APPLICATION OF

BEHAVIOURAL PRINCIPLES
IN HEALTH AND DISEASE
 Behavioral Principles in Health& Disease
• In some cases, psychological symptoms
themselves are associated with physical
morbidity.
• For example, when medical factors are
controlled for, the risk of myocardial
infarction increases 4 to 5 fold as a result
of the presence of depressive symptoms
• Even in the absence of overt psychological or
psychiatric disorder, patients have to regulate
often-complex and ever-changing thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors.
• Several factors that make behavioral principles
suited to address the problems associated with
health & disease includes:
1. Chronic medical problems/mentally/ physically
handicapped are often associated with the
types of psychological problems for which
cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy has
proven efficacy, such as mood disorder, autism,
depression and fatigue.
2. Self-management approach and the need for
patients to establish collaborative
relationships with health care staff, both are
important behavioral principles suited to
address the problems associated with health &
disease
3. Behavioral principles also emphasize on
 Mental Health
• Mental health is not just the absence of
mental illness, but is defined as a state of
well-being (The positive capacities and
qualities that enable young people to deal
with the ups and downs of life) in which
every individual realizes his or her own
potential can cope with the normal stresses
of life and then able to make a contribution
to his or her community.
Mentally/Emotionally Handicapped

• Emotion is something that makes you have a

strong feeling. An example of emotion is a
type of movie that makes you cry
• An affective state of consciousness

• Handicapped is a condition that markedly

restricts once ability to function
 Emotionally Handicapped
• The emotionally handicapped often must
rely on others to get through daily tasks and
negative emotional responses, because they
have not developed a normal level of
independence, may find unable to handle
stress, experiencing extreme anxiety or
panic when confronted with daily problems
• Mental Handicapped: a general or specific
intellectual disability, resulting directly or
indirectly from injury to the brain or from
abnormal neurological development
 Types of Emotions

• There are two types of emotions:

1. Positive Emotion

2. Negative Emotion
Positive Emotion
 Physically Handicapped
• The term physically handicapped is broad and
covers a range of disabilities and health
issues, including both congenital and acquired
disabilities.
• Within that range are physical disabilities or
impairments that interfere with a child’s
ability to attain the same developmental
milestones as his or her age-mates.
1. Cerebral Palsy is condition caused by injury to the
brain before, during or after birth, and is chiefly
characterized by motor disorder. It is not
progressive, nor is it contagious. But it is incurable,
although therapy can be helpful in improving
comfort and mobility
2. Spina bifida occurs in the spinal column when one
or more vertebrae do not close during prenatal
development
 3. Acquired brain injury (ABI) is any type of
sudden injury causes temporary or
permanent damage to the brain after birth
• Motor vehicle accidents, near drowning,
violence related incidents, and sports- related
injuries are among the leading causes.
 Chronically Ill

• The term chronic is usually applied when

the course of the disease lasts for more
than three months. Common chronic
diseases include  asthma, cancer, HIV etc
 Homebound
• Definition: Homebound means that you have
an inability to leave your home, or that it
takes a considerable and challenging effort
to leave home.
• Absences from the home must be infrequent
or for a very short period of time, for
instance leaving your home for medical
appointment.
• A person is considered to be homebound if
you have an illness or injury, which restricts
your ability to leave home unless you have
help.
• Examples would be if you need a wheelchair,
special transportation or help from another
person to leave your home.
• In most cases, if you are able to drive you are
not considered homebound.
• If you leave your home for purposes other
than to receive medical treatment and if the
absences are long and frequent, such as
frequent shopping trips or visits to friends,
you are not deemed homebound. When you
are able to leave your home, Medicare
expects that any medical care you require
will be provided in an outpatient setting
 Skilled Home Care Services

1. Observation and assessment

2. Teaching and training
3. Performance of skilled treatment or
procedure/therapy
4. Management and evaluation of the plan of
care
- Nursing only
- Patient is considered clinically complex
 Why Provide Home Care?
• Because patients have difficulties in moving
towards hospitals
• Give confidence to patients
• Provide medication reminder
• Support for patients with degenerative
condition
• Provide comfort and companion ship
• Help with walk and exercise programe
• Help with personal care
 Diseases
• Polio
• Comma patients
• Unconscious state patients
• Cardiac patients
• Mentally ill patients
• Cerebellar lesion
• Muscle weakness
• Paralysis
• etc
 Management
• Behavioral therapy usually involves a series of
tasks (“homework”) that are completed outside
sessions and at various phases of therapy.
• self-monitoring is in the form of diary keeping.
For example:
There are 168 hours in the week, and I am in
contact with you for only part of 1 of them. It will
be useful for you to keep a record of some
aspects of your illness. I think it might help you if
you could start maintaining a diary that how
much these symptoms effect your daily routine.
• There are no limits to the range of monitoring
assignments that might result from a session.
• For example, you might ask your patients to
write about their thoughts and feelings about
their illness, its effects, and its treatment, to
write down thoughts related to worries for the
future; to rate the extent to which pain
interferes with certain activities
 Managing Day-to-Day
• Constant Attention: children with special needs, are
in need of constant and consistent attention.
• Details/preplanning: parents or care givers should
plan their daily activities, about their psychotherapy
sessions, daily routines, about their socialization and
so on.
• Reactions of other children: other normal children
never voluntarily choose a child with special need to
play with, so we should guide children and even adult
about their special need (without offending them)
• Social Relationships: the activities of such children
should be scheduled like this that include discussion
with other children, attending gatherings, playing etc.
• These activities will contribute a lot in enhancing
their social relations
• Effects on Siblings: normal children don’t like to
introduce their siblings as a special children. So
siblings should also be guided about their special
needs, and make them learn different techniques
through which they can help their siblings without
being offending them.
• Marital Relationships: this is a common myth that
people with special need cant withhold good
relations, but with good guidance and good
tolerance level they can manage healthy relations
• Establishing a Support System: support system is
very much important aspect in management of such
people. It is a network of personal or professional
contacts available to a person for practical or emotio
nal support.
Thank You