Seeking and Receiving Health Care

Seeking and Receiving Health Care CHAPTER 3 Seeking and Receiving Health Care I. Seeking Medical Attention Lecture Outline How people determine their health status when they don't feel well depends on their social and cultural background, their interpretation of symptoms, and their concept of what constitutes illness. Illness behavior consists of those activities taken by people who feel sick and are directed toward determining health status before an official diagnosis. Sick role behavior consists of those activities exhibited by people after they have been diagnosed and are aimed at trying to get well. A. Illness Behavior Many people experience symptoms that may signal illness; some seek help for these symptoms and others do not. Six possibilities explain how people respond to symptoms. 1. Personal factors include people's way of viewing their own body, their level of stress, and their personality traits. Stress affects people’s readiness to seek care—that is, people who experience a great deal of stress are more likely to seek health care than those under less stress, even with equal symptoms. 2. Gender also plays a role in seeking health care, with women more likely than men to seek treatment. Women tend to be more sensitive to their bodies than men and also to report more non-life threatening symptoms. In addition, women's gender role allows them to seek assistance more readily than men’s gender role permits. 3. Age is another factor in seeking treatment, with young and middle-age people being most reluctant to check out symptoms. Older adults must decide if their symptoms are the result of aging or disease. In many situations, this attribution is difficult to make, and their uncertainty make delay seeking health care. Multiple Choice Questions 48 lOMoAR cPSD| Seeking and Receiving Health Care 1. Which of these statements expresses a healthy attitude toward seeking medical care? a. "I believe that if I feel well, I'm healthy." b. "Only severe symptoms of a disease are worth worrying about." c. "When I don't understand my doctor’s explanations or instructions, I'll ask questions until I do understand.” d. "When facing a stressful medical procedure, I try not to think about it." ANS: c REF: Seeking Medical Attention 2. Although the terms "disease" and "illness" are often used interchangeably, they have somewhat different meanings. Technically, disease refers to a. psychological disorders. b. the experience of being sick. c. the process of physical damage. d. an existing, official diagnosis. ANS: c REF: Seeking Medical Attention 3. In the United States, people are considered to be ill a. after they have been officially diagnosed by a health care provider. b. if they have an elevated temperature for at least 24 hours. c. when a disease process first begins. d. whenever they feel sick. ANS: a REF: Seeking Medical Attention