This work begins by describing a general theory of value which embraces many of the commonly used valuation techniques that have been developed by economists (the time tradeoff, the standard gamble and willingness to pay). These techniques share the common characteristic that each expresses value in terms of a sacrifice that people are prepared to make in order to achieve the benefit being valued. Here, those benefits comprise improvements in health. In the time tradeoff, the sacrifice used to express the value people would attach to an improvement in health, is the amount of time they would give up to obtain it. Hitherto this technique has usually asked people to accept a premature death as the payment for better health. In the standard gamble, the most commonly used sacrifice that people are asked to make is a risk of death in exchange for better health. With 'willingness to pay', people are asked to value health in terms of the amount of money they would exchange for better health. Empirical evidence is produced from three major studies, involving 4739 respondents. These studies confirm that two health valuation techniques (the standard gamble and the time tradeoff) do indeed appear to be more closely related to each other than to other valuation methods, not based within the economic theory. Further work establishes the validity of an adaptation of the time tradeoff technique to overcome some of the principal disadvantages of the method as it has usually been applied hitherto. This adaptation asks people to value health by giving up time during much shorter and more immediate time intervals.

No description available.

A study was conducted to measure the effects of misanthropic attitudes towards physicians on the avoidance of health care for both treatment and preventive purposes. Demographic and other attitudinal and behavioral variables were also measured. Results indicated that income, age, health status, cancer preventing and detection beliefs and health care misanthropy were all related to subjects' health care avoidance for treatment-oriented purposes. Age, sex, use of blood pressure screening tests, and objective health status were significantly associated with avoidance of health care for preventing purposes. As well, those who rated high on misanthropy measures were more likely to patronize non-traditional health care providers than traditional medical doctors. A discussion of communication theories which may provide some explanation for health care avoidance is also given.

The effect of the perception of fitness on the acquisition of several basic interviewing skills was explored. Furthermore, the relationship between perceived and actual fitness was investigated, as well as the relationship between actual fitness and basic interviewing skills. The interviewing skills were eye contact, talk time, verbal following (topic change) and focus of subject verbalization. / The study consists of two parts. The first part explored the viability of altering an individual's perception of personal physical fitness. Fifty-four subjects were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control condition. Experimental subjects received positive feedback related to their physical fitness during a bicycle ergometer test of actual fitness. Control subjects received only neutral feedback. Results indicated that positive feedback worked to successfully alter perception of fitness among experimental subjects. / The second part of the study explored the effect of fitness perception on interviewing skill acquisition. Results indicated that increasing an individual's perception of personal fitness did not enhance skill acquisition. There was also no significant difference in skill acquisition among subjects with higher and lower levels of perceived fitness. It was further determined that no significant relationship existed between actual fitness and the acquisition of basic interviewing skills used in the study. Additionally, it was determined that although a significant relationship between perceived and actual fitness was evident for female subjects in the study, this relationship did not hold true for male subjects.

The focus of the research study was breast selfexamination. A randomized sample of 400 women living in Fort Wayne, Indiana and employed by a large corporation were surveyed to determine the relationship between frequency of breast self-examination and Health Belief Model variables. Susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, barriers and health motivation were measured by scales developed by Champion (1984). The instrument had been tested for reliability and validity.The variable of exercise was examined to determine if a relationship existed between exercise and frequency of breast self-examination. Individual items measured the frequency of breast self-examination and the methods of instruction.Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the variables of barriers and seriousness accounted for 27% of the variance for prediction of breast selfexamination. An insignificant Chi Square was obtained for the relationship between exercise and breast selfexamination. No demographic variables evidenced significance with breast self-examination.The findings of the study evidenced a relationship between the Health Belief Model and breast self-examination, thus supporting the theoretical framework of the study. / School of Nursing

Health promotion and the practice of health-promotive behaviors are significant factors in longevity and personal wellness. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between an individual's meaning of health and the practice of health-protective behaviors. Theoretical rationale was based on Pender's (1987) Health Promotion Model. Health promotion lifestyle was measured by the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) (Walker,Sechrist, & Pender, 1985). Individual definition of health was measured by the Meaning of Health instrument (Wieseke, 1990a).The sample included skilled and unskilled employees of a 300-bed regional hospital located in the Triad area of North Carolina. Interviews were conducted with a random sample of the respondents to obtain information on themes of the expressed meanings of the Health Concept. Significance of this study lies in determining individuals' motivation to practice health-protective behaviors and also in determining individuals' definition of health. Identification of lifestyle and health behaviors will help nurses and other health care workers determine what motivates an individual to perform health-protective behaviors.The results revealed a significant (p<.05) relationship between the level of overall functioning of all six subscales of the HPLP. Participation in health promoting behaviors was significantly related to physical sensation overall with a level of significance at p<.05. Participation in health-promoting behaviors was significantly related to emotional level overall with a level of significance at p<.01. There was no significance between age group and the HPLP.The conclusions drawn from this study were that the subjects were self-actualized and emotionally stable. The subjects take responsibility for health but do not take advantage of opportunities to monitor health. / School of Nursing

In this thesis a cognitive-behavioural model of health anxiety is used to investigate the psychological effects of bone densitometry, a health test which can provide an indication of future risk for osteoporosis. The cognitive-behavioural model of health anxiety proposes that people will experience relatively high levels of anxiety about their health if they have a tendency to make particularly negative interpretations of bodily variations and information which may be relevant to health. It was therefore predicted that people who have a pre-existing tendency to worry about their health would react more negatively to the results of bone density measurement. Consistent with this prediction, after a low bone density ("high risk") result, women who reported high levels of pre-existing health anxiety gave higher ratings of anxiety about osteoporosis and perceived likelihood of developing osteoporosis in the near future than women with low levels of preexisting health anxiety. (The two groups did not differ significantly in these ratings before the scan). Differences in the reactions of women with high and low levels of pre-existing health anxiety were still apparent 14 months after the scan. Women receiving a low bone density ("high risk") result showed a "minimization" of the seriousness of low bone density; when individual differences were investigated, it was found that women with very high levels of pre-existing health anxiety did not show minimization. Furthermore, after a "low risk" result, women with high levels of health anxiety were only temporarily reassured. It thus appears that the new measure of health anxiety which was used in this thesis may be useful in helping to identify people who are vulnerable to experiencing distress after health screening. More specific pre-scan measures of beliefs about osteoporosis (derived from the cognitive-behavioural model) also predicted reactions to bone density screening. For example, pre-scan beliefs about the seriousness or burden of low bone density / osteoporosis were stronger predictors of anxiety about osteoporosis three months after the scan than the actual scan result. Factors such as the type of interpretation the woman makes of her scan result, and whether the woman is having her first or second scan, were also found to influence psychological reactions.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 176-185). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1993. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [245]-254).

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.