Summary Unit 8 theories and models of public health
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Course
Unit 8 - Promoting Public Health (37773)
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
This document includes the health belief model, theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behaviour, stages of change model and the social learning theory. It also explains what they are and how they are used and in what way.
Health belief model - This model studies people’s beliefs and attitudes in order to determine
their health behaviours. People who do not feel they are at serious risk of ill health would
continue their unhealthy lifestyle habits however if they were confronted with the threat of a
disease that would cause serious health problems for them, they would then want to take
action in order to discover the best way to treat it. This relates to the change4life campaign
as it shows that without a balance of a healthy diet or exercise, an individual is putting
themselves at risk of several health issues such as diabetes, obesity or even heart disease.
This campaign can then motivate people to make the change to their life in order to reduce
the risk of these diseases/health issues.
Theory of reasoned action - There are two parts to this theory which are ‘attitude’ and
‘norms’ which show someone’s intent. Attitudes motivate people to want to do something
however some norms can persuade people to do something different. These two parts can
be split up even more meaning if someone was to try and persuade someone to do
something, they may have many different alternatives. For example, if someone has a job
interview they may want to tell the truth to show their true self however they may lie in order
to attain this job which can be a norm as people lie in job interviews in order to make
themselves look better. They may have been persuaded by a friend as they think it is a
‘norm’ to lie in order to look good and get a job.
Theory of planned behaviour - This theory is used in order to predict a person’s health
behaviour as well as intentions i.e. smoking, drinking, breastfeeding. It shows that
behavioural intentions depend on a person’s motivation as well as their ability to control their
behaviour. These are all factors which contribute towards a specific behaviour being carried
out. For example, if someone has a positive attitude towards gambling due to friends/families
seeing no harm in it then they are more likely to engage in gambling due to their intention
compared to someone who may have a negative attitude towards gambling due to
family/friends thinking it is harmful then that will change their intention towards this behaviour
therefore making that person less likely to attend a casino or take part in gambling. This
relates to the change4life campaign as family or friends could be participating in the
change4life by changing eating habits and exercising more in order to reduce risk of ill-
health and to live an overall healthier lifestyle, this may influence an individual to also make
these changes to their life and take part in the campaign.
Stages of change model - The stages of change model proposes that health behaviour
change involves 6 different stages of change which are: pre-contemplation (not engaging in
an activity and no intention to start in future), contemplation (not engaging in the activity yet
but committed to take action), preparation (considering taking part in the activity and taking
steps towards the objective), action (engaging in the activity for less than 6 months),
maintenance (engaging in the activity consistently for 6 months or more) and termination
(failure to maintain intended engagement in the activity). It describes how people acquire a
positive behaviour or even modify a problematic behaviour. For example, if someone wants
to lose weight they would be in the contemplation stage and if they started to change their
diet and started eating healthier with intent to lose weight, that would then be the preparation
stage. Once they start exercising, they would be in the action stage and if continued for more
than 6 months would be in the maintenance stage, they would have to focus on not quitting
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