Health Behavior Assignment Essay
DQ1
Present a basic case in which an individual would wish to change a long-term health behavior? For example, a 39-year-old female wishes to stop her two-pack-a-day smoking habit which she has had for 10 years. Using various models and theories of behavioral change help create strategies for modifying the patient’s behaviors. Explain the process/methods that could be used to accomplish this goal. Predict how long this may take and what challenges may present themselves? Review three peers’ postings and provide constructive feedback on additional changes which could be beneficial as well as additional insight.Health Behavior Assignment Essay
DQ2
Why is health promotion/education such an important component to behavioral change? Why do you think behavioral change is so difficult for an individual?
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Behavior change is a complex process, frequently complex to attain and to carry on. Health professionals recognize that, in their work to promote healthy behaviors, they are challenging in opposition to powerful forces such as, linking social, psychological and environmental conditioning. However, the benefits of behavior modify must be persuasive. As a result, health educators use numerous diverse models for perceptive behavior change and creating successful interventions. There are many health behavior models, but there are three commonly used models with examples and typical applications, 1) Health Belief model, 2) Stages of Change or Trans theoretical Model and 3)Social Cognitive Theory.
The Health Belief model is one of the first behavior modify theories developed. Based on description of this model, the changes in this model behavior relay on five main factors: 1) perceived severity where it describe the principle that a health problem is serious, 2) perceived threat where it describe the principle that one is vulnerable to the problem, 3) perceived benefit where it describe the principle that changing one’s behavior will decrease the threat, 4) Perceived barriers where it describe the perception of the obstacles to changing one’s behavior, and 5) Self efficacy where it describe the principle that one has the capability to change one’s behavior.
One of the most common examples about the health behavior model is a story about a regular doctor visit reveals that a woman is obtain heart disease due to her family history and roots (perceived threat). This woman knows that her mother and father both died too early as a reason for heart problems (perceived severity). Her doctor tells her that ordinary exercise would be the best way to decrease her risk of her heart disease (perceived benefit). Thus, the doctor advice the woman to follow prescribes a walking program. The woman recognizes that with work and family it will be tough to find time to walk (perceived barriers). On her way back driving to her home from work she sees a billboard promoting every day walks as part of one’s morning and evening routine. Thus, she decides to try getting up 30 minutes earlier every day to walk two miles and finds success with this routine (self efficacy). On the other side, the Health Belief model supplies insights for why people make health decisions and creates a process to encourage the sole of change. Moreover, it is also very useful in understanding how to design health education programs and convincing messages.Health Behavior Assignment Essay
The second common model of health behavior is stages of change or Trans theoretical Model. It provides a framework for describing how behavior change can take place. Based on this model description there are five stages of change 1) Contemplation without thinking about changing behavior itself, 2) Contemplation by putting the perception about changing behavior in the close future, 3) Decision making to obtain the plan to change the behavior, 4) Action used for implementing the plan to change behavior, and finally 5) Maintenance to obtain continuation of behavior change.
The Stages of Change Model is not linear. Thus, people can enter and exit at any point moreover some people like to repeat a stage more than a few times. For example, a pack-a-day smoker is uncleanly painful about smoking in the existence of non-smokers. Thus, sometime he have some thought about quitting, however he is content to keep smoking (contemplation). Recently, whereas visiting a friend who is also a smoker, they go outside instead of smoking beside the children. The smoker’s wife has also asked him many times to smoke outside the home to prevent their infant son from the side effects of the smoking. She convinces him to go to the doctor to talk about secondhand smoke and what available option for quitting this habit (contemplation). After talking with the doctor about the available options, he signs up for self-help program and sets a quit date (decision). Thus, on his quit day he starts using the patch and follows the self-help program guide for methods to get rid of old habits (action). He relapses after a week, but tries to quit again numerous times (contemplation and action). With motivation from friends and family, support from his doctor and the program guide, he keeps on trying (decision) and lastly quits for good (action). Although, it’s been a year since his last cigarette, he prevents situations that trigger a need to smoke and frequently rewards himself for not smoking (maintenance). In the same field, the Trans theoretical model acknowledges that not everyone is ready to change behavior. This model is so helpful in making designs for health programs targeted at exacting stages of change or for moving individuals throughout diverse stages…
Our everyday activities such as the time we retire to bed, the foods we eat and how we exercise our body throughout the day have significant effects on our health. These behaviors can either positively or negatively influence our health care and stipulate our average health. Adopting healthy lifestyle habits requires more than just majoring on habits addressing a particular health problem. If much time is devoted to daily health behaviors, it replenishes our bodies and makes it remain healthy for a longer period of time. This paper analyzes emotional and physical wellness behavior I am working on to improve my health.Health Behavior Assignment Essay
I chose this health behavior simply because I believe that most chances of premature death are minimized through mental and physical fitness, thus living a longer life. I feel that being optimistic about life alone does not necessarily boost my lifespan, but delineating increased stress levels can grant me extra years of life and the best recipe for this is acquired through low anxiety and physical fitness. Research indicates that keeping fit and adopting various ways to minimize stress are equated to improved lifestyle with an increased life span. Still on research, even the previous studies demonstrate that an activity an individual engages in is a measurement to their life expectancy.
This is because a person’s body weight is directly proportional to the type of activity they engage in, or if they engage in any physical activity at all. For instance, statistics indicate that a person whose line of duty requires very less energy and does not exercise at all is likely to have an increased body weight. Huge body weight as a factor on its own would not yield the expected result of a healthy lifestyle. Additionally, studies document that individuals with decreased distress levels have 34% lower risk of premature death compared to those who have higher levels of distress. In terms of fitness, individuals with increased fitness levels have 46% lower death risk than those with low fitness levels. It is for these reasons that I prefer to keep my body fit through physical activities as well as minding about my diet, to earn for extra years.
Some of the actions I engaged in to attain my physical fitness include participating in 2 hours moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as brisk walking per week, engaging in an hour of vigorous intensity aerobic activity such as jogging and engaging in muscle strengthening activities for two or more days a week that will stretch out my primary muscles surrounding my shoulders, arms, chest, back, abdomen and legs. These physical activities not only help me to keep fit, but are also beneficial in preventing the financial cost that I would have otherwise spend on medical treatment.Health Behavior Assignment Essay
One of the successful improvements I noticed while partaking my exercise regime was that I had lost some calories and gained an appetite body. I also felt flexible and could handle most tasks with much ease and my muscles were spared from short term fatigues. It was however challenging when I frequently felt dehydrated and the rate of my respiration was increased in the process of exercising. However, all these challenges also opened new doors for me to change on other health behaviors such as drinking plenty of water whenever I felt dehydrated whereas the increased respiration was an effective way to increase the rate at which my heart pumped blood to all my body parts and preventing heart disease. In the long ran, my challenges turned out to be a better way for me to exercise other health behaviors.
By staying physically active, am able to maintain a healthy body and weight composition, minimize the risk of weight-related medical conditions as well as maintain the health of my joints, muscles and bones for a graceful aging.Health Behavior Assignment Essay