Friday, April 1, 2011
Disease Prevention
Most disease prevention comes down to maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle. Academic institutions can provide the information on what constitutes a healthy lifestyle and list resources that people can use to achieve this goal. However, this does not do much to motivate people in my experience. I think the biggest motivator for masses of people is to show the consequences of their choices. This could include the side effects as well as the pain and suffering that comes with many diseases. Speakers could visit campuses and tell of their mistakes and the trials they have been through due to their poor choices. This makes the issue more personal and a plausible reality for the audience. Many people have the mindset that they are invincible or "it won't happen to me." I think if we move from textual information to personable experiences, we will have a more positive outcome.
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Dear Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI think your idea of having speakers come to talk about their real life experiences is a great thought and would be very effectual. People in and around academic institutions are inundated with written information. Coursework and research are a constant and sometimes overwhelming fact of life and many people may choose not to read anything that is not necessary for their classes. Hearing another individual’s personal experiences with a disease would be a great motivator and would be better received by the target audience. Thanks for a great post!
Regards, Delores
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteYour idea is really great, I can see that is more effective then hearing about how great staying healthy is. I'm sure everyone knows that they are supposed maintain a healthy life, so they don't need other people to constantly reminding them of that. To me, it seems that people are lacking knowledge in the effect of sedentary live to their health. A good example of this is my family; we know that we're supposed to be healthy. However, we don't really follow it through until my parents' blood lab result come back with above normal cholesterol level. Then we started to worry about being healthy. Therefore, I agree that consequences will drive people to a healthier life style than teaching them about staying healthy. I think of it as negative reinforcement.
Sa Phuong Huynh
Dear Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your thoughts about this matter and it always helps when we hear what others have done personally to make them better. The greatest challenge is then acting on what we hear. I agree with you, many people have the mindset of believing they are healthy when they are not. Others say they will do something about their weight and put it off by never getting off the couch and doing anything about it. It’s hard for most and it takes a great deal of effort and motivation. However the benefits are so worth it.