Week 2: Health Beliefs, Behaviour Change And Promotion Flashcards
What are the three types of health related behaviour
Health behaviour: aims to prevent disease (eating a healthy diet)
Illness behaviour: aims to seek remedy (going to the doctor)
Sick role behaviour: aims at getting well (taking medication, resting)
What are the two ways in which health behaviours are defined
Health impairing habits or behavioural pathogen such as smoking or eating a high-fat diet
Health protective behaviours or behavioural immunogens such as attending a health check
Where did the term health beliefs come from
Health promotion emphasises the role of knowledge however it is now accepted that knowledge is not enough and that what people believe is more important
Health beliefs are the key predictors of behaviour
What are the four types of beliefs that relate to health behaviours
- Attributions
- Risk perception
- Motivation and self-determination
- Self-efficacy
All of these beliefs have been used to study and change all types of health behaviours and have also been incorporated into models of health beliefs and behaviour
Individuals are motivated to….. (attribution)
See their social world as predictable and controllable
How do you attributions relate to the health locus of control
Individuals differ as to whether they tend to regard events as controllable by them an internal locus of control or uncontrollable buy them an external locus of control
Health locus of control has been shown to be related to whether in individual changes their behaviour. The state of health is regarded as internal to the individual and illness is seen as something that comes into the body from the external world
Explain risk perception in relation to health beliefs
Sense of whether or not they are susceptible - may overestimate or underestimate the risk of illness
Reason why people continue to practice unhealthy behaviours, due to inaccurate perceptions of risk and susceptibility (unrealistic optimism)
People also think that risky behaviours can be neutralised or compensated for by another (risk compensation)
What is an example of underestimation of risk
People may believe that because their grandmother smoked all her life and died at age 85 they are not at risk of lung cancer if they smoke
What is an example of overestimation of risk
Believing that obesity runs in the family and that there is little they can do to prevent themselves from becoming overweight
What is an example of risk compensation
I can eat chocolate because I play tennis
Explain motivation and self-determination in relation to health beliefs
Motivation to carry out behaviour - self determination theory
SDT involves autonomous motivations - engaging in behaviours that fulfill personally relevant goals such as eating healthy food or exercising
tend to be positively correlated with a sense of well-being and the persistence of health related behaviours
Self efficacy?
Self efficacy is very closely related to feeling confident in one’s inability to engage in any given behaviour therefore stopping smoking would be associated with the belief I am confident that I can
What are the 3 categories or models for health beliefs?
- Stage models
- Social cognition models
- Integrated models
What are the two stage models of health beliefs and what do they generally mean as a whole
Stages of change model
Health action process approach
Consider individuals to be a different ordered stages and describe how they move through the stages as they change their behaviour
What is the stages of change model
It is based upon the following stages:
- Precontemplation: not intending to make any changes
- contemplation: considering a change
- preparation: making small changes
- action: actively engaging in a new behaviour
- maintenance: sustaining the change over time
However these changes do not occur in a linear fashion in the theory describes behaviour changes being dynamic they may move back and forth several times before progressing
Strengths of stages of change model?
It has been effectively applied to several health related behaviours such as smoking, alcohol use and exercise
It is also increasingly used as a basis to develop interventions that are tailored to the particular stage of the specific person concerned
Explain how the stages of change model would be used for smoking for example
The precontemplation stage would include them thinking they’re happy being a smoker and they intend to continue smoking
Contemplation I have been coughing a lot recently perhaps I should think about stopping
Preparation I will stop going to the pub and I will buy lower task cigarettes
Action I have stopped smoking
Maintenance I have stop smoking for four months now
Explain the health action process approach
This has an emphasis on self efficacy and attempts to predict both behavioural intentions in actual behaviour
It makes a distinction between motivational/decision making stage and an action/maintenance stage
What does the decision-making and motivational stage of the health action process approach model consist of
Self efficacy for example I’m confident that I can stop smoking
Outcome expectancy is for example stopping smoking will improve my health
Threat appraisal which is composed of beliefs about the severity of an illness and perceptions of individual vulnerability
What is the action and maintenance stage of the health action process approach model
There is a volitional cognitive aspect or an action plan (if offered a cigarette I will imagine what the tar will do to my lungs)
An action control mechanism (I can survive being of a cigarette by reminding myself that I am a non-smoker)
There is also a situational factor consisting of social support (the existence of friends to encourage non-smoking) and the absence of situational barriers (financial support to join an exercise club)
What are the social cognition models of health beliefs
The health belief model
Protection motivation theory
Theory of planned behaviour
These theories examine the predictors and pre-cursors to health behaviour and take a continuum approach to behaviour change.
What else are social cognition models based upon
They are based upon social cognition theory developed by Bandura suggesting that behaviour is governed by expectancies, incentives and social cognitions
Expectancies include that a behaviour maybe dangerous or can reduce the harm to health. There is also self efficacy expectancies that the individual is capable of carrying at the desired behaviour
Incentives are a motivational factor referring to the perception of the consequences of a given behaviour
Social cognitions reflect someone’s views on how others perceive behaviour