Examining The Social Change Philosophy

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Recommended: Sociological approaches to health and ill health

It is common that throughout the course of our existence the very ideas and beliefs that make up our daily activities change. These changes occur in large part due to our experiences in everyday life, primarily those experiences involving interactions with other individuals and our increased knowledge through study. As events and daily interactions begin to challenge our preconceived notions, we begin to shift our way of thinking, thus altering our mission and philosophical outlook on life. Throughout these experiences, however, we mature and begin to realize the importance of adopting health behaviors which correspond with research-based factual evidence, as well as policies and laws. For this reason, I firmly believe the social change philosophy informs my way of thinking.

The philosophy that is most parallel with my personal views of health education is the social change philosophy. While examining the uses and goals of the five predominant health philosophies, I noticed a majority of their disciplines revolved around changing a patient or student’s behavior or outlook of a particular health action. Although these approaches of health enhancing behaviors may work in simplified or less addictive cases, I firmly believe that most individuals will not be able to or willing to stop a particular behavior unless social, economic, and political laws are enacted. For example, even with a continuous thread of factual information and content based solely on the health hazards of smoking, such as with the cognitive based philosophy, an individual may still find it difficult or nearly impossible to break their smoking habit. Furthermore, an individual who smokes may make personal goals or behavioral contracts for themselves in the hopes...

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...ies, but also the social environment and habits in which we involve ourselves in. The environment in which we live can be more influential than we are sometimes willing to admit, and it is these influential aspects of life that unintentionally cause a majority of health related issues.

I believe it is important for health educators to measure behavior change not only to measure the effects of a certain program, but also to determine whether the contributions of their efforts have achieved.

Works Cited

Business Wire. (2004, June 22). The health benefits of smoking bans in all american

workplaces. Retrieved from http:// http://no-smoking.org/june04/06-22-04-4.html

Maugh II, T. H. (2009, October 16). Anti-smoking laws reduce heart attacks, report finds. The

Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/16/science/sci-smoke16

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