Becoming Ill and the Role of Illness Cognitions, Help-Seeking, and
Communication
Ransford Agyarko
Health Sciences, University of the People
PSYC 1111 - The Psychology of health and illness
Professor Rosemarie Alonzo Schulte
December 9, 2020
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Learning Journal Week 4, Assignments of Health psychology
Becoming Ill and the Role of Illness Cognitions, Help-Seeking, and Communication
Typology: Assignments
2020/2021
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Becoming Ill and the Role of Illness Cognitions, Help-Seeking, and Communication Ransford Agyarko Health Sciences, University of the People PSYC 1111 - The Psychology of health and illness Professor Rosemarie Alonzo Schulte December 9, 2020
Introduction Everyday exchanges with others is very crucial in forming opinions and making resolution on appropriate action to take or/and not to take. Among the daily exchanges that inform our behaviour and belief systems, communication is key. Communication can be in many forms and come with different styles and tone. The form, style and tone used by an individual make others form opinions about their character. An article published by the Alvernia University proposes that there are four (4) types of communications style. (Alvernia Online, 2018). These communication styles are defined as follows; Assertive style, where a communicator stress on their ideals while considering the needs of others. This style usually benefits both parties in the end of the exchanges. Passive style, where the communicator seldom project their ideas but touts that of others. Many refer to these communicators as timid. Aggressive style, where the communicator uses intimidation and persuasive gestures to put across their messages. They are mostly loud and mistaken to be rude. Passive – Aggressive style, where the communicator resorts to body language and other social cues to drive home their message. This communication styles is considered dangerous as the person main motive cannot be easily known. Moreover, an assertive person may be considered as confident and more skilled compared to a passive person. However, other may consider the latter to be respectful than the former. Others may be aggressive or passive – aggressive in their communication approach. However, the
Generally, I am of the belief, that the assertive style approach to communication would go a long way to affect the medical help – seeking behaviours and attitudes of indigenes in a positive light. For instance, if the health care providers interaction well with patient and put their interest at heart, they (patient) recommends the healthcare facility to others and encourage them to seek medical attention there over others where their experiences were bad or not palatable. However, in as much as, I recommend the assertive communication approach, I have not had an undesirable experience whatsoever with a health care personnel in terms of communication, I would not endorse other communication types in the health care system. Conclusion I will recommend that health care facilities, install public addressing (PA) system in their out – patient department and other general waiting spaces to disseminate information to avoid confrontation as I recounted above. Again, workshops and orientation programmes can be organised for the health care personnel, their patient and other locals to develop a good inter – personal relationships among all stake holders. The above recommendations, I believe will result in a positive change in the medical help – seeking beliefs of the people in the locality where the facility is located.
References Alvernia online (2018). Communication. 4 Types of Communication Styles. https://online.alvernia.edu/articles/category/communication/