Final Flashcards
(156 cards)
How soon do people generally recognize symptoms before actually getting sick?
Half a day to a full day
What factors influence symptom recognition?
Individual difference/personality Cultural difference Situational factors Stress Mood
How do individual differences effect symptom recognition?
Personality impacts your psychological disposition and therefore your health
Hypochondriacs and neuroticism automatically assume the worst case
People with depression and anxiety get sick more often but deny getting sick
How do cultural differences affect symptom recognition?
Difference in emotional responses
Certain cultures talk about illness more than others
Ex. Asia does not talk about being sick and goes to work sick
Some look for symptoms while others ignore them
What is medical students disease?
Learn about disease in med school
Students paying attention begin showing these symptoms
Changes every lecture and students believe they have begun expressing what they are learning
What is an illness representation (schéma)?
A patients own implicit common sense belief about their illnesses
Begins as soon as symptoms appear or you get diagnosed
What you know about the disease and its symptoms
What are the five distinct components of illness schémas?
Identify(label) Consequences Causes Duration Cure Well defined schémas are less stressful as they have these five components
What occurs as you go higher up in the medical chain?
Less likely to have an answer
What are the three models of illness?
Acute: bacterial or viral, short duration
Chronic: multi-factorial, long duration
Cyclic: alternating periods of activity
What other factors can influence the interpretation of symptoms?
Lay referral network: input from friends, family, and peers
Internet: background info, lifestyle modification
How does age influence the use of health services?
Infants and the elderly are more likely to use health services that those in late adulthood
How does gender influence the use of health services?
Women tend to seek help more because they have kids and are more proactive about their health
How does socio-economic status influence the use of health services?
Those who have more money tend to use the system less but see specialists more
Those who have less money are more likely to express illness more and seek general care
How does culture influence the use of health services?
Visible minorities more commonly visit a physician
The language barrier is sometimes a déférant for visiting health services
Minorities seek fewer visits to specialists
Perceived quality of care
How does social psychological influence the use of health services?
Your beliefs about the system effects your level of care
Individuals attitudes and beliefs about symptoms and health care
Health belief model states predictors include: perceived threat to health and belief of efficacy of interventions
Why might a person seek the use of health services for emotional disturbances?
Individuals report physical symptoms which are triggered by psychological drivers
- university disease
- inappropriate assessment by physician
- limited access to psychologists
What are worried we’ll individuals?
Individuals that place over emphasis on symptoms due to heightened self-care
Hypervigilant and constantly worried
End up using the system a lot for small things
What are somaticizers?
Individuals who express symptoms after personal emotional insult
Get dumped and feel terrible so go to the doctor for these symptoms, display physical symptoms with an emotional root
Why do people deny their symptoms having a psychological root?
Medical disorders are perceived as more legitimate than psychological disorders
Allowed more access to benefits and secondary gains
Tests occur faster if medical based
What are secondary gains?
Downstream benefits arising from the illness
- time off/rest
- removal of responsibility
- medical symptoms vs psychological symptoms
What is delay behaviour?
Patients live with one or more potentially serious symptoms without proper care
Delay is defined as the time between recognition and treatment
What are the periods of delay behaviour?
Appraisal delay: realize symptom is serious
Illness delay: realize symptom implies and illness
Behavioural delay: time between recognition and treatment
Medical delay: time between appointment and treatment
What are some predictors of delay behaviour?
Elderly appear to delay less Lack of regular physician Personal views/fears about medical cares Frequency of occurance of the symptoms Personal safety assessment of the symptom
What are the different factors about the personal safety assessment of the symptoms?
Highly visible
Degree of pain
Degree of change
Incapacitating