L19: Illness Cognition And Behaviour

Question 1

What is illness cognition

Answer 1

Patient’s common sense belief about their illness

• to cope with
• to understand
• what to look out for

Question 2

5 cognitive dimensions about illness

Answer 2

1. Identity
2. Perceived cause (biological/psycho-social)
3. Duration (acute/chronic)
4. Consequences (physical/emotional/combination of factors)
5. Curability and controllability (controllability: internal/external by powerful others)

Question 3

Illness behaviour

Answer 3

Actions taken in response to perceived illness, SYMPTOM INTERPRETATION

• responses to signs and symptoms
• seeking opinions and advices
• waiting to see
• do nothing

Determinants:

• recognition of symptoms
• perceived seriousness
• frequency of symptoms
• life disruption
• tolerance threshold
• competing priorities and explanations
• accessibility
• information, knowledge and cultural assumptions
• sanctioning (peer pressure)

Question 4

Leventhal’s self-regulatory model of illness behaviour (3 stages)

Answer 4

Assuming the individual is motivated to solve the problem

1. Interpretation
   - symptom perception (mood, cognition (anticipated symptoms experience + attention state), social environment)
   - social messages (health professional, lay individual, media)
   - illness cognition
   - emotional response
2. Coping (approach/avoidance)
   - problem-focus
   - emotion-focus (important when limited opportunity for problem-focused coping)
3. Appraisal

Question 5

Help-seeking behaviour is driven by

Answer 5

1. Illness recognition
   - how common
   - how familiar
2. Illness danger
   - predictability of outcome
   - amounts of threat

Question 6

Help-seeking process

Answer 6

1. Perception
2. Accommodation
3. Breakdown of accommodation
4. Decision to seek help
   - lay referral
   - self-medicate
   - medical advice

Question 7

***Stages of illness

Answer 7

1. Symptom experience (denial / delay / acceptance)
2. Assumption of sick role (denial / acceptance)
3. Medical care contact (denial / shopping / acceptance)
4. Dependent patient role (rejection / secondary gain / acceptance)
5. Recovery (refusal / malingerer / acceptance)