Illness Behaviors, Healthcare Policies �& Practices: Implications for Health
Illness behavior
the recognition & interpretation of symptoms, seeking and adhering
to treatment
These Behaviors are affected by more than biological factors!
Medical seeking: Determining Factors
Time and money
causal attributions
Perception of severity
Salience of symptoms
Medical seeking: Determining Factors
Body part/system affected
Gender
Age
Medical seeking: Determining Factors
D
E
N
I
A
L
Upbringing
self and other
Medical seeking: Determining Factors
Interference
Pain
Controllability
C
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Recognizing symptoms
Seeking treatment
Treatment & adherence
Appraisal delay
Illness delay
Utilization delay
Patient
Practitioner
Interaction
Stages of illness and critical delays
in seeking treatment
Patient-Provider Relationships
communication problems
Doctor speaking way above
Doctor speaking down
Depersonalization to cope
Stereotypes and prejudice
Patient-Provider Relationships
Patients also have prejudice stereotypes
age race gender
Patient Adherence
Detrimental effects of non-adherence
people fail to get better and may get worse
misdiagnosis of the medical condition
potential for overdose
problems with antibiotics no longer working
problems in research (drug’s effectiveness may be
underestimated)
How do we improve adherence?
How to Improve Adherence
The need for patient advocates
iatrogenic illness, injury,
and death
No, Medical Errors Are Not the Third
Leading Cause of Death (Medscape, 2019)
need to assume more responsibility for one’s health
need to follow the mutual participation model…
patients need to have more control
Consequences of seeking or not seeking care?
overuse vs. underuse
What role does health care
Insurance have?
Traditional Insurance vs.
High Deductible Plans
Why is health care so expensive?
fee-for-service model
How can we
save money?
How can we
make money?
fear of malpractice
doctors engage in defensive medicine
Managed Care (HMOs & PPOs)
decreased quality care?
good that costs have been contained
and more people can afford it
use recipe book approach
to decrease costs
decisions made by non-medical
people (e.g. insurance co)
Health Psychology IS Making a Difference!