How Psychological and Sociological Insights Help Nurses to Understand Health Lifestyles
, This essay will address how psychological and sociological insights help nurses to understand health lifestyles by exploring life sciences, focusing on people who engage in smoking and how they seem to override the fact that they are putting their health at risk. In addition to this I will also be highlighting statistics and briefly discussing the health complications that develop from smoking. Consequently, it is important for nurses to understand how people function, more so when they are healthy so we know how to help when a health problem arises. Functioning as a person involves social and psychological aspects, as well as having functioning body systems. Over the decades there have been many different explanations on how people function, this essay will discuss psychological and sociological ideas that will give nurses an understanding of people’s behaviour, thoughts, feelings and lifestyles. For this purpose, this essay will be reflecting on the psychological perspectives of social learning theory, unrealistic optimism and the health model locus of health. Secondly, it shall be discussing the sociological perspectives of socio-class and low-incomes and socialisation to discover why people may start to smoke and why people continue to smoke knowing the risks involved.
Ironically, as recent as the 1940’s smoking was considered harmless and the overall attitude of people was that smoking relieved tension but research has since confirmed that smoking causes many diseases detrimental to one’s health such as cancer, cardiovascular and lung diseases. Smoking is a greater cause of death and disability than any single disease, says the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to WHO, smoking is responsible for approximately five million deaths worldwide every year (WHO, 2012). Presently, in the United Kingdom smoking is the leading cause of death with 120,000 people dying annually due to smoking related diseases and costs the National Health Service (NHS)
Ironically, as recent as the 1940’s smoking was considered harmless and the overall attitude of people was that smoking relieved tension but research has since confirmed that smoking causes many diseases detrimental to one’s health such as cancer, cardiovascular and lung diseases. Smoking is a greater cause of death and disability than any single disease, says the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to WHO, smoking is responsible for approximately five million deaths worldwide every year (WHO, 2012). Presently, in the United Kingdom smoking is the leading cause of death with 120,000 people dying annually due to smoking related diseases and costs the National Health Service (NHS)