no preventions in place

Effects on immune function:
* longer wound healing (for caregivers of family members with Alzheimer’s)

Question 7

Define social support and list the four types

Answer 7

[i] social support is knowing that you’re loved and care for by other people.

[ii] There are four types:
1. appraisal support (asking questions to help someone think)
2. tangible assistance (financial help, services & material goods)
3. information support (giving advice, suggestions and information)
4. emotional support (showing care verbally or non-verbally).

Question 8

How is social support beneficial?

Answer 8

Social support decreases stress and therefore decreases likelihood of illness, help recovery, fewer complication during pregnancy + childbirth, lower rate of heart attack, adherence to medication, and less psychological distress.

Question 9

When is social support beneficial?

Answer 9

[1] On-going social support, regardless of stress levels, is beneficial and makes people less susceptible to stress.

[2] Social support during times of high stress is beneficial.