Illness perception Flashcards
(16 cards)
How many patients do UK pharmacies help weekly with clinical advice about symptoms?
Over 865,000 patients weekly seek clinical advice, and over 251,000 have questions about existing medical conditions.
How much time do pharmacists spend per consultation on average?
Nearly six minutes per consultation.
How many patients do community pharmacists identify annually as needing urgent assessment?
2.5 million patients per year.
What determines if someone seeks help for a symptom or ignores it?
Interpretation of the symptom, influenced by demographics, mood, cognition, and social context.
What are the two types of coping responses to symptoms?
Approach coping (seek help, self-manage) and avoidance coping (ignore, minimise).
What percentage of UK adults with a possible cancer symptom wait 6 months or more to contact their GP?
0.5
What percentage of people with red flag cancer symptoms (e.g. coughing blood, new lump) contact their GP within 6 months?
Only 48%.
What are the barriers to help-seeking behaviour?
Lack of knowledge, emotional factors like fear/anxiety, and limited access to services (e.g. health inequalities).
What are illness cognitions?
Beliefs people hold about their illness, which shape behaviour and treatment adherence.
Why is symptom interpretation important?
It supports faster treatment and better health outcomes.
What is the effect of perceiving control over one’s condition?
Leads to more positive illness behaviours such as using health services, taking medications, and following treatment.
What is Leventhal’s Self-Regulatory Model?
A framework suggesting individuals form cognitive representations of illness that guide coping and health behaviour.
What are the components of Leventhal’s model?
Identity (label and symptoms), cause, timeline, consequences, and control/cure.
How does the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation relate to behaviour?
People’s beliefs about their illness drive how they cope and whether they seek treatment or ignore the issue.
Mrs FG has a headache for 24 hours and seeks advice. What type of coping is this?
Approach coping
What is the SAQ example given in the lecture?
Outline Leventhal’s Self-Regulatory Model (3 points) and describe the relationship between illness cognitions and behaviour (2 points).
