7. Treatment/Care Context: Using Health Services Part 1

Question 1

Health Tips?

Answer 1

1. Beware of Dr. Google (and Dr. Oz).
2. Healthcare is not universally accessible (even in a universal system).
3. Good care depends on more than good medicine.
4. Find a placebo that’s right for you.

Question 2

Illness & Care Context?

Answer 2

Illness ->

Stress response: Anxiety, Fear ->
- Direct impact on how the disease progresses.

Seek Care (Health Behaviour Coping) ->
- The Social Context matters (Personal & Professional)
- The ‘Sick Role’, rights, obligations, expectations.

Secondary Gains
- Burden on the healthcare system (like requiring a doctor’s note)

Question 3

Using Health Services
A series of health and illness related behaviours…

Answer 3

Perception
- Detect or perceive symptoms.
- Awareness.

Interpretation
- Interpret symptoms as potentially threatening.
- Illness, injury, or disease is inferred.

Decision
- Decide that medical attention or health care is needed.
- Intention is set.

Question 4

Using Health Services - Stages of Delay

Answer 4

Perception Stage: Apprical
- The time it takes to appraise illness

IInterpretation Stage: Illness
- The time it takes to experience and live with the illness before deciding to seek care.

Decision Stage: Utilization
- The time it takes before they actually end up seeing a doctor, etc situational barriers.

Question 5

Perceiving Symptoms
Individual Differences?

Answer 5

People differ in the extent to which they attend to their internal states. Some have a heightened awareness of / sensitivity to their bodily sensations. (People high in neototism)

But this does not mean they are more accurate internally focused people may exaggerate or overestimate symptoms.

Question 6

Perceiving Symptoms
Environmental and social factors?

Answer 6

also play a role (e.g., if a situation is boring; if other people report symptoms), in addition to psychological factors (e.g., expectations, negative emotions).

Example, Medical student health syndrome, or psychological issues for psyc students

Question 7

Interpreting Symptoms
Prior Experiences & Commonsense Models of Illness?

Answer 7

Prior experiences and expectations can either help or hinder people’s interpretations of symptoms.

Commonsense Models of Illness
People also rely on their commonsense models, which include…
- Illness identity (name, symptoms).
- Causes and underlying pathology.
- Timeline or prognosis.
- Consequences (seriousness, effects, outcome).

Our scheme of certain illness affect of the interpret them.