As a first part to this question, describe what social and psychological factors influence you to recognize and interpret your symptoms. When do you personally decide to seek medical attention? What role does illness representation and illness schema play in your decision to seek medical attention?

What role have these factors played during the Covid-19 pandemic? Do you feel Covid-19 has changed any of these? Why or why not?

 

Once you've reflected and written about these, make sure to view the video Know Your Numbers 

Based on the Know your Numbers video and materials presented for Chapter 8, when should you seek medical attention? What is the nature and consequence of delaying behavior when it comes to seeking treatment for a health issue?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u53yVcSQSzc

What social and psychological factors influence you to recognize and interpret your symptoms?

Psychological factors such as stress, hostility, depression, hopelessness, and job control seem associated with physical health—particularly heart disease.  Illness behavior to refer to both the adaptive and maladaptive ways that individuals perceive, evaluate, and act on their symptoms. Illness behavior has been studied in many health conditions,2-5 including: musculoskeletal injuries, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, heart disease, immune disorders, and cancer. Psychosocial factors affect both psychological as well as physical functioning over time which can lead to either adaptive or maladaptive illness behaviors. 

Classes of adaptive illness behaviors include:
 

Active coping (in contrast to passivity, avoidance, or prolonged emotions)
Social support
Patient optimism and use of humor
Positive cognitive appraisal and acceptance (versus negative appraisal such as catastrophizing).


Resilience, in the context of a disease process with chronic effects and associated long-term disability, is conceptualized as the person's ability to cope with and effectively adapt to changed circumstances and continue to engage in meaningful activities and maintain quality of life.

Patients may be encouraged to use a step-by-step approach to social problems, to address one aspect of illness at a time, and to break down overwhelming problems into manageable parts. Psychological factors, context and cultural aspects also influence the interpretation of bodily sensations as symptoms and affect the related actions. These aspects must be taken into consideration when studies of symptom prevalence are conducted and evaluated .Even physical symptoms like pain can be affected by the psychosocial influences on the patient. Psychosocial factors that may affect pain include things like marital status, social support, bereavement, home and work environment, social status, and social integration.

When do you personally decide to seek medical attention?
 

It seems like it's always difficult to determine when you should see a doctor. With flu season right around the corner, it is wise to be reminded of when we should seek medical attention.
 

In children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
 

Fast breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish or gray skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
Severe or persistent vomiting
Not waking up or not interacting
Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
 

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden dizziness
Confusion
Severe or persistent vomiting
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

What role does illness representation and illness schema play in your decision to seek medical attention?
 

Illness representations are patients' beliefs and expectations about an illness or somatic symptom. Illness representations are central to Leventhal's Self-Regulation Theory (Leventhal, 1970; Leventhal, Meyer, & Nerenz, 1980). Self-regulation theory postulates that illness representations determine a person's appraisal of an illness situation and health behavior. The self-regulation framework is conceptualized as a parallel processing framework. One processing arm is dedicated to the cognitive processing of an internal or external stimulus and the second, parallel processing arm is dedicated to the processing of the emotional aspects of that stimulus. 
 

More concretely, research has identified six attributes or components of illness representations:
 

Identity, the name or label of a threat (e.g., sore throat, arthritis)
Timeline, the threat's believed time trajectory (e.g., acute, chronic, cyclical)
Consequences, the believed consequence of a threat (minor or major)
Cause, the threat's causal mechanism (e.g., hereditary, external, internal)
Control/cure (Lau & Hartmann, 1983), whether something can be done to control the threat
Illness coherence (Weinman & Petrie, 1986), whether a person thinks about the threat in a coherent way.

Illness perceptions are the organized cognitive representations or beliefs that patients have about their illness. These perceptions have been found to be important determinants of behaviour and have been associated with a number of important outcomes, such as treatment adherence and functional recovery.

What role have these factors played during the Covid-19 pandemic? Do you feel Covid-19 has changed any of these? Why or why not?

The COVID-19 pandemic is far more than a health crisis: it has unpredictably changed our whole way of life. 
Bereavement, isolation, loss of income and fear are triggering mental health conditions or exacerbating existing ones. Many people may be facing increased levels of alcohol and drug use, insomnia, and anxiety.
 

