Health Beliefs and Self-Destructive Behaviors

This assignment examines the connection between health beliefs and self-destructive behaviors, particularly self-harm. It delves into relevant theories like the Health Belief Model and considers ethical implications for nurses interacting with patients engaging in such behaviors. Students are tasked with researching and analyzing these concepts, drawing upon provided sources.

Health Studies

1.1. Explain the concept of risky lifestyle (Why people engage in behavior that can harm
them.)
Answer- Risky lifestyle is the factor which contributes towards declining the quality of
life and is a result of low self-control (Svensson & Pauwels, 2017). People engage in
behavior that can harm them due to the reason of suffering from disappointments,
rejection and failures. They are reduced to being miserable which may be a result of
extreme experiences such as physical abuse, criticism, some routine experiences such as
discouragement from the family members on expression of emotions or experiences
outside the home such as bullying at school (Wupperman, 2015). They suffer from
depression, low self- esteem and feel uneasy if they do not have control over their
environment. Therefore, they engage in behaviors that provide them pleasure for a
moment so that they can avoid pain but these practices are destructive in the long run
(Veague & Collins, 2009). Risky lifestyle activities include drinking, drug use, smoking
cigarettes, frequenting bars and clubs, gambling and so on (Burgess, Regehr & Roberts,
2011).
1.2. Evaluate the effectiveness of a health Promotion campaign. (Method, targets, language
etc.)
Answer- Health promotion campaigns are the public health programs which
communicates a broad range of health messages to the audiences through the adoption of
various methods and strategies such as community development, professional education,
use of paid advertising (radio, print media, television, direct mail, etc.), use of existing
institutions (schools, universities, etc.), social marketing, etc. The campaigns mostly
include adults and adolescents while some of the campaigns address different age classes
of the population at one time. It is generally believed that the new generations (6-18
years) can be a better target since children and young people are more adaptable to
change than adults and more approachable to environmental stimulus and more exposed
to media. It is required to be addressed in the language which is normally understandable
by the target audience of the campaign. The effectiveness of a health promotion depends

upon the policies that support changes in social and physical environment by educating
individuals regarding healthy practices with the help of various strategies such as
leaflets, posters, events, etc. The target market must be capable of understanding the
threat posed by the health problem along with having the knowledge, motivation and
skill for avoiding the threat to derive the benefits of a healthy life.
1.3. Analyze the multi-dimensional concept of health. (Advantage and disadvantage)
Answer- The multi-dimensional concept of health specifies that there are some important
dimensions of health which provide the full picture of the health of an individual and
change in any one affects another (PDHPE, 2017). The dimensions of health are
physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual. Health can be defined in different
senses depending upon the perception, norms, social class, cultural values and religious
beliefs of an individual. In a broader perspective, it relates to the state of complete
physical, mental and social well-being of a person.
Physical- This dimension covers the bodily aspect of health (Wespath, 2017). It refers to
optimum physical conditions with the absence of injuries and diseases. It is
advantageous as a person who is physically healthy can proceed towards other respective
goals in life as it is the basic requirement of performing any activity whether physical or
mental.
Mental- It refers to the intellectual aspect of health. Increased mental health often results
in increased physical activities. Improved mental performance also result in increased
self-esteem of an individual which I turn provides confidence and improved spiritual
health. On the other hand, poorer mental health or mental illness can result in lack of
confidence in an individual.
Emotional- It defines the general emotional state of an individual. A good emotional
health acts as an advantage by making them act more confidently in their social circle
and perform various physical activities more actively. On the other hand, this dimension
makes a person week physically if the emotional health is not good (MD Health, 2017).
Social- it allows a person to make and maintain strong relationships with others. Social
health encourage a person towards maintain a good physical heath and brings confidence

in life. On the other hand, a bad social life can completely isolate a person or make them
question their purpose in life.
Spiritual- It is related to the overall purpose of an individual in life. It affects the
emotional and mental health and encourages to maintain a proper prospective in life.
2.1 Explain the principles which shape decision making in medicine/nursing. (The benefits
and cost)
Answer- The ethical principles which shape decision making in medicine/nursing are
respect for autonomy, fairness, justice, truthfulness, non –maleficence (not to harm) and
beneficence (to do good) (Parker, 2007). In order to influence a patient from the
perspective of healthcare, the knowledge of the ethical principles such as beneficence and
autonomy acts an important player in the process of decision making regarding patient
care. The application such principles are required to be done in an atmosphere full of
openness, respect, honesty and caring. Adherence to these principles of beneficence and
autonomy forms the basis of ethical decision making. The patients must be provided the
required autonomy so as to enable them to make choices regarding the treatment and care
irrespective of the recommendations and other medical opinions. They are also allowed
to even refuse a treatment while making personal decisions regarding health care. These
principles are beneficial as they are in the interest of the patients and the medical
professionals and nurses and performs the function of building the trust of the patients in
the health care system.
2.2 Apply the principles to ethical dilemmas.
Answer- Nurses and medical professionals faces ethical dilemmas on regular basis
regarding ‘what should be done’ in a patient- care situation. Ethical dilemma arises for a
health care professional or a nurse when a situation is faced regarding the discharge of a
homeless patient suffering from pneumonia whose condition would get worse after the
discharge. In this situation the ethical principle of justice provides a way by guiding them
for fair and equal treatment for all individuals while suffering from the problem of
limited societal and organization financial resources (Advanced Nursing Practice Toolkit,

