Behavioural determinants of health and disease

2021 ◽  
pp. 213-228
Author(s):  
Lawrence W. Green ◽  
Kristin S. Hoeft ◽  
Robert A. Hiatt
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Reciprocal Determinism ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Behavioural Determinants ◽  
Prevention And Health Promotion ◽  
Biological Determinants ◽  
Health And Disease

This chapter reviews ways in which behaviour relates to the spectrum of health and disease determinants, from environmental to genetic, in shaping health outcomes. It builds on the previous chapters in recognizing the powerful influence of socioeconomic and cultural factors, especially poverty and discrimination, in influencing both behaviour and health. Many commentaries in the past four decades have attempted to correct the overemphasis on individual behavioural determinants of health by discounting and sometimes disparaging any focus on individual behaviour or personal responsibility in disease prevention and health promotion. This chapter seeks a middle ground, building on the growing understanding of the ecological and cultural context of the behaviour–health relationship. It seeks to integrate that knowledge in an approach to public health that acknowledges the reciprocal determinism of behavioural, environmental, and biological determinants rather than minimizing the importance of behaviour in these complex interactions.

Behavioural determinants of health and disease

2015 ◽  
pp. 218-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence W. Green ◽  
Robert A. Hiatt ◽  
Kristin S. Hoeft
Keyword(s):  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Behavioural Determinants ◽  
Health And Disease

scholarly journals Nutritional Components in Western Diet Versus Mediterranean Diet at the Gut Microbiota–Immune System Interplay. Implications for Health and Disease

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 699
Author(s):  
Cielo García-Montero ◽  
Oscar Fraile-Martínez ◽  
Ana M. Gómez-Lahoz ◽  
Leonel Pekarek ◽  
Alejandro J. Castellanos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune System ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Mediterranean Diet ◽  
Inflammatory Disorder ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Treatment And Prevention ◽  
Nutritional Components ◽  
Westernized Diet ◽  
Prevention And Health Promotion ◽  
Health And Disease

The most prevalent diseases of our time, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer) are rising worldwide. All of them share the condition of an “inflammatory disorder”, with impaired immune functions frequently caused or accompanied by alterations in gut microbiota. These multifactorial maladies also have in common malnutrition related to physiopathology. In this context, diet is the greatest modulator of immune system–microbiota crosstalk, and much interest, and new challenges, are arising in the area of precision nutrition as a way towards treatment and prevention. It is a fact that the westernized diet (WD) is partly responsible for the increased prevalence of NCDs, negatively affecting both gut microbiota and the immune system. Conversely, other nutritional approaches, such as Mediterranean diet (MD), positively influence immune system and gut microbiota, and is proposed not only as a potential tool in the clinical management of different disease conditions, but also for prevention and health promotion globally. Thus, the purpose of this review is to determine the regulatory role of nutritional components of WD and MD in the gut microbiota and immune system interplay, in order to understand, and create awareness of, the influence of diet over both key components.

Individualism and Collectivism: What Differences between Portuguese and Romanian Adolescents?

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 555-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ciochinã ◽  
Luísa Faria
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Anonymous Questionnaire ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Individualism And Collectivism ◽  
Two Independent Variables

This article presents the results of a series of preliminary comparisons, between the Portuguese and Romanian cultural contexts, on the individualism-collectivism (IND/COL) cultural dimension. The IND/COL was evaluated with the Individualism-Collectivism Questionnaire – ICQ –, constructed in New Zealand by Shulruf, Hattie and Dixon (2003, Anonymous Questionnaire of Self-Attitudes –AQSA), and adapted to the Portuguese and Romanian contexts by Ciochină and Faria (2007), using studies of confirmatory factor analysis. The ICQ composed by 26 items, 15 evaluating the IND scale– with three subscales (Uniqueness, Competition and Responsibility) –, and 11 evaluating the COL scale – with two subscales (Harmony and Advice) –, was administered to 395 subjects, 200 Portuguese and 195 Romanian, 10th and 12th graders. On the whole, in the Portuguese and Romanian samples, the multivariate and univariate statistical analyses evidenced the existence of two independent variables – gender and cultural context –, with significant effects, main and of interaction, on the scales and subscales of the ICQ. The results were discussed taking into consideration the specificities of the educational systems in the two cultural contexts, which are inevitably shaped by socio-cultural factors characteristic of the two countries considered in the present study – Portugal and Romania.

scholarly journals Biological determinants of health: Genes, microbes, and metabolism exemplars of nursing science

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 506-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin P. Ferranti ◽  
Ruth Grossmann ◽  
Angela Starkweather ◽  
Margaret Heitkemper
Keyword(s):  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Nursing Science ◽  
Biological Determinants

scholarly journals Learning from health care in other countries: the prospect of comparative research

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Van Teijlingen ◽  
Cecilia Benoit ◽  
Ivy Bourgeault ◽  
Raymond DeVries ◽  
Jane Sandall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Reproductive Health Care ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Cross National ◽  
The Way

