2012, Number 1
Attitude and habits towards prevention
Language: Spanish
References: 12
Page: 11-17
PDF size: 98.38 Kb.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: the culture of prevention is related to attitudes and habits in patients, they must be actively involved in preventing the disease, because each individual has different needs, desires and goals, and we can assume they want to be healthy. In Mexico overweight and obesity cause more than 50 000 deaths annually. The difficulty in changing habits fosters an attitude of discouragement in patients, as information in a guide is not the only factor involved for a change of behavior.Objective: to determine attitudes and habits of beneficiaries of two Family Medicine Units (UMF) of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social to be suspicious of preventable diseases.
Methodology: qualitative and correlational study, grounded theory with systematic design; two groups of beneficiaries, aged 18 years or older who had health card for more than three years, were interviewed and audio taped, based on a semistructured guide to explore attitudes and habits towards prevention. Open coding and categorization were used for data analysis.
Results: in both clinics, it was found that there is a cognitive dissonance between attitude and correct self-care habits. Patients consider «it is very important to have regular checkups», but also mention «why going for a consultation without being sick».
Conclusions: population has useful information concerning health, however, they have an indifferent attitude towards self-care, as shown by inappropriate preventing habits, the information should provide a positive change in attitude; the way information is obtained should be more significant to achieve changes in habits.
REFERENCES
Organización Panamericana de la Salud. Organización Mundial de la Salud. Las políticas públicas y los sistemas y servicios de salud. Cap. 4. En: Salud en las Américas 2007. Volumen I-Regional. (Publicación Científica y Técnica No. 622). Washington, D.C., 2007. 2 vol. [En línea] http://new.paho.org/hss/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=10370&Itemid=99999999 [Consultado 07/05/2011].
Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. Dirección de Prestaciones Médicas. PREVENIMSS: Evaluación de los programas preventivos. Los nuevos retos, estilos de vida y sus consecuencias: obesidad, hipertensión arterial y diabetes. [En línea] http://estepais.com/inicio/historicos/190/19_suplemento_prevenimss.pdf [Consultado 09/02/2011].
García Gariglio L, Gándaro P, Cardozo N, Bianchi M, Santoro A, Pais T, Rubio I. Conceptos, actitudes y prácticas en salud sobre prevención de lesiones en niños menores de 10 años. Arch Pediatr Urug. 2008;79(4):284-2980 [En línea] http://www.scielo.edu.uy/pdf/adp/v79n4/v79n4a03.pdf [Consultado 09/02/2011].