As a consequence of the Epidemiological Transition that we learned about in Module 2, people are living longer, and the primary sources of mortality have shifted from acute infectious disease to chronic illnesses like heart disease and cancer. Although this trend is beneficial in many ways, it has made preventing and treating disease more complex. A major reason for this is that the risk factors for chronic diseases can be numerous, diverse, and can accumulate over the lifecourse. Accordingly, one of the prevention strategies used by clinicians and studies by medical sociologists involve lifestyle changes like smoking cessation, limiting alcohol consumption, sufficient sleep and exercise, safety measures (like wearing) seatbelts, and stress management. Changing behavior has proven difficult, however. Many public service announcements (PSAs) have attempted to change behaviors like smoking, driving under the influence, and using drugs by educating the public on the risks associated with these behaviors have met with limited success.
This writing assignment will be a group discussion. Based on chapter 8 (Health Behavior and Lifestyles) discuss the following:
- What is the difference between a health behavior and a health lifestyle?
- Using the theoretical approaches of Weber, Bourdieu, and Cockerham, what are some reasons that change behavior through public education campaigns (like PSAs) have not been more effective?
- Select a health behavior discussed in chapter 8 and suggest an intervention strategy for either stopping a risky behavior or adopting a health-positive behavior.
Your original post should have the following:
- A clearly stated position or opinion based on the prompt
- Two or more supporting points (evidence or reasons for an opinion)
- May use evidence or material from external sources as long they are cited appropriately
- Is approximately a paragraph in length (at least 300 words).
Respond to at least one other student’s discussion post. Response posts can either address the question or issue raised in the original post or respond to the position and/or evidence cited in the original post. A good response will:
- Identify strengths or flaws in reasoning
- Respectfully express agreement or disagreement with the original post
- Introduce any additional evidence, points, or arguments that should be considered. (You may use evidence or material from external sources as long as you cite them appropriately.)
- Response posts should be approximately a short paragraph in length (at least 200 words)