It is widely accepted that policy-makers (in Nepal and elsewhere) can learn valuable lessons from the way other countries run their health and social services. We highlight some of the specific contributions the discipline of sociology can make to cross-national comparative research in the public health field. Sociologists call attention to often unnoticed social and cultural factors that influence the way national reproductive health care systems are created and operated. In this paper we address questions such as: ‘Why do these health services appear to be operating successfully in one country, but not another?’; ‘What is it in one country that makes a particular public health intervention successful and how is the cultural context different in a neighbouring country?’ The key examples in this paper focus on maternity care and sex education in the Netherlands and the UK, as examples to highlight the power of cross-national research. Our key messages are: a) Cross-national comparative research can help us to understand the design and running of health services in one country, say Nepal, by learning from a comparison with other countries, for example Sri Lanka or India. b) Cultural factors unique to a country affect the way that reproductive health care systems operate. c) Therefore,we need to understand why and how services work in a certain cultural context before we start trying to implement them in another cultural context.

scholarly journals Social determinants of health and disease: the role of small-scale projects illustrated by the Koster health project in Sweden and Ametra in Peru

1992 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-239
Author(s):  
Maj-Lis Follér
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Ecological Approach ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Subjective Feeling ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Pluralistic Society ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Health Project

Two different health projects are evaluated in this paper. The Koster Health project taking place at the Koster Islands in Sweden and the Ametra project going on among the Shipibo-Conibo in Peru. Both projects focus more on the determinants of health than on sickness and more on the individual's subjective feeling of illness than on the biomedically "objectively" recognizable disease. "Mobilization" and "responsibility"for the individual's own health are central concepts in both projects. In the theoretical part of the paper a human ecological perspective is suggested to analyse the interaction between human health and environmental changes. The author emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary research when evaluating how the external determinants from the natural and social environment affect human beings and health. The human ecological approach is seen as a complement to the biomedical research. Health and disease are two poles in a continuum. In a pluralistic society we should struggle towards the pole of health.

scholarly journals Medical students’ affective reactions to workplace experiences: qualitative investigation in a Chinese cultural context

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huei-Ming Yeh ◽  
Wan-Hsi Chien ◽  
Daniel Fu-Chang Tsai ◽  
Tim Dornan ◽  
Ling-Ping Lai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Compassion Fatigue ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cultural Hegemony ◽  
Affective Reactions ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Thick Description ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Workplace Experiences

Abstract Background Compassion fatigue, unprofessional behavior, and burnout are prompting educators to examine medical students’ affective reactions to workplace experiences. Attributes of both students and learning environments are influenced by their socio-cultural backgrounds. To prevent ‘educational cultural hegemony’, opinion leaders have advocated research in under-represented cultural contexts, of which Asia is a prime example. This study aimed to broaden the discourse of medical education by answering the question: how do students react affectively to workplace experiences in a Chinese cultural context? Methods In 2014, the authors recruited five female and seven male Taiwanese clerkship students to make 1–2 audio-diary recordings per week for 12 weeks describing affective experiences, to which they had consciously reacted. The authors analyzed transcripts of these recordings thematically in the original Mandarin and prepared a thick description of their findings, including illustrative extracts. An English-speaking education researcher helped them translate this into English, constantly comparing the interpretation with the original, untranslated data. Results (Mis) matches between their visions of future professional life and clerkship experiences influenced participants’ affective reactions, thoughts, and behaviors. Participants managed these reactions by drawing on a range of personal and social resources, which influenced the valence, strength, and nature of their reactions. This complex set of interrelationships was influenced by culturally determined values and norms, of which this report provides a thick description. Conclusion To avoid educational cultural hegemony, educators need to understand professional behavior in terms of complex interactions between culturally-specific attributes of individual students and learning environments. Trial registration The ethics committee of the National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital gave research ethics approval (20130864RINB).

Cyprus Health Education Curriculum from “victim blaming to empowerment”

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 392-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soula Ioannou ◽  
Christiana Kouta ◽  
Angeliki Andreou
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Victim Blaming ◽  
Education Curriculum ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – Health promotion can fall into a victim blaming approach and put social pressure on particular students who could be marginalized due to their personal, economical, cultural, social or ethnic characteristics, for example, students who are obese, drug users or HIV carriers. The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss ways in which the design of the newly reformed Cyprus Health Education Curriculum (CHEC) attempted to protect learners from victim blaming. Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes and reflects on the learning objectives, teaching methods and teaching activities of the CHEC. Findings – The paper gives specific examples of how the design of the CHEC attempts to ensure that the curriculum does not promote victim blaming. It describes learning objectives, content, suggested teaching methods and activities from three thematic areas of the curriculum which are particularly susceptible to victim blaming: “food and health”, “emotional health” and “family planning, sexual and reproductive health”. It discusses how the design of the CHEC attempts to encourage educators to address the underlying social and environmental determinants of health and thus avoid stigmatization. Practical implications – The paper can be useful for curriculum designers and school educators. It describes how the design of a health education curriculum and health education lessons can refrain from burdening the individual with total personal responsibility for health behaviour and lifestyle. Social implications – Understanding and implementing the basic learning themes and objectives of the CHEC has social and community implications. It promotes collective responsibility, emphasizing a non-blaming and community approach. The design of the CHEC challenges the idea of free choice, acknowledges the social determinants of health and promotes students’ empowerment as active members of society. Originality/value – The originality of this paper lies in the description and reflection of the design of the first health education curriculum in Cyprus, which attempts to secure learners from victim blaming in its implementation. The aspects of the design of the CHEC described in this paper may be applicable to other European countries.

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