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This article is about 'Health Behaviour', this being part of the Medicine in Society module. It is consists of short notes which may help you understand the concept before proceeding in depth into the matter.
Health belief model Readiness to take action and engage in health related behaviours depends on a number of factors. The first two factors listed are concerned with extent to which individuals feel vulnerable to a particular illness. These factors comprise what is known as the perceived threat to illness-vulnerability 1. Susceptibility. An individual’s belief about whether he or she is likely to contract an illness. 2.Severity. The degree to which an individual perceives the consequences of having an illness to be severe The next two factors are concerned with pros and cons of taking some action to combat the illness. 3. Benefits. Refers to the potential to be gained from a particular course of action that will reduce the health threat. 4. Barriers. Any decision to act will have a certain number of consequences. There may be a degree of physical, psychological or financial distress associated with any form of action There are two further factors that may stimulate a person to do something about his condition. 5. Cues to action. They are stimuli that trigger appropriate health behaviour. They can either be internal (perception of bodily states) or external (stimuli from the environment such as the mass media) 6. Diverse factors. These include demographic, ethnic, social and personality factors that may influence health behaviour. Stages of self directed behaviour change Self monitoring Goal specification Stimulus control Self reinforcement Behavioural rehearsal References: Scambler G. (1997) Sociology as Applied to Medicine. 4th ed. WB Saunders Go To Page: 1
The copyright of the article Health Behaviour in Medical Student Resources is owned by Yasser Anathallee. Permission to republish Health Behaviour in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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