Week 1 Flashcards
What are the basic tenets of the biomedical model?
The biomedical model focuses on the idea that: all illness arises from abnormality within the body; health is the absence of disease; mental phenomena are not related to bodily disturbances; and that the patient is a passive recipient of treatment.
Health psychologists can work:
a.
With individuals as well as their friends and families
b.
To promote behaviour change to prevent illness
c.
To support people through diagnosis and treatment of illness
d.
All choices are correct
d. All choices are correct
What is the biopsychosocial model?
The biopsychosocial model acknowledges the biological (e.g. genes, biology), psychological (e.g. experience, behaviour, thoughts, emotions), and social (e.g. family, friends, community, society) aspects of how health is generated, experienced and treated.
Health psychologists:
a.
Are researchers, educators and practitioners
b.
Work in private practice, in hospitals and in policy-making organisations
c.
Work in multidisciplinary healthcare teams
d.
All choices are correct
d.
All choices are correct
Believing that your own culture is somehow superior is referred to as:
a.
Cultural competence
b.
Cultural sensitivity
c.
Cultural safety
d.
ethnocentrism
d.
ethnocentrism
Which of the following statements is incorrect?
a.
Dualism conceives of the body as visible and material and the mind as invisible and insubstantial
b.
Hippocrates argued that health depended on the balance of body “humours”
c.
The biomedical model contends that emotional disturbances are separate from physical disturbances
d.
The World Health Organisation definition of health defines health as the absence of disease or infirmity.
d.
The World Health Organisation definition of health defines health as the absence of disease or infirmity.
Life expectancy is:
a.
Shorter for Australian females compared to Australian males
b.
Shorter in Japan than in Sierra Leone
c.
Shorter for Australian Aboriginal females compared to Australian Aboriginal males
d.
20 years shorter in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples than in other Australians
d.
20 years shorter in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples than in other Australians
Why do we think about health as a continuum?
Health is not simply the absence of illness. At any given point in time, we are in a dynamic state of health. Every day we engage in patterns of behaviour that influence our health in positive and negative ways. Understanding this allows us to engage in preventative healthcare – intervening well before the point of diagnosis.
Health is:
a.
Best defined by the biomedical model
b.
Always caused by physical abnormalities
c.
A binary concept (healthy versus unhealthy)
d.
conceptualised as a continuum, from death to optimal wellness
The correct answer is: conceptualised as a continuum, from death to optimal wellness
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the biomedical model?
The biomedical model was responsible for significant advances in healthcare (including production of antibiotics and vaccines), and was particularly critical in treating infectious illness. The biomedical model fails to acknowledge the importance of psychological and social contributors to health.
The majority of the healthcare burden in Australia is currently driven by:
a.
Infectious illness
b.
Poor hygiene
c.
tuberculosis, diphtheria, measles and influenza
d.
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer and mental health conditions
d.
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer and mental health conditions
The biomedical model:
a.
Has resulted in enormous advances in healthcare
b.
Resulted in a reduction in deaths due to infectious illness
c.
Fails to acknowledge the contribution of psychological and social factors to disease
d.
All choices are correct
d.
All choices are correct
Explain why health psychology is so important in the current healthcare climate.
In Australia the majority of the healthcare burden arises from chronic illness (e.g. cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and mental health disorders). Key risk factors for chronic illness are behavioural (e.g. related to diet, exercise, alcohol consumption, smoking and sleep). Health psychologists are critical players in the support of behaviour change and preventative healthcare.
Key behavioural risk factors for illness in Australia include:
a.
sleep loss
b.
smoking
c.
poor diet
d.
All choices are correct
d.
All choices are correct
Health psychology is informed by:
a.
Evolutionary, cognitive, behaviourist and humanist perspectives
b.
Epidemiology, public health and medicine
c.
Research using cross-sectional and experimental designs
d.
All choices are correct
d.
All choices are correct
A model that tries to explain behaviour needs to explain a high percentage of the variance in question. If a study reports that a model explains 67% of the variance in the outcome behaviour (e.g. increased physical activity levels) you can conclude that:
a.
the model does help us understand what drives increased physical activity levels
b.
the model does not explain enough of the variance to help us understand what drives increased physical activity levels
c.
the model is adequate as a large percentage of the variance is still explained
a.
the model does help us understand what drives increased physical activity levels
c.
the model is adequate as a large percentage of the variance is still explained
Could a tobacco company use models like the health belief model and theory of planned behaviour to increase smoking?
a.
No, these models can only be used for health behaviour improvement
b.
