Session 2 Lecture 1 - Lay beliefs and Lay Networks Flashcards
What is the biomedical model?
traditionally medicine and not interested in psychological or social factors.
Definition of Health
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity
Explain why the biopsychosocial model is important in modern medicine
Takes into account the Psychological (cognitive, emotion behaviour) + social (social class, employment, social support) + biology (physiology, genetics, pathogens) of patient health and illness.
The holistic approach.
The negative definition of health
Health equates to the absence of illness
The functional definition of health
Health is the ability to do certain things
The positive definition of health
Health is a state of wellbeing and fitness
How do lay theories develop ?
Draw on cultural, social and personal knowledge and experience and own biography
What is lay epidemiology?
- why and how illness happens
- why it happened to a particular person at a particular time
Influence of lay beliefs on behaviour
- health behaviour: the activity that impacts on health or helps prevent illness
- illness behaviour: activity of the ill person to define illness and seek a solution
- sick role behaviour: formal response to symptoms, including seeking formal help and action of the person as a patient
What influences illness behaviour?
- culture
- visibility of symptoms
- the extent to which symptoms disrupt life
- frequency and persistence of symptoms
- tolerance threshold
- lay referral
What is lay referral?
The chain of advice seeking contacts which the sick make with others lay people prior to or instead of seeking help from health care professionals
Why is lay referral important ?
Helps you to understand
- why people might have delayed in seeking help
- how, why and when people consult a doctor
- your role as a doctor
- use of health services and medication
- use of alternative medicines
Lay beliefs and adherence to treatment
What are the three broad groups?
- deniers and distancers
- acceptors
- pragmatists
Lay beliefs and adherence to treatment
How do “deniers and distances” work?
- they deny that they don’t have the illness or not having it “properly”
- claims symptoms do not interfere with everyday life
- taking medicine relies on accepting illness identity
- uses complex or drastic strategies to hide it
Lay beliefs and adherence to treatment
How do “acceptors” work?
- accepted diagnosis and doctor’s advice completely
- normal life involved having control over symptoms through medication
- illness not a stigmatised identity
