Theories

People, organizations, or societies adopt new ideas or behaviors at different rates, and the rate of adoption is affected by some predictable factors.

The Ecological Systems theory states that human development is influenced by the different types of environmental systems. Formulated by famous psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner, this theory helps us understand why we may behave differently when we … Read more

Describes the relationship between socioeconomic status and health in communities, by saying that SES is the underlying reason for health inequities, as SES dictates the access to resources, education, jobs, etc.

Impact of persuasive communication, which can be part of a social marketing campaign to increase positive health behaviors, is mediated by three phases of message processing– attention to the message, comprehension of the content, and … Read more

This theory focuses on three components that result in behaviour change: information, motivation and behaviour skills. Information relates to the basic knowledge about a medical condition, and is an essential prerequisite for behaviour change but … Read more

Intersectionality theory was developed to address the non-additivity of effects of sex/gender and race/ethnicity but extendable to other domains, allows for the potential to study health and disease at different intersections of identity, social position, … Read more

A strong personality predisposition influenced by race to cope actively with psychosocial environmental stressors. High levels of John Henryism can contribute to hypertension.

Health inequities are the result from a disparity in experiences/resources that have roots in the material world. Includes underinvestments in public policy and healthcare.

Certain processes and strategies might increase the chances that healthy policies and programs will be adopted and maintained in formal organizations.

According to this theory, behaviour change may be achieved by appealing to an individual’s fears. Three components of fear arousal are postulated: the magnitude of harm of a depicted event; the probability of that event’s … Read more

The Relapse Prevention Therapy model provides a strategy for anticipating barriers and other factors contributing to participant relapse. The Model provides program participants with coping skills. Once program participants process the necessary knowledge to adapt … Read more

Inequities exist because minorities are more likely than whites to live in communities that are deprived and lack the necessary infrastructure for a healthy lifestyle. One study demonstrated an association between the location of food … Read more

High prevalence of social or environmental health risks in minority communities lead to a higher chance of disease/death. Some studies have found that environmental hazards disproportionately exist in minority communities. Other studies have focused on … Read more

The social cognitive theory explains how people acquire and maintain certain behavioral patterns, while also providing the basis for intervention strategies (Bandura, 1997). Evaluating behavioral change depends on the factors environment, people, and behavior. SCT … Read more

Social disorganization is defined as an inability of community members to achieve shared values or to solve jointly experienced problems (Bursik, 1988). In recent decades, the themes of social disorganization theory have been more clearly … Read more

Racial inequality poses health risks for minority populations, which contributes to greater chances of health problems at older ages, especially linked to black women bearing children with lower birthweights than white women as mother’s age … Read more

Theory of Reasoned Action suggests that a person’s behavior is determined by his/her intention to perform the behavior and that this intention is, in turn, a function of his/her attitude toward the behavior and his/her … Read more

Ajzen and Fishbein formulated in 1980 the theory of reasoned action (TRA). This resulted from attitude research from the Expectancy Value Models. Ajzen and Fishbein formulated the TRA after trying to estimate the discrepancy between … Read more