Pearson BTEC National Applied Psychology: Book 2

Content area A2: Theories of stress and addiction Studies related to theory 1: The health belief model Becker et al . (1978) Compliance with a medical regimen for asthma Aims Marshall Becker and his colleagues wanted to use the health belief model (HBM) to explain mothers’ compliance with asthma treatment for their children. Procedure The participants were 111 mothers of children diagnosed with asthma and who attended an emergency clinic to treat an asthma attack. Each mother was interviewed about their attitudes towards health- related matters, such as seriousness of asthma, and whether they complied with the treatment plan. Blood samples were taken from the children to check for presence of asthma medication. Findings There were positive correlations between mothers’ compliance with giving prescribed medicine and: • Perception of the seriousness of their child’s asthma. • Beliefs about their child’s susceptibility to asthma attacks. • Beliefs about seriousness (e.g. how much asthma interfered with their child’s education). There were four perceived barriers: trouble getting prescriptions, problems with the schedule for giving the drug, children complaining about the taste of the medicine and disruption to everyday activities. Only two demographic variables were influential – married and higher-educated mothers were more likely to comply. Conclusions The HBM is useful in predicting compliance with medical treatment plans even in cases of long-term conditions such as asthma. The findings confirm the validity of each major component of the HBM as predictors of health-related behaviours. Carpenter (2010) A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of health belief model variables in predicting behaviour Aims Chris Carpenter (2010) conducted a meta-analysis of studies, aiming to investigate the effect of time on the relationships between measurement of variables and actual behaviour change. Procedure 18 longitudinal studies were selected, each measuring at least two HBM variables. Carpenter analysed the studies in terms of the time between measurement of variables and measurement of outcome health-related behaviour. He also looked at whether each study’s outcome was a treatment (e.g. taking a medicine) or a preventative behaviour. Findings Seriousness – relationship with behaviour change was positive but weak. The effect of seriousness was greatest when time between initial measurement and outcome was short. Susceptibility – no relationship with behaviour change. The exception was compliance with drug treatment, where there was a consistently positive effect. Benefits – a positive relationship with behaviour change but this weakened over time. Barriers – the strongest predictor of behaviour change (less so for treatment than prevention), but time almost no effect. Conclusions This review offered little support for the HBM. HBM variables appear to differ in how strongly they predict behaviour. Perceived barriers and benefits may be the only two components of the HBM that consistently predict behaviour. I don’t want to know Some people with a serious illness refuse treatment that could save their lives. How can we explain this? Consider cancer of the pancreas. Surgery is the only treatment that can potentially cure a person with this cancer. But only one-third of patients who could benefit decide to undergo surgery. Manuel Castillo-Angeles (2017) and his co-researchers applied the health belief model (HBM) to find out why. Some patients do not appreciate the seriousness of their condition because they have deliberately closed their eyes to it (typically patients say ‘ There were a lot of things I chose not to know ’ ). For some patients there were two key barriers preventing them from choosing surgery – poor communication with their surgeon and confusion caused by online information. Lack of self-efficacy was also an issue. Some patients did not believe they could cope with life after the surgery ( ‘ My family has to help take care of me and… I ’ m incapacitated a lot ’ ). to help take care of me and… I m Becker et al . found that some of the mothers were so concerned about their child’s health that they gave the treatment when it wasn’t needed. Strangely, the mothers who followed the medical advice most closely were the ones who trusted the doctors least. 16 Unit 3: Health psychology