Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.
In public health, several theories are used in order to systematize and explain the knowledge related to certain phenomena and situations. Theories are also applied to practice when it is necessary to demonstrate the relationship between determining variables. In this case, variables can be health behaviors and the use of new practices among others. In order to understand why theories are important for the sphere of public health, it is necessary to focus on the analysis of such two main theories as to the Social Cognitive Theory and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory.
The first theory that needs to be discussed in detail is the Social Cognitive Theory. This theory is used in public health to explain how interpersonal relations can influence people’s behaviors, and then, their health. According to this theory, people’s health behaviors depend on their interactions with the social environment (Glanz, Marcus, & Rimer, 2005, p. 19). The other theory to pay attention to is the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. According to this perspective, all new ideas, visions, inventions, and products need to be diffused and combined to achieve a certain goal as a result of the spread of these ideas and inventions among researchers (Glanz et al., 2005, p. 27). These two theories can be discussed as key perspectives in public health because they provide the background for interpreting the patient’s and practitioners’ behaviors and actions.
The theorist who developed the principles of the Social Cognitive Theory is Albert Bandura. The theory was discussed in Bandura’s work Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory published in 1986 as a new approach to his previous Social Learning Theory first formulated in the 1960s (Bandura, 1986). Later, the Social Cognitive Theory was also adapted for the sphere of public health, and Bandura presented his main visions of the role of the theory for public health promotion in the article “Health Promotion by Social Cognitive Means” published in 2004. In this article, the author identified the theory as important to affect the individuals’ health habits in the context of the health regulation and following certain health patterns (Bandura, 2004, p. 144). The Diffusion of Innovations Theory also has its start in the 1960s, when Everett Rogers published his book Diffusion of Innovations (1962). Rogers formulated the vision according to which the innovative idea was spread within the society as a result of the people’s communication (Rogers, 1962). Such researchers as Berwick noted that the real diffusion of innovations in the sphere of public health can be a challenging task, and he conducted a study in order to offer recommendations on the diffusion of innovations to improve public health in his article “Disseminating Innovations in Health Care” (Berwick, 2003, p. 1970). Thus, the discussed theories are used in the sphere of public health promotion for a long period of time.
Having focused on the authors and sources of the theories, it is important to determine the basic principles of the Social Cognitive Theory and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. The key tenets of the Social Cognitive Theory in the sphere of public health include the idea that a person is focused on developing self-efficacy, and he or she has definite goals and expectations associated with health. As a result, an individual can focus on controlling the heath while having stimuli, having a goal, and being oriented to the social examples. Observing positive outcomes of other people’s health-oriented actions, people can make efforts to improve their own health (Bandura, 2004, p. 144). Referring to these ideas, it is possible to identify such concepts used in the theory as reciprocal determinism, behavioral capability, self-efficacy, expectations, learning through observation, and the use of stimuli (Glanz et al., 2005, p. 20). These key concepts are used in order to discuss how a person can behave in this or that situation related to his or her health.
The Diffusion of Innovations Theory is based on such critical concepts as the idea of innovation, the use of different communication channels, the adoption of the innovation within one social system, and the time necessary for adopting the innovation (Rogers, 1962). According to this theory, a certain health behavior, or the innovation associated with the definite invention, can be adopted in the society or within the group of medical specialists during a certain period of time if all the available channels are used appropriately to promote this diffusion of the innovation (Glanz et al., 2005, p. 27). At different levels, the adoption can be associated with the development of programs and policies, and the users of innovations can be divided into early adopters or late adopters among other categories to demonstrate the progress of diffusion.
In the sphere of public health, the Social Cognitive Theory and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory can be discussed as related to each other. The reason is that both theories discuss social interaction as a source of the new behavioral pattern or the new knowledge. In addition, these theories can be applied to the public health practice simultaneously because while developing the certain health behavior in patients according to the principles of the Social Cognitive Theory, it is necessary to effectively communicate the advantages of different methods, including new ones, according to the Diffusion of Innovations Theory. Finally, both theories are based on the idea of social diffusion.
The discussed theories are significant because they are typically used for developing efficient public health strategies and interventions that should be adopted widely. The principles of the Social Cognitive Theory are used to provide meaningful reinforcers for individuals to control their health behaviors and achieve success. In addition, the principles of the Diffusion of Innovations Theory are used to make the public early adopters of new effective health practices and ideas in order to improve health significantly (Glanz et al., 2005, p. 6). Thus, these theories can be effectively used to explain the patients’ behaviors when alternative ways of treatment are proposed to them. For instance, to guarantee that a person chooses the most appropriate health behavior, it is important to refer to the person’s reciprocal determinism and to make him or she is an early adopter of the behavior.
From this point, the Social Cognitive Theory and the Diffusion of Innovations Theory are followed in public health because these theories are appropriate to explain the relationships between different variables. In the case of the Social Cognitive Theory, the variables are certain health behaviors and the people’s development or non-development of these behaviors with the focus on reinforcements. In the case of the Diffusion of Innovations Theory, these variables are the new public health practices or ideas and the process of their adoption through communication.
References
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Bandura, A. (2004). Health promotion by social cognitive means. Health Education and Behavior, 31(2), 143-164.
Berwick, D. M. (2003). Disseminating innovations in health care. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 289(15): 1969–1975.
Glanz, K., Marcus, F. L., & Rimer, B. K. (2005). Theory at a glance: A guide for health promotion practice. Web.
Rogers, E. (1962). Diffusion of innovations. Glencoe, MN: Free Press.
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.