Yes, but generally a tobacco company would be interested in harm minimisation thus traditional advertising would be employed
c.
Yes, these models can be used for positive or negative health behaviour outcomes
d.
No, ethics committees and peer review journals would not publish such research
c.
Yes, these models can be used for positive or negative health behaviour outcomes
Alcohol consumption in Australia has been associated with:
a.
a cost to society of about $15 billion per annum
b.
All choices are correct
c.
about 65 000 hospital submissions every year
d.
about 3000 deaths per year
b.
All choices are correct
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the health belief model (HBM) and how the same aspect of the model can be both a strength and a weakness.
The HBM generally explains a large percentage of the variance in the behaviour of interest making it a useful model. It is flexible, enabling researchers to examine a variety of outcomes and possible contributing factors to a given outcome. Even if there is a great amount of variance explained, there is still a lot of unexplained variance suggesting that the model is incomplete (i.e. missing important factors). Habitual (e.g. dental hygiene) and irrational behaviour (e.g. unsafe sex with a stranger) may not fit the HBM well.
Psychological models like the health belief model and the theory of planned behaviour are used:
a.
within psychology
b.
within psychology and education
c.
within psychology, education, medicine and business
d.
within psychology, education and medicine
c.
within psychology, education, medicine and business
A researcher is talking about a behaviour outcome model of some sort and describing it as having a cost–benefit-type analysis and threat as a component. What model is this researcher most likely describing?
a.
The theory of planned behaviour
b.
The theory of mixed metaphors
c.
The transtheoretical model
d.
The health belief model
d.
The health belief model
A research participant in a quit-smoking study is sure she will manage to quit smoking and not start again. You would expect this participant to have:
a.
high support coping
b.
high social support
c.
high locus of control
d.
high self-efficacy
d.
high self-efficacy
How is the health belief model (HBM) different from the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model?
The HBM focuses on the perception of barriers and benefits as well as the perceived threat to the individual’s health along with other concepts like self-efficacy, while the TPB focuses more on intentions, behavioural control and norms. Thus the HBM seems to centre more on the individual through his or her perceptions of a cost–benefit analysis given a certain threat. The TPB is concerned with both societal norms and the individual’s intentions.
A colleague of yours wants to conduct research into the effects of health behaviour norms, intentions and control on smoking and alcohol use. What health behaviour model is your colleague most likely to go with?
a.
The transtheoretical model
b.
All of the above
c.
The theory of planned behaviour
d.
The health belief model
c.
The theory of planned behaviour
Low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with:
a.
all responses are correct
b.
dying before 65 years of age
c.
negative health habits, attitudes, and norms
d.
lower birth weight
a.
all responses are correct
Discuss some of the factors that might be important in building a better model to explain health-related behaviour.
Norms need to take into account culture, socioeconomic status, and support networks including family and friends. Control needs to be assessed such as through assessments of self-efficacy and locus of control. Societal factors such as political, corporate, religious and healthcare services need to be included too.
Discuss the main predictors of behaviour as per the health belief model (HBM).
The HBM employs a type of cost–benefit analysis giving a specific treat to the individual. Thus the HBM incorporates measures that relate to the outcome behaviours (e.g. quit smoking) including perceived barriers, benefits, susceptibility, seriousness, threat, cues to action and self-efficacy. These measures are weighted for and against the outcome behaviour and if the threat is high enough (e.g. cancer) along with high benefits (e.g. less likely to get cancer and better general health), then these may outweigh the benefits (e.g. fit in with the ‘in-crowd’).
Discuss the main predictors of behaviour as per the theory of planned behaviour model.
Behaviour is predicted by intentions and perceived behavioural control. Intentions to perform behaviour are influenced by attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control. Attitudes are a product of behavioural beliefs and evaluations of the outcomes of performing behaviour. The subjective norm is composed of a person’s motivation to comply with beliefs of significant others.
Your client has been told by her GP to cut fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages from her diet. She has come to see you to get help with implementing these changes. What are some of the factors needed for her to succeed?
a.
Change in family norms away from fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages
b.
Find alternatives to fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages
c.
Restrict access to fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages
a.
Change in family norms away from fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages
b.
Find alternatives to fast food and sugar-sweetened beverages
Your client has been told to improve their diet and increase their activity levels. If you wanted a model to capture your client’s progress or relapse, which model might provide the best fit?
a.
The theory of mixed metaphors
b.
The theory of planned behaviour
c.
The health belief model
d.
The transtheoretical model
d.
The transtheoretical model
