scope of behavior change
- 2. • Define a behavior • Classify types of health behavior • Identify factors that affect behavior and give examples for each • Discuss how do people change behavior? • Discuss stages of behavior change • Outline role of health educator at each stage of behavior change
- 4. • Behavior- is an action that has specific frequency, duration, and purpose, whether conscious or unconscious, it is both the act and the way we act. ▪Action – drinking/smoking To say a person has drinking/smoking behavior ▪Duration –is it for a week/month? ▪Frequency- how it is repeated? ▪Purpose –is he/she doing consciously or not
- 5. Types of health behavior Health directed behavior Actions that are carried out with a specific health outcome in mind. E.G drug compliance Health related behavior Actions that may have health implications, but are not undertaken with a specific health objective in mind
- 6. Types of Health-related behavior Preventive Health behavior A person wants to avoid being ill or having a problem e.g. a mother takes her child for immunization Sick role behavior Illness behavior A person recognizes signs or symptoms that suggest a pending illness e.g. a mother gives her child cough medicine after hearing her wheeze e.g. A sick employee takes a vacation because he is ill, he takes treatment and obeys his doctor’s advice
- 7. Health problem May take many different components, therefore it may be viewed in the form of Risk factor before disease actually occurs Screening finding after occurrence of disease but before symptoms appear Symptom of a disease complication or consequence of the disease
- 8. Illness behavior People are differently in front of symptoms: 1. Fail to go to the doctor (-ve). 2. Go late (-ve). 3. Go with minor symptoms (+ve).
- 9. Behavior in illness Feeling symptoms Go to pharmacy Do nothing Self treatment Go to doctor compliance cure No compliance complication
- 10. Remember Behaviors that are ▪ Still in the early developmental stage or have recently been established ▪ Superficially tied to established cultural patterns or life-styles can be changed easier than those maintained for a longer period or that which became habits.
- 11. There are three groups of factors namely: • Predisposing factors. • Enabling factors. • Reinforcing factors.
- 12. • These factors provide the motivation for the behavior. • Predisposing factors include knowledge, beliefs, perception, attitudes, and values. • Can be altered through direct communication Example If a mother does not know what is meant by exclusive breast feeding and how it can protect the child from diseases, and does not believe in its benefits, she will not be motivated to exclusively breast feed her child.
- 13. These are factors that can enable the person to adopt and maintain the behavior. They include: 1. Health related skills 2. Income 3. Availability of health resources 4. Time 5. Availability and accessibility to services 6. Laws, rules and regulations Examples a. If the mother lacks the skill of breast- feeding, she will not be able to continue breast feeding and she will resort to artificial feeding (lack of skill). b. Young couples believe in premarital examination, yet the service is not available (lack of resource). c. People may want to be screened for HIV but may not be able to afford the cost involved (inadequate income).
- 14. These are factors that will support the new behavior. They comprise the different types of feedback and rewards received after behavior change which may either encourage or discourage the continuation of the behavior. They cover attitudes and behavior of others (health providers, peers, parents and family members, employers, teachers…. etc). Example If the mother started to breast feed her child exclusively, yet her mother/mother in-law discouraged her she may stop breast feeding exclusively.
- 16. • In patient education settings: reinforcing comes from nurses, physicians, fellow patients and family. • In school education settings: reinforcement comes from peers, teachers, school administrators, health personnel, parents, and siblings. • In occupational settings: reinforcement comes from co-workers, supervisors, union leadership, health personnel, and family members.
- 17. Remember Demographic factors as age, gender, family size, socio- economic affect behaviors but cannot be influenced by health education!!!
- 18. How do people change?
- 19. How to Change Behavior? The 6- Stages of behavior change
- 21. 1. Precontemplation stage At this stage, people are not yet aware of the negative behavior they need to change. They don’t see their behavior as a problem and aren’t interested in getting help. They may become defensive if someone pressures them to change. They also avoid speaking, reading, or thinking about it. 2. Contemplation stage At this stage, people are aware of the negative consequences or problems. But they’re not yet ready to change their unhealthy behavior. They do start thinking about it, however. They know it’s necessary to change but aren’t ready. 3. Preparation or determination stage This is the phase when a person is ready to make a change. They become committed to changing and motivated to take the necessary steps. They read, talk, and gather information about the problem. The preparation stage is crucial to the success of behavior change. Skipping this stage can drastically decrease your chances of success.
- 22. 4. Action stage At this stage, people use the strategies they learned in the previous phase to start a new, healthy behavior. There is a high risk of failure and slipping back into old behavior and habits. It can help to avoid external pressure and set rewards for achieving intermediate goals. The support of others is also essential at this stage. 5. Maintenance stage In this stage, people have made progress and realized the benefits of changing. They understand that maintaining change will require effort, but they are aware of its value. They create strategies to prevent relapse until the new habit becomes familiar and natural. 6. Relapse stage This stage is when people slip back into their old behaviors and habits. Relapsing is a normal part of the process of change. The key is to identify the trigger that caused the failure and look for new and better strategies for dealing with it.