Fundação de Apoio a Pesquisa e à Inovação Tecnológica do Estado de Sergipe - FAPITEC/SE / The present dissertation aimed to investigate beliefs and other constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), to developing a model able to identifying the main predictors of the intention to perform Digital Rectal Exam (DRE). For this, we did three studies. In the Study 1, a theoretical chapter on TAP and its applicability to human health behaviors was carried out, with emphasis on the behavior of the ETR. The Studies 2 and 3 were empirical, men between 40 and 70 years old participated, dividing them into two groups: the men that did the DRE x the men that didn’t do the DRE. In the Study 2, we aimed to identify the main beliefs of men about DRE, comparing the responses pattern by group. Here, a questionnaire with sociodemographic and clinical questions and the free word evocation technique were used. We found that men who had already done DRE tended to evoke more terms for the susceptibility and severity of prostate cancer, while men who had never done emphasized the susceptibility to cancer and also the benefits of doing the DRE. These data showed how each group looks at the DRE, allowing for occasional interventions. The Study 3 investigated the predictive model of TPB (attitudes, norms and perception of control), aiming to identify the main predictors of the intention to doing the DRE. A scale with TPB constructs was used, as well as sociodemographic and clinical issues. In short, the results revealed that the attitude is better to predict the intent of men who had never done the DRE, while the norms are better to predict the intention of men who had already done so. And the perception of control seemed to work with the male audience whatever if they did or not the exam. Finally, we understood that TPB and the study of beliefs can help social and health researchers to understand the single factors that induce a person to engage in the behavior of interest, in this case, to understand how men engage in the DRE. / A presente dissertação buscou investigar crenças e os demais construtos da Teoria da Ação Planejada (TAP), visando desenvolver um modelo capaz de identificar os principais preditores da intenção de realizar o Exame do Toque Retal (ETR). Para isto, realizou-se três estudos. No Estudo 1 foi realizado um capítulo teórico sobre a TAP e sua aplicabilidade a comportamentos de saúde do homem, com ênfase no comportamento de realização do ETR. Já os estudos 2 e 3 foram empíricos, realizados com homens entre 40 e 70 anos de idade, dividindo-os em dois grupos: Fez o ETR x Não fez o ETR. No Estudo 2, procurou-se identificar as principais crenças de homens acerca do ETR, comparando padrão de respostas por grupo. Aqui, utilizou-se um questionário com questões sociodemográficas e clínicas, além da técnica de evocação livre de palavras. Constatou-se que os homens que já fizeram o ETR costumaram evocar mais termos voltados à suscetibilidade e gravidade do câncer de próstata, enquanto que os homens que não o fizeram destacou a suscetibilidade ao câncer e, também, os benefícios de realizar o ETR. Tais dados mostraram como cada grupo vê o ETR, possibilitando intervenções pontuais. Já o Estudo 3 investigou o modelo preditivo da TAP (atitudes, normas e percepção de controle), visando identificar os principais preditores da intenção de realizar o ETR. Foi utilizada uma escala com os construtos da TAP, além de questões sociodemográficas e clínicas. Em suma, os resultados revelaram que a atitude prevê melhor a intenção de homens que nunca fizeram o ETR, enquanto as normas preveem melhor a intenção de homens que já o realizaram. Já a percepção de controle pareceu funcionar junto ao público masculino independentemente de ter feito ou não o exame. Enfim, entende-se que a TAP e o estudo das crenças podem auxiliar os pesquisadores sociais e da saúde a entender os fatores únicos que induzem uma pessoa a engajar-se no comportamento de interesse, neste caso, entender como homens se engajam na realização do ETR.

Research over the last several decades offers clear evidence that mothers experience considerable pressure in carrying out the expectations of contemporary mothering, including expanded responsibilities relating to child and family health (Hays, 1996; Wolf, 2013). While we know that these pressures produce negative impacts, we know less about the strategies and tools mothers use to cope with these anxieties as they try to "do it right" (Villalobos, 2014). At the same time, research suggests that mothering is increasingly digitally-embedded, as mothers look to the internet and social media for information and support (Schoppe-Sullivan et al., 2017). This study thus explores how mothers use Facebook groups to inform health and parenting decisions. Drawing on data generated through a digital ethnography incorporating 18 months of participant observation, discourse analysis, and interviews with 29 mothers across two sets of divergent, specialized sets of Facebook groups (focusing on “evidence-based” and “natural” health and parenting), I advance three key, interconnected arguments. First, I apply theories of boundaries and boundary-work to show how specialized Facebook groups become persuasive ideological spaces for mothers who seek certainty around their healthcare beliefs and decisions. Next, I apply the concept of echo chambers to argue that mothers involved with these specialized Facebook groups engage in siloed health learning that shapes health beliefs, decisions, and even conversations with healthcare providers. Finally, I show how mothers engage in a form of digitally-mediated emotion management by turning Facebook groups that confirm their parenting ideology in order to alleviate anxieties associated with neoliberalism and individualist parenting, and to feel better about their maternal performance. I ultimately conclude that the turn to digital platforms for certainty, reassurance, and good feelings is both a logical expression and a reflection of the latest wave of maternal responsibilization.

The thesis deals with health beliefs of adults exercising tai chi chuan. The theoretical part defines basic concepts of the subject and in the practical part with the help of case studies characteristics of respondents and episodic individual interviews explores whether exercise TCC improves quality of the life and health of the respondents in their health beliefs according to my proposed theoretical models of the process of realizing health. The substance of this pilot study is to discover whether long-term exercise TCC helps exercisers respondents to change their attitude to health and lifestyle. And what changes they are experiencing.