PU505: Health Behavior Unit 1 Introduction Flashcards

Question

What makes knowledge almost useless?

Answer 1

Without the skills or abilities necessary to use the knowledge, like applying a condom, will render it useless. An example is HIV/AIDS.

Answer 2

Culture. Culture encompasses the customs, habits, language a group of people share that influence how they perceive themselves, one another, and their place in the world. For example, in a study of African American men conducted in 2019, the perception of invincibility and immunity to illness risk frequently factored into men’s health decision-making. This stereotype of toughness prevented them from admitting they had a health problem or from seeking care for one (Eley et al., 2019). In rural areas of Ethiopia (as well as in many other areas across the globe), illness is seen as the result of supernatural forces (Kahissay et al., 2017) and, consequently, not under personal control. When people perceive disease causation as being out of their control, it impacts the likelihood of them practicing preventative behaviors such as getting prenatal care, vaccinations, and screening tests. This perception of disease cause being out of a person’s control not only pertains to physical health, but mental health as well. As an example, in Filipino culture, mental illnesses are attributed to divine retribution for something the person or an ancestor did that was wrong. Consequently, mental illnesses are seen as shameful and result in an unwillingness of older adults to accept a mental illness diagnosis. This naturally leads to an avoidance of mental health services and a reliance on family, friends, healers, and religion (Periyakoil & Della Cruz, 2010) in order to cope with the situation. In the Traveller (Gypsy) culture, the practice of marrying within the community, often to first and second cousins, increases the risk of recessive genetic diseases (Ahlstrom, 2017). For example, congenital glaucoma, phenylketonuria (PKU), polycystic kidney disease, and oculocutaneous albinism (lack of pigment in the eyes, hair, and skin), to name just a few, are common (Kalaydjieva et al., 2001).

Answer 3

They are intimately woven with culture, and are one's perception of what is true, although they might not be viewed as such by others. Such as a wet head causes pneumonia, then the behavior it supports is not going out of the house with a wet head. This seems like a very innocuous behavior on the surface. But take it one step further: people with this belief might not get a pneumonia vaccine, believing instead that staying indoors until their hair is dry is all they need to do to avoid catching it. In cultures that believe in reincarnation, health behaviors are affected in unexpected ways. For example, the belief in reincarnation in the Chinese culture leads to avoidance of surgery because the body has to remain intact in order for the soul to have a place to live when it comes back in a future reincarnation. In the Hindu and Sikh cultures, the belief in reincarnation reduces the likelihood of adherence to medical protocols because disease is viewed as the result of karma from a previous incarnation or past life. Similarly, in the Traveller (Gypsy) culture it’s believed that health and illness are given to you, they are predetermined, inevitable, and unchangeable (Dion, 2008). This belief leads to noncompliance with preventative health behaviors and consequently, poor health.

Answer 4

They are formed by beliefs, emotions, and past behavior associated with an object, person, issue, or concept. They impact behavior because they represent a person's thoughts and ideas, likes and dislikes and preferences for or against something. For instance, in the spring of 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC conducted a national survey to identify attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs related to the public health recommendations to contain the pandemic. The results showed that overall, 80% of adults in the United States supported (had positive attitudes toward) stay-at-home orders, 67% believed nonessential workers should stay home, and more than 87% supported social distancing guidelines. These positive attitudes translated into more than 77% of adults reporting that they self-isolated, and almost 80% reporting they practiced social distancing (Czeisler et al., 2020). Positive attitudes toward fruit and vegetable intake—that is, believing they are important for health—liking their taste, and having self-efficacy in the ability to consume them, are associated with greater fruit and vegetable intake in adults (Erinosho et al., 2015). Conversely, negative attitudes toward fruit and vegetable intake are associated with lower consumption. Interestingly, these negative attitudes are also associated with low water intake as well (Goodman et al., 2013). Water intake among middle school students is also impacted by negative attitudes. Students who believe that water fountains are unclean and contaminated, that the water doesn’t taste good, and that it can make them sick, develop negative attitudes toward drinking water from water fountains. As a result, they don’t drink water from the fountains during school hours. While this behavior may seem innocuous, having students drink more water during their school day is an important strategy for reducing their intake of sugary beverages, which would help in controlling childhood obesity (Patel et al., 2014).

Answer 5

Values. They influence the type of behaviors they adopt. They are what people hold in high regard, things that are important to them, such as nature, truth, honesty, beauty, education, integrity, friendship, and family. What people value influences the types of behaviors they adopt. For example, people who value nature might be more likely to recycle, use organic fertilizers, feed the birds, and plant trees. People who value health might be more likely to exercise, maintain a normal weight, drink in moderation or not at all, and not smoke. The impact of values on health behavior was evident among adolescents when 7th graders in Taiwan were asked to identify their most important personal values from among the following five: family, friends, health, academics, and money. Those who valued health the most were less likely to smoke and drink from 7th to 12th grade than those who valued friends the most. Not only does this show the influence values have on behavior, but also the long-lasting effects of values formed during early adolescence. Values not only play a role in personal health behavior, they also influence environmental health behaviors. For instance, pro-environmental behavior, or acting in ways to safeguard or avoid harming the environment, is very much related to a person’s biospheric values (Steg, Bolderdijk et al., 2014). People with strong biospheric values base decisions to act in pro-environmental ways on their perception of the cost and benefits to the environment rather than on personal benefit (DeGroot & Steg, 2009). For example, they eat less red meat, take shorter showers (Steg, Perlaviciute et al., 2014), recycle more, and drive in more energy efficient ways.

Answer 6

Religion, gender.

Answer 7

For example, we saw that beliefs influence health behavior. Beliefs form the concept (or idea) of the self-efficacy theory and health belief model, while attitudes are the basis of the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior.

Answer 8

A variable is an operationalized concept, or how the concept is going to be measured. Going back to the house analogy, the bricks can be measured (operationalized) by square footage, number, size, or weight. How the concepts (bricks) are used in each theory (house) are the constructs (steps, walkway), and how they are measured (number, color, size) are the variables.

Answer 9

Construct. Constructs are the way concepts are used in theories. As the concept of a theory develops and evolves, and as it becomes less nebulous and more concrete, constructs emerge. Each theory, then, has at least one core concept and a series of constructs that indicate how the concept is used in that theory. To use an analogy, if a theory is a house, the concepts are the bricks and the constructs are the way the bricks are used in the house. In one house, the bricks are used for the front steps; in another house, the bricks are used for the façade.

PU505: Health Behavior Unit 1 Introduction Flashcards

(45 cards)