Theories and Methods for Health Promotion - Essay Example

? Section/# Theory and Analysis For purposes of this brief essay, the will discuss three theories of health promotion as a means of understanding what each of these represents as well as understanding the underlying meanings that they portend for the healthcare practitioner. Each of these theories ultimately represents ways in which the healthcare practitioner can seek to become better at performing their job and within the context of key interventions. As a function of this, the three theories that have been chosen for analysis, comparison, contrast, and discussion are: the social cognitive theory, the theory of reasoned action, and the theory of planned behavior. As with any theory, the three that will herein be presented each represent their own unique strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities as well as providing specific application for objective use. In this way, the analysis will seek to provide a level of discussion on these topics as well as merely expounding upon the theories themselves. The first theory that will be discussed is that of the social cognitive theory. This theory is one which espouses the belief that portions of an individual’s knowledge can ultimately be traced back to their ability to observe and learn from others. Naturally, such a theory in and of itself is not complex. It is common to observe many situations within the healthcare setting as well as others in which learning by observing is common and even encouraged. However, this particular theory is perhaps greatest of all that will herein be discussed due to the fact that many a new nurse or doctor has condensed many years of medical training, memorization, and practice into the knowledge that can be extracted from observing a veteran perform in a way that they otherwise would not (Thompson & Dahling 2012). Naturally, even though the human mind is tempted to believe that the social cognitive theory only represents situations in which learning is imparted in a positive way, this can also take place in a negative way as a means of interacting with an individual and impressing upon them that the way that they have seen something done is necessarily the incorrect way. Such an approach is therefore perfectly suited to application within seeking to promote health activities, espouse mission development, program evaluation, and setting goals within the effected community which employs such a tactic. Such a theory has regularly been utilized, and to an astonishing level of success, within situations pertaining to public health education. The secondary theory which will herein be analyzed is that of the theory of reasoned action. Much akin to the common sense approach that the social cognitive theory evoked, the theory of reasoned action is one which predicts human behavioral action based upon attitude and prior behavior mechanisms. In short, past actions work towards developing a future model of behavior. This approach’s greatest strength is of course its ability to help predict future action and the means by which behavior has a verifiable and measurable impact upon the way in which decisions and choices are made, oftentimes outside of the bounds of rationality. However, the most blatant drawback to such an approach is the fact that it cannot adequately predict the unknown and therefore falls short in many instances. As such, attitude, behavioral norms, and subjective intention are the three main determinants that guide the theory of reasoned action. The theory itself has been put into place as a means of drawing inference on human behavior with topics such as dieting; as noted in Chen et al 2012 study on behavioral approaches to healthcare education (Chen et al 2012). Similarly, although the theory itself present an array of strengths, the greatest strength that it has within the field of medical application is likely with regards to goal setting and mission development due to the fact that it is the one of the three that have been selected that place such a profound level of importance upon the way in which human behavior and attitude ultimately effect a given outcome (Spink et al 2012). Finally, this analysis will consider the theory of planned behavior. The theory of planned behavior can ultimately be defined as a type of link between attitude and behavior. As the other two theories which have been discussed previously evidenced, they have both sought to explain the theoretical approaches based exclusively either upon attitude or behavior. However, such a combined approach helps to lend a level of analysis into key areas of human action, learning, and prediction that the other two do not. The ultimate strength of such a combination approach has been noted by a number of researchers that point to this particular theory as being the one that displays the highest degree of predictive quality. As a result of this inherent strength, it has and continues to be applied to the areas of health promotion, mission development, goal and objective setting and a litany of other tangential areas that touch upon the ways in which people, attitudes, ideas, behavior, and healthcare provision takes place across the spectrum. Although it does display quite an array of strengths, the theory does have the limitation of oftentimes overlooking certain powerful emotional variables such as but not limited to: fear, anger, and general influences of mood. The theory itself has been extensively utilized within the field of environmental psychology as a means of drawing inference upon situations that the other theories necessarily fall short on (Richardson et al 2012). In short, the theories that have thus far been discussed do not present an exhaustive or complete discussion of the range of theories that exist within the field of health promotion; nor do they represent and exhaustive study upon the full range and breadth to which each of these can ultimately be utilized. Rather, the theories that have briefly been listed help to engage the reader with the understanding that each of these represents a unique way in which the practitioner can utilize certain theories within certain situations as a means of drawing inference on key issues and problems that may exist. By seeking to fit the correct theory, or even set of theories, to the correct usage, the process of healthcare promotion and engagement is ultimately furthered. References Chen, Y., Siegler, J., & Csillag, J. (2012). THEORY OF REASONED ACTION FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT CAPABILITIES: A BEHAVIORAL APPROACH. RAE: Revista De Administracao De Empresas, 52(5), 546-564. Richardson, K., Rosenthal, M., & Burak, L. (2012). Exercise as Punishment: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior. American Journal Of Health Education, 43(6), 356-365. Spink, K. S., Wilson, K. S., & Bostick, J. M. (2012). Theory of Planned Behavior and Intention to Exercise: Effects of Setting. American Journal Of Health Behavior, 36(2), 254-264 Thompson, M. N., & Dahling, J. J. (2012). Perceived Social Status and Learning Experiences in Social Cognitive Career Theory. Journal Of Vocational Behavior, 80(2), 351-361. Read More