Environmental factors and Health Behaviours

Geographical Location

Physical area where someone lives, such as urban, rural or remote communities. It affects access to services, infrastructrue and healthcare

What are factors influencing lcoation?

Distance from healthcare facilities

Availabilitiy of transport

Number of healht professionals in the area

Access to health eudcation and programs

Correlations between where an indiiidual lives and their health outcomes

People living and rural and remote locations experiences

• low life expectancy

• high rates of hospitalisations

• high rates of risky behaviours such as smoking and drinking atz unsafe levels

• decreased access to primary health services

• low rates of year 12 completion

• high rates of domestic violence

• high rates of chronic condition (arthiritis, mental, behavioural condition)

How geographical location health in Australian

Limited access to rural and remote areas

Lower health outocmes

Access to prevention services is limited

Limited access to rural and remote areas

• Fewer primary healthcare providers

• long waiting times and travel distances for specialist care

• Emergency services may be delayed due to the location

Lower health outocmes

• Hihger ratea of preventable disease and death

• Increased reliance on serivces such as Royal Flying Doctor Service

• Many aboriginal australians rely on Aboriginal Medical Services which may be under resourced or far away

Access to prevention services is limited

Fewer screening programs

Less exposure to public health education campaigns

Low immunisation and mental support coverage

What are social networks

Social networks are the groups of people a person interacts with, including family, friends, peers and online communities

How do social networks influence health?

• Sharing values, opinions and behaviours

• Offering emotional support and applying peer pressure

• affecting decisions about diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol and healthcare ues

What are health norms?

Learned behaviours or attitudes considered normal within a group

How are health norms adopted?

Observation of what others do

Interaction and shared outines

reinforcement of group-approved behaviours

tWhat are examples of social networks?

• Friends or family may influence whehter someone seeks medical help - for exampel a person might delay seeing a doctor if their peers downplay the seriousness of symptoms

• health advice may be ignored if it goes aainst the beliefs or havit of someones close social grup

How do social networks reinforce behaviour?

When certainn actions are encouraged, praised or repeated by others in our network, we’re more lieklyt o adopt them ourself

over time, reinforcements can shape oru beleifa about what is normal, acceptable or desireable

Lead to healthy havits such as regular exercise or unhealthy ones, like smoking or skipping meals

Exampels of positive reinforcement

Repeating a behaviour bc it brings.a reward → doing osomething to avoid discomfort or criticism

going to gym because friends compliment you progreess → quitting vaping to stop being left out of non=vaping social circles