2017). Therefore, it is required that the healthcare dilemmas must be openly discussed
among the nurses and other team members with the view to create an organizational
climate where the principles of ethics can be used in a systematic manner for the purpose
of decision making. The process of refining and addressing the ethical dilemmas is a part
of ethical decision making. Similarly, the principles of beneficence and autonomy are
considered as the foundation of the process of ethical decision making which teaches to
respect the autonomy of the patients and provide them he right to make choices in terms
of treatment and care irrespective of the medical opinions and recommendations (Loyola
University New Orleans, 2017). In various situations such principles guide the nurses and
medical professionals to solve ethical dilemmas related to whether to force the patients to
make heavy payments before starting the operation or rely on the principles of non-
maleficence and beneficence and not hiding any material facts from them by following
principle of truthfulness.
3 Analyze the effectiveness of a range of complementary therapies (What the different
from alternative therapies).
Answer- Complementary therapies act as a means of support which is completely safe
and effective. Such therapies such as acupuncture, reflexology, message, reiki and herbal
medicines are more cost-effective than the conventional medication alone. They are
grounded on the interaction between the body, mind and energy systems and therefore are
found useful for the purpose of treating conditions such as insomnia, migraine, asthma
and stress. Complementary therapies are considered effective due to the fact that it helps
in attaining and upholding good health and relaxes the disappointment received from the
conventional medical practices and poor doctor-patient relations (Better Health, 2017).
Also, the results of complementary therapies are subjective rather than being objective,
such as increased survival time of the patients. The patients are continually examined
throughout the course of their illness through the use of complementary therapy (Care
Search, 2017).

There is a very minor difference between complementary and alternative
therapies. When therapies or treatment are done together with a conventional medicine, it
is known as complementary medicine since the both the practices complement each
other. On the other hand, when the use of only alternative therapy or medicine is made or
when it is used as a replacement for conventional medicine then it is referred to as
alternative therapy.
4.1 Explain the characteristics of a given health belief model (e.g. Becker et al 1977).
Answer- The concept of health belief model specifies that the health behavior of an
individual is governed and determined by the perception and personal beliefs regarding a
disease and the various policies available to reduce its occurrence. In other words, health
belief model is a psychological model which makes frequent attempts. Four perceptions
were considered as the main constructs of the model: perceived seriousness, perceived
barriers, perceived benefits and perceived susceptibility. Some more constructs have been
added to the model for its expansion in order to include motivating factors, cues to action
and self- efficacy. Some identified areas where the application of health belief model is
made include preventive health behavior and health risk behaviors as well as
contraceptive practices and vaccination, sick role behaviors and clinic role including the
visits of physicians for various reasons (University of Twente, 2017). As far as Becker et
al 1977 is concerned, preventive behaviors were initially aimed by the model but with the
passage of time it was extended to find out the correlates of health service usage and
loyalty to medical advice. The formula for the overall behavioral evaluation was not
developed and therefore it was acclaimed that the perceived benefits were weighted
against perceived barriers (Charles, 2015).
42 Analyze how the perception of severity, susceptibility, benefits barriers and health
motivation are applied in behavior related to health.
Answer- Perception of severity or seriousness defines the belief of an individual with
regard to the seriousness of a disease. Such perception is based on medical information or

knowledge or it may depend upon the belief a person has regarding the difficulties
created by such disease and their effects in his/her life. Accordingly, the behavior of the
individual towards their health is changed. Perception of susceptibility or personal risk
encourages people to adopt healthier behavior when they are at risk for a disease and take
steps in order to prevent it from happening. When people do not find themselves at risk
or low risk of susceptibility, unhealthy behavior tends to exist (Jones & Bartlett Learning,
2017). Perceived benefits encourage an individual to adopt healthier practices by the way
of adopting a new behavior which will significantly result in reducing the risk of
developing a disease. Similarly, a perceived barrier amounts to the evaluation of hurdles
in the way of adopting a new behavior and act as the most significant factor in
determining behavior change. For the purpose of adopting a new behavior, an individual
need to establish a belief that the advantages of such new behavior outweigh the
consequences of continuing the old behavior. Moreover, health motivation encourages an
individual to adopt healthy practices for acquiring the benefits that will emerge in the
long run and therefore change their behavior towards health (Gochman, 2013).

References
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