Seeking Health Care
General strategy
• If you do not understand the Dr.’s
explanation, ask questions until you do.
How do theories help?
• Generate research
• Organize observations
• Help in predicting behavior
Health belief model (theory)
• Beliefs predicting health-seeking behavior
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Perceived susceptibility to disease
Perceived severity of the disease
Perceived benefits of behavior
Perceived barriers (E.g. Cost)
Theory of Reasoned Action
• Intention to act or not
 Shaped by:
• Attitude toward the behavior
• Subjective norm
 Social pressure
 Do your friends like the idea
Theory of Planned Behavior
• Attitude toward the behavior
• Subjective norms
• Perceived behavioral control
 How hard will it be to get what I want.
• If people think they can accomplish something,
they are more apt to intend to do it.
Precaution adoption process
model
• 7 Stages toward health-related behavior
 1. Unaware of personal risk
 2. Aware, but think it will not apply to them
• Optimistic bias “It won’t happen to me”
 3. Accept they are personally susceptible
• But do not take action
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4. Decide to take action
5. Decide action is unnecessary
6. Already taken precautions
7. Maintaining precautions
Seeking medical attention
• Gender differences
 Women are more likely to go to the doctor
 Men’s “Macho” image
Seeking medical attention
• Illness behavior
 Before diagnosis
• Action with symptoms
 After diagnosis
• Sick role behavior (Following Dr.s orders)
• Even self-diagnosis
Symptom Characteristics
• 4 factors determining response
 1. Visibility of the symptoms
• To self and others
• “You look terrible” = Go to Dr.
 2. Perceived severity of symptoms
 3. Interferes with personal life
 4. Frequency & persistence
Conceptualization of disease
5 steps
1. Identification of disease
“Heart attack” or “Heartburn”
2. Time line
Chronic or acute
3. Cause
Physical, emotional, or spiritual
4. Consequences
Fear of consequences
Breast cancer or AIDS
5. Control of the disease
Receiving health care
1.Medicare
Over age 65
“Care for the elderly”
2. Medicaid
“Aid the poor”
Low income
Disability
Pregnancy
People without insurance
Emergency room
“Dock-in-the-box”
Convenient care clinic
Helping children with
hospitalization
Reassurance increases fears
“Nothing to be afraid of”
Modeling
Modeling + cognitive = drugs