Health Psych RAT #4 - anderson PDF

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RAT #4 Readings Chapter 8: Using Health Services:   

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Hypochondiracs – people convinced that normal bodily symptoms are indicators of illness Hypochrondriacs are only 4-5% of population so understanding symptom experience is important Most frequent symptoms experienced by people who convert their distress into physical symptoms are: back pain, joint pain, pain in extremities, headache, abdominal symptoms, and cardiovascular symptoms Old people report more symptoms than young people Neuroticism – pervasive, negative way of viewing the world marked by negative emotions, self consciousness, and a concern with bodily processes Neurotic, anxious people may exaggerate their problems and be more attentive People focused on themselves notice symptoms faster than individuals focused externally Intense physical activity takes attention away from symptoms Medical students disease – med students imagine that have each illness they study Studying the symptoms brings focus to students fatigue and other internal states making symptoms arise Stress can precipitate or aggravate the experience of symtpms People in good mood rate themselves as more healthy People in bad mood report more symptoms Attention directed outward symptoms are less likely to be noticed People with a condition regard symptoms as less serious even though there is a higher prevalence Ignore symptoms not expecting and amplify the ones they do expect Causes pain will cause person to seek treatment Symptoms that effect highly valued body parts are interpreted as more serious Commonsense model of illness – people hold implicit commonsense beliefs about their symptoms and illnesses that result in organized illness representations or schemas Coherent conceptions of illness acquired through media, personal experience, family, and friends Commonsense model: o Identity – or label for an illness is its name o Causes – factors that give rise to an illness o Consequences – symptoms, treatments that result ,and their implication for quality of life o Time line – length of time illness is expected to last o Control/cure – whether the person believes that the illness can be cured of treated o Coherence – how well beliefs hang together to represent the disorder 3 models of illness: o Acute illness- short in duration with no long term consequences

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o Chronic illness – caused by multiple factors including health habits, long in duration, often with severe consequences o Cyclic illness – alternating periods with either none or many symptoms Lay referral network – informal network of family and friends who offer their own interpretations of symptoms often before medical treatment 4/5 search internet for health care information 2/3 use the web for health information and more than half say that improved the way they took care of themselves Very young and very elderly use health care services the most frequently Women use medical services more than men Lower social class use medical services less than the more affluent Gap between medical services of the rich and the poor has narrowed Half to 2/3 of patients have symptoms that are psychological and not medical Nonmedical complaints stem from depression and anxiety Medical disorders are perceived as more legit than psychological disorders Secondary gains – benefits brought about by illness Delay behavior – living with symptoms for months without seeking treatment Delay – when a symptom is noticed until treatment is seeked o Appraisal delay – time it takes to decide if symptom is serious o Illness delay – time between deciding if symptom implies an illness and the decision to seek treatment o Behavioral delay –time between deciding to seek treatment and actually doing so o Medical delay – time between calling for an appointment and actually receiving the proper medical care Elderly delay less but delay is more common in people who don’t have money, don’t have regular contact with their physician, and are phobic of medical services After consulation 25% of people delay taking recommended medical treatment Health care practictioner delay accounts for 15% of delay...