ROLE OF HABITS IN PREVENTING COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
ABSTRACT
Our behavior has a tremendous influence on health. Our behavior change centers around our
habits. Focussing on the proper habits can give us the power to turn our best intentions and
knowledge about lifestyle into reality. But most comprehensive lifestyle plans, including detailed
diet and exercise instructions, can fail if not sustained by us.
Habits are essential to our health. They can make or break your chances of achieving and
maintaining your lifestyle goals, such as preventing communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS,
Hepatitis, Coronavirus, and many more, along with increasing quality of life and promoting
longevity. Socioeconomic, environmental and behavioral factors, as well as international travel
and migration, foster are reasons for the increase in the spread of communicable diseases.
KEY-WORDS
1) Behavior
2) Hygiene
3) Sustainable
4) Prevention
5) Habits
INTRODUCTION
A) INTRODUCTION OF THE PROBLEM
Communicable diseases are illnesses caused by viruses or bacteria that people spread to
one another through contact with contaminated surfaces, bodily fluids, blood products,
insect bites, or through the air. Some examples of communicable diseases include HIV,
hepatitis A, B, and C, measles, salmonella, measles, and blood-borne illnesses. Most
common forms of spread include fecal-oral, food, sexual intercourse, insect bites, contact
with contaminated fomites, droplets, or skin contact.
B) WHY IS THIS ISSUE IMPORTANT TO ADDRESS?
Communicable diseases are a major global public health threat worldwide. For example,
malaria and HIV/AIDS are mass killers, with the populations in poor countries being hit
the hardest. In addition, rapidly developing microbial resistance has led to a new
dimension of threat posed by infectious disease. For instance, even though tuberculostatic
medicines exist and multi-drug resistant tuberculosis is treatable, millions of people still
die of tuberculosis each year.
While in the past, the development of a global pandemic took months or even years, the
world is now faced with the possibility of pandemics spreading across the globe within a
few days. It became clear that intensive intercontinental travel of humans allows
dangerous infections to travel more quickly. Even climate change is impacting the
incidence of communicable diseases.
MAIN THEMES
A) WHAT IS A HABIT?
The daily lives of humans can be described as “bundles of habits”. Our everyday
routines, from the time we get up in the morning until the evening when we go to sleep,
are filled with countless actions and choices, almost half of which may actually be habits.
Habits are automatic behavioral responses to environmental cues or triggers.
B) HOW ARE HABITS FORMED?
Ann Graybiel, a Ph.D. professor describes habit formation as the following sequence of
events:
● First, we acquire a habit by experience that leads to the creation and organization
of neuron connections in the brain
● Second, our habit behavior is repeated over time so it can become fixed
● Third, the habit is fully acquired and is able to perform automatically, without
requiring our direct attention or focus.
● Fourth, the habit becomes a sequence of actions that tends to occur in response to
a particular situation or cue.
Once our habits are learned, repeated, and acquired, they start to occur automatically.
Tasks such as brushing our teeth or driving a car, which we learned initially through a
series of steps that required significant concentration and time, are now performed with
barely any thought. Humans rely on habits quite a bit since they allow us to perform
many actions in daily life, often simultaneously while doing other things without having
to stop and fully concentrate on what we are doing, thus saving us time and energy.
C) HABITUAL CUE
A cue is an impulse or trigger that leads to a routine, such as a habit. Cues can be:
● EXTERNAL: coming from the environment, meaning a location, a time of day,
or other people or places. For instance, watching TV is a cue for the habit of
wanting to snack.
● INTERNAL: which comes from within, including mood, thinking patterns, and
sensations in the body. For instance, the feeling of drowsiness making you want to
go to sleep.
D) WHY HABITS ARE IMPORTANT?
1. “Habits Are Who You Are”: A habit is something that you do daily without really
thinking about it like brushing your teeth or maintaining a healthy life.
2. “You Can Change Your Habits”: If you want to begin eating healthier, all you need
to do is start skipping your morning scone until it becomes second nature to pass up the
sugary pastries at breakfast.
3. “Good Habits Allow You to Reach Your Goals”: IThe first step to reaching any goal
is first establishing a daily habit. If you want to find a new job, you have to get into the
habit of looking for work every day.
4. “Habits Set a Foundation for Life”: Since your habits become you, the habits,
whether good or bad, that you choose to follow ultimately will set the tone for your entire
life.
5. “Habits Can Replace Motivation”: When you can develop activities into habits, they
will become second nature, and you’ll do them without having to think.
E) HABITS AND HEALTH
Bad habits like increased consumption of sugary soft drinks and fast food, as well as low
activity levels are linked to development of chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
On the flip side, maintaining healthy habits, such as eating plenty of fruit, vegetables and
fresh foods and exercising regularly can prove very beneficial to health. Healthy habits
can help us achieve proper weights, keep blood sugars in range and help lower the risk of
diseases like diabetes and cancer.
A person may develop a communicable disease after becoming infected by the pathogen.
This may happen through:
● direct contact with a person carrying the pathogen
● contact with contaminated fluids, such as blood, mucus, or saliva
● inhaling contaminated droplets from another person’s cough or sneeze
● receiving a bite from an animal or insect carrying the pathogen
● consuming contaminated water or foods
By inculcating a few basic habits in our daily routines, people can reduce their risk of
contracting or transmitting disease causing pathogens:
● washing their hands thoroughly and regularly
● disinfecting surfaces at home often, especially doorknobs and food areas
● practicing good hygiene when preparing and handling food
● avoiding eating spoiled food
● avoiding touching wild animals
● receiving available vaccinations
● taking antimalarial medications when traveling where there is a malaria risk
CONCLUSIONS
There are very small necesary precautions that one take take in their lives inorder to make it
better and prevented from diseases that can be communicated through people and objects. Habits
are build over time with series of repetition of certain actions. There is a saying that, “If you
know you can do it, you will do it.”. Even if you have bad habits that might put your life into
jeopardy, it’s never too late to take a step towards the right direction. Bad habits are hard to
break, but once you adopt a healthier lifestyle, you won’t regret this decision. Healthy habits
reduce the risk of certain diseases, improve your physical appearance and mental health, and give
your energy level a much needed boost.
Building of habits starts at your home.The following few habits might help in preventiton of
communicable diseases:
● Protect sources of clean water.
● Vaccinate children against killer diseases.
○ Do not re-use needles.
● Use clean and protected water sources.
○ Keep water clean and protected from contamination.
○ Use clean vessels and closed containers for transportation and storage.
○ Keep water clean during collection, transportation and storage.
○ Remove standing water that may attract insects and become
contaminated.
○ Learn and practice reliable methods for purifying water.
● Wash hands very well with soap.
● Dispose of waste safely for humans, animals and the environment.
○ If latrines are not available, defecate well away from houses, water
sources and places where children play.
○ Bury faeces immediately or cover with earth, sand or ash.
○ Locate trench and pit latrines away from water sources and keep them
clean.
○ Make sure pit latrines are emptied or replaced regularly by trained
people with mechanical and protective equipment, rather than
manually.
● Practice good sanitation
○ Dispose of any waste that attracts flies and insects.
○ Dispose of waste properly without contaminating water or soil.
● Keep food clean and food safe for eating.
Understanding what habits are, as well as recognizing our own, good and bad is an important
step towards your overall health.
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