Health Promotion by Social Cognitive Means - Essay Example

health risks and benefits of different ways of keeping fit; self-efficacy encourages control over bad habits; outcome expectations show the benefits of different habits; setting of short term and long term goals becomes important part of strategies and implementation programs; and perceived facilitators create awareness of socially constructed obstacles that can defeat the purpose of the exercise. Health behavior is greatly influenced by the outcomes expected by people. The reaction of people, the loss of favorite activities and most importantly the self-evaluation of the change becomes vital issues.

But people are motivated if they observe the changes and realize that they are benefitting them, both financially and physically. The author affirms that the self-efficacy must be accompanied by environmental regulations like smoking should be banned in public places, fast food joints must also encourage healthy food like salads etc. People with high belief in themselves and the self-management program tend to have higher rate of success. Indeed, the basic premise of the theory is dependent on the strong belief in self-efficacy.

The attitude towards the behavior and social norms determine the overall behavior or change. The value placed on the outcome and perceived social compulsions and the extent of motivation to continue with the program contribute to the success and positive outcome. The societal support and awareness campaigns are essential part of social model of health. The knowledge and information strengthens one’s belief in the control program and thereby becomes a major motivating factor. It is said that more successful cases need to be brought into the limelight so that they can motivate people to adopt alternative methods of keeping fit.

In the current. The researcher of this essay discusses the article, ‘Health promotion by social cognitive means’, that was written by Albert Bandura on the subject of current environment of growing population and social cognitive theory, that believes that environment factors are responsible for the diseases and therefore, good health can be maintained by adopting preventive measures through change of lifestyle and behavior. The external factors like environmental pollution, fast food, smoking, sedentary lifestyle etc.

hugely contribute to the diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, cancer etc. Thus, quality of life is significantly influenced by lifestyle choices and habits developed over a period. This implies that if people make effort to change habits, they would be better equipped to prevent diseases and maintain good health. The research shows that self-efficacy in the management of diseases considerably help the patients to recover and become self-sufficient at a shorter time than those who are constantly under medication.

Bandura says that social media like television serial, video games etc. also become important platforms for creating awareness and promoting self-efficacy programs to manage their health imperatives. It is then concluded by the researcher of the essay that people need to change their food habits for improving the quality of their life. The children and working people must be provided with ‘tiffins’ containing home cooked food with fresh salad.