Symptom perception Flashcards

1
Q

what is a disease?

A

a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal or plant, especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location
Biological deviance from what we currently consider normal

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2
Q

what is an illness?

A

subjective experience, with psychological and social meanings attached to a biological deviance or existing in the absence of one.
Can be the thought of as a moral category in a society that emphasises personal responsibility for health

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3
Q

What is illness behaviour?

A

varying ways individuals respond to bodily indications, how they monitor internal states, define and interpret symptoms, make attributions, take remedial actions and utilise various sources of formal and informal care.
Refers to any behaviour undertaken by an individual who feels ill to relieve that experience or define the meaning of illness experience. May vary greatly according to illness-related, patient-related and doctor-related variables and complex interactions

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4
Q

what are the determinants of illness behaviour?

A
illness-related variables
patient-related variables
doctor-related variables
use of health care services
adherence to medical regimens
response to preventative screenings
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5
Q

what affects the way individuals react to an illness?

A
  1. frequency of the illness in the population
  2. familiarity of the symptoms to the average member of the population
  3. predictability of outcome of illness
  4. degree of threat or loss the illness poses
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6
Q

what predicts better treatment adherence?

A

clear explanation of treatment rationale - benefits and potential adverse effects, choice of regimens
empathetic and communicative - doctor-patient relationship
asking patients about their illness and treatment beliefs and address inadequate expectations and convictions

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7
Q

choice of treatment regimens should be…?

A

least complex as possible

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8
Q

what predicts better post-operative outcomes?

A

provision of instruction, encouragement and suggestion

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9
Q

patient-related variables

A

background factors
psychological factors
social factors

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10
Q

determinants of health/ illness behaviour - background patient factors

A
context in which people live their life
age
gender
ethnicity
genes
socio-economic status
cultural norms 
chronic health status
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11
Q

determinants of health/ illness behaviour - psychological patient factors

A
they tend to be stable over time 
personality
cognitive styles
emotional disposition
generalised expectancies
explanatory styles
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12
Q

determinants of health/ illness behaviour - social patient factors

A
immediate social connections and context
family
friends
colleagues
perceived social support
social norms
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13
Q

chronic conditions

A

people with chronic conditions over-report symptoms that related to their condition but under-report symptoms that are believed to be unrelated

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14
Q

What is the Big model of personality?

A
1 openness
2 conscientiousness
3 extraversion
4 agreeableness
5 neuroticism
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15
Q

Neuroticism

A

was associated with low adherence to medical treatments
If a disease is considered dependent on factors outside of personal control, it is unlikely preventative behaviours are adopted

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16
Q

what is included in an illness perception questionnaire?

A
  1. identity - symptoms patient associates with illness
  2. cause - personal ideas of aetiology
  3. time-line - perceived duration of illness
  4. consequences - expected effects and outcomes
  5. cure control - how one controls or recovers from the illness
17
Q

How does perceived social support affect illness perception?

A

high perceived social support = rate oneself as more healthy, recall fewer illness-related memories and report fewer symptoms
low perceived social support = higher perceived vulnerability to illness, pessimistic about symptoms relief and report more symptoms

18
Q

Summary/ take home messages

A

illness behaviour affects the presentation of disease and its identification, course and treatment
disorder = not just pathophysiological mechanisms but also psychological and social dimensions to it