Meanwhile, COVID-19 itself can lead to neurological and mental complications, such as delirium, agitation, and stroke. People with pre-existing mental, neurological or substance use disorders are also more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection ? they may stand a higher risk of severe outcomes and even death.

As mentioned above, the factors directly correlate with the mental health of ordinary individuals from one end of the disease; however, there is a severe fear that thousands of deaths are from the other end. The COVID-19 outbreak has adversely affected the economy, and people have lost their jobs, which has failed in gaining a minimum income level to run livelihood. The fear of economic loss has increased stress and leads to mental health problems among people worldwide.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most people had to cope with the restrictions of the lockdown, leaving them to their fears, insecurity and isolation. On the other hand, due to the unexpected 'extra time' there was room for new experiences and for personal reflections on what is essential in life, to perceive nature and relations more consciously etc. We, therefore, intended to analyze perceived changes of attitudes and behaviors during the time of lockdown, and whether these perceptions would contribute to personal wellbeing during the pandemic.
 

The health experts recommended solutions to slow down, sustain and overcome the transmission of COVID-19 problems as mention below:

Priority for investment in the health sector compared to other areas such as military, weapons, and armaments.

Allocation of subsidies to all citizens with private business, low-interest loans to large and small medium enterprises.

Specific attention to vulnerable and elderly people and actively diagnosis of the disease.

A comprehensive view of the health sector and the participation of all agencies and institutions such as the government and non-governmental sectors.

Step-by-step explanation

When should you seek medical attention?

Keep in mind that this list is by no means exhaustive; above all, go with your gut—if instinct tells you something is wrong, it's a good idea to seek medical attention.

1. YOU HAVE A PERSISTENT, HIGH FEVER
A fever is one way your body naturally fights infection. However, if you have a fever above 103? Fahrenheit (39.4? Celsius) or a fever that lasts more than three days, you should call your doctor. A more serious infection could be at play.

2. YOUR COLD BECOMES UNUSUALLY BAD
It's not always easy to know when to go to the doctor for a cold; if yours doesn't pass or even worsens, seek professional help. 

3. YOU'VE LOST WEIGHT SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT EXPLANATION
An unexplained drop in weight could indicate overactive thyroid, diabetes, depression or liver disease, among other things. As a general rule of thumb, if you've lost more than 10% of your body weight in the last six months (and you're not obese), make an appointment with your doctor.

4. YOU'RE SHORT OF BREATH
High altitude, strenuous exercise, obesity and extreme temperature are all normal causes of shortness of breath. If none of these are causing your breathlessness, ask your doctor about the possibility of asthma, bronchitis or another condition—especially if symptoms come on sudden and strong.

5.YOU EXPERIENCE SEVERE CHEST, ABDOMINAL OR PELVIC PAIN
Abnormal, intense and sustained pain in the chest, abdomen or pelvis can indicate an underlying issue that demands a doctor's attention. Some examples include heart attack when the pain is in the chest, gallstones when in the abdomen (especially if accompanied by nausea and vomiting), and appendicitis or kidney infection when in the pelvis.

6.YOUR BOWEL MOVEMENT OR URINATION HAS CHANGED
Keep in mind that bowel movement and urination can vary from person to person, so the most important thing to look for is a sudden change in your own pattern, whether that's bloody or black stools, diarrhea or constipation, or excessive urination. When these crop up, it's a good idea to consult with your doctor.  

7. BRIGHT FLASHES INTERRUPT YOUR VISION
If you suffer from migraines, you may sometimes experience bright flashes or spots in your vision. Outside of these cases, sudden bright flashes might be a sign of a retinal detachment, a serious condition that requires immediate medical attention to prevent permanent vision loss.

8. YOU EXPERIENCE CONFUSION OR CHANGES IN MOOD
Changes in mood and sudden confusion can occur with mental health issues as well as physical conditions, such as an infection or drug interaction. Watch out for trouble thinking or focusing, irregular sleeping patterns, and feelings of anxiety or depression.

