Question

select a model or theory of individual health behavior and describe an example from the research literature as to how this model has been applied in public health practice. why was this model or theory appropriate for this example? is there another model or theory that could also be appropriate for the health behavior

Answer 1

Behaviour model of health

The behavioural change model is a preventive approach and focuses on lifestyle behaviours that impact on health. It seeks to persuade individuals to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviours, to use preventive health services, and to take responsibility for their own health. The most-often used theories of health behavior are Social Cognitive Theory, The Transtheoretical Model/Stages of Change, the Health Belief Model, and the Theory of Planned Behavior. Here discussed about theory of planned behaviour. It is related to individual health behaviour.

Theory of planned behaviour

In psychology, the theory of planned behaviour (abbreviated TPB) is a theory that links one's beliefs and behaviour. The concept was proposed by Icek Ajzen to improve on the predictive power of the theory of reasoned action by including perceived behavioural control.

The theory states that attitude, subject norms, and perceived behavioural control, together shape an individual's behavioural intentions and behaviours.

In particular, several studies found that the TPB would better help to predict health-related behavioural intention than the theory of reasoned action (TRA) given that the TPB has improved the predictability of intention in various health-related fields such as condom use, leisure, exercise, and diet, where the attitudes and intentions to behave in a certain way are mediated by goals rather than needs.

Examples

For example, the goal to lose 10 kg in weight by the end of March, therefore a positive attitude and intention towards dieting. However, if a need is taken in calculation (health related or partner finding) the TPB fails.

Assuming that one's need is to find a partner, if the partner is found who favours a person who is overweight, or does not mind one's weight, then despite an individual's positive attitude towards losing weight, they won't engage in a such behaviour for fear of losing the new partner, the main reason for engaging in dieting in first place.

How this model applied in public health practice

The theory of planned behaviour can also be applied in area of applied nutrition intervention. TPB (in conjunction with SCT) was utilized to encourage parents to include more fruit, vegetables and whole grains (FVWG) in packed lunches of preschool children. Behavioural constructs of TPB were used to develop intervention strategies.

Knowledge/behavioural control, self-efficacy/perceived behavioural control, subjective norms and intentions were measured to see effects on behaviour. The results found a significant increase in vegetables and whole grains packed in lunches when interventions were planned using the TPB constructs.

Psychosocial variables were useful predictors of lunch packing behaviours of parents and this study provided a divergent application of model-exploration of an area of parental behaviour as a role in the development of young children's dietary behaviours.

Application :

The application of the TPB was used to prevent weight regain in an overweight cohort who recently experienced a significant weight loss. Using the constructs of TPB, it was found that perceived need to control weight is the most positive predictor of behaviour for weight maintenance.

The TPB model can be used to predict weight gain prevention expectation in an overweight cohort. The TPB can also be utilized to measure behavioural intention of practitioners in promoting specific health behaviours.

In one study shows, dietitians' intentions to promote whole grain foods was studied. It was found that the strongest indicator of intention of dietitians to promote whole grain foods was the construct of normative beliefs with 97% of dietitians indicating that health professionals should promote whole grains and 89% wanted to comply with this belief.

However, knowledge and self-efficacy of instituting this belief was faulted with only 60% of dietitians being able to correctly identify a whole grain product from a food label, 21% correctly identifying current recommendations and 42% of dietitians did not know there was a recommendation for whole grain consumption.

Although the response rate to complete mailed surveys for this study was low (39%), the results provided preliminary data on the strong effect of normative beliefs on dietitian intentions to promote whole grain and the need for nutrition need for additional education for practicing dietitians focusing on increase knowledge and self-efficacy for promoting whole grains.

Why this model is example of individual health behaviour

More recent research has looked at TPB and predicting college students' intention to use e-cigarettes. Studies found that attitudes toward smoking and social norms significantly predicted college students' behaviour, as TPB suggests.

Positive attitudes toward smoking and normalizing the behaviour was, in part, helped by advertisements on the Internet. With this information and foundation of TPB, smoking prevention campaigns have started to be implemented specifically targeting college students collectively, not just as individuals.

The theory of planned behaviour model is thus a very powerful and predictive model for explaining human behaviour. That is why the health and nutrition fields have been using this model often in their research studies. In one study, utilizing the theory of planned behaviour, the researchers determine obesity factors in overweight Chinese Americans. Intention to prevent becoming overweight was the key construct in the research process. It is important that nutrition educators provide the proper public policies in order to provide good tasting, low-cost, healthful food.

The TPB also shows good applicability in regards to antisocial behaviours, such as using deception in the online environment. However, as the TPB relies on self-reports, there is evidence to suggest the vulnerability of such data to self-presentational biases.

Another model

Another model of the health behaviour is that social cognitive theory (SCT). The study of this model found that choosing the proper gender, age, and ethnicity for models ensured the success of an AIDS campaign to inner city teenagers. This occurred because participants could identify with a recognizable peer, have a greater sense of self-efficacy, and then imitate the actions to learn the proper preventions and actions.

A study in 2009 looked to see if there would be an increase in breastfeeding by mothers of preterm infants when exposed to a breastfeeding educational program guided by SCT. Sixty mothers were randomly assigned to either participate in the program or they were given routine care.

The program consisted of SCT strategies that touched on all three SCT determinants: personal – showing models performing breastfeeding correctly to improve self-efficacy, behavioral –weekly check-ins for three months reinforced participants' skills, environmental – mothers were given an observational checklist to make sure they successfully completed the behavior.

The mothers exposed to the program showed significant improvement in their breastfeeding skills, were more likely to exclusively breastfeed, and had fewer problems then the mothers who were not exposed to the educational program.