Health Psych final

50% of people with a chronic illness

do not take prescribed meds

World health organization

increases effectiveness of adherence symptoms

Individual differences in perceiving symptoms

-sensitivity (pain tolerance)
-attention (internal focus)
-expectations and beliefs
-experience and knowledge
-emotions (optimists/pessimists)

Cognitive representation Models (common-sense)

how we perceive illness (symptoms, label, causes, timeline, consequences, and controllability)

CRM influences

preventative actions and reactions to symptoms

(also influenced by knowledge, beliefs, and experience

Lay referral system

-network of non-professionals who offer their impressions/experiences/recommendations based on symptoms
-"my sister had the same thing, you should get checked"

Younger children and older adults

use health services more

Aging stereotypes

interfere with seeking early medical treatment

Women have

lower pain thresholds

Low SES

report fewer doctor visits

Male indigenous and immigrants in Canada (adolescense)

use health care the least

Treatment delay

the time elapsed from when a person identifies symptoms up to when the person enters medical care

Appraisal delay

evaluating symptoms as a sign of illness (affected by severity)