9. YOU SUSPECT YOU HAVE A CONCUSSION
If you've fallen on your head or suffered a blow to it, monitor for the symptoms of concussion. These can include difficulty concentrating, headache, irritability and change in sleep pattern; if any of these develop, see your doctor.

10.YOU DEVELOP UNEXPECTED SYMPTOMS AFTER A PROCEDURE OR STARTING A NEW MEDICATION
Anytime you undergo a medical procedure or surgery, get an immunization, or start a new medication, ask your doctor in advance about the known symptoms. Monitor for these and if anything out of the ordinary occurs, call the doctor's office to see if an appointment is advised.

What is the nature and consequence of delaying behavior when it comes to seeking treatment for a health issue?

Reasons elicited for avoidance include preference for self-care or alternative care, dislike or distrust of doctors, fear or dislike of medical treatments, time, and money; respondents also endorsed discomfort with body examinations, fear of having a serious illness, and thoughts of dying.
 

In the present study, we sought to understand why people avoid seeking medical care. Avoidance of medical care has been defined as "keeping away from something that is thought to cause mental or physical distress. Avoidance can also occur as a result of barriers, which can be defined as factors that limit access to or ease of obtaining quality health care (e.g., financial concerns, time constraints). Avoidance of medical care can occur at any point on the disease continuum, including preventing and detecting asymptomatic disease, noticing symptoms and interpreting their significance, seeking care after determining a potential need, and complying with recommended treatment. 
 

People's attitudes or behavior can negatively affect any disorder (such as diabetes mellitus, heart disease, or migraines) or symptom (such as pain). Attitudes and behavior can make a disorder or symptoms worse, sometimes resulting in hospitalization or a visit to an emergency department. For example, severe stress can temporarily weaken the heart, or chronic work-related stress can increase the risk of high blood pressure. The risk of suffering, death, or disability due to the disorder can be increased.
 

Factors that can worsen a medical condition include the following:

Denying the significance or severity of symptoms
Denying the need for treatment
Not following the prescribed treatment plan
Not getting the recommended tests
Psychological factors affecting other medical conditions is diagnosed if a psychological factor clearly affects how a disorder progresses.

Treatment involves

Teaching people about the effects of psychological factors or behavior
Psychotherapy

Recent research has shown that patients with life-threatening illnesses have improved chances of survival if, rather than recognizing the serious consequences of their illness, they employ the psychological defense mechanism of denial. Reexamination of these data suggests that unexamined psychological factors which promote a positive view of health are of equal or greater importance in explaining those results. Health care professionals, concerned with diagnosis and treatment, primarily focus attention on illness and its denial or recognition. To expand this perspective to include factors for health, the author presents a four-cell paradigm of illness, health, denial, and affirmation. The paradigm is illustrated with examples of common problems in medical care.

Please check these references. Thank you! :)
 

Influence of Psychosocial Factors on Illness Behaviors
https://now.aapmr.org/influence-of-psychosocial-factors-on-illness-behaviors/

Knowing When to Seek Medical Attention
https://www.emergencyfirstresponse.com/knowing-seek-medical-attention/

Illness Representations
https://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/brp/research/constructs/illness-representations

Perceived changes of specific attitudes, perceptions and behaviors during the Corona pandemic and their relation to wellbeing
https://hqlo.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12955-020-01623-6
 

How the COVID-19 pandemic effected economic, social, political, and cultural factors: A lesson from Iran
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0020764020939984

Psychological factors and consumer behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/articleid=10.1371/journal.pone.0256095

How to Know If Your Medical Concern Is an Emergency
https://www.scripps.org/news_items/6473-how-to-know-if-your-medical-concern-is-an-emergency
 

10 SIGNS YOU SHOULD GO SEE THE DOCTOR
https://www.houstonmethodist.org/articles/should-i-see-a-doctor/

Psychological Factors Affecting Other Medical Conditions
https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/mental-health-disorders/somatic-symptom-and-related-disorders/psychological-factors-affecting-other-medical-conditions

Why do People Avoid Medical Care? A Qualitative Study Using National Data
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4351276/