Relating to a social theory
I thought about which one I could most easily relate to and I decided to use the Health Belief Model (HBM). I liked how it motivated people to prevent disease.
The reason why I choose to relate myself to this model and see how my life has changed in some way was because my mom has been sick since I was very young. It had such an impact on my life in a significant way, not only because of her illness and how it affected the family but just being aware of renal failure, what it is, how you prevent it, how your life changes from it, how many people have it, what happens when you do have it, all this kind of knowledge. Most people dont even know what renal failure is. When your kidneys don’t work you are forced to live on a life support machine (dialysis) which filters your blood for 4 hours, 3 days a week until you get a kidney transplant. The wait is astounding, a person can wait up to ten years and the treatment of dialysis is not pleasant.
Using the model, almost every person can be susceptible to kidney failure. High blood pressure (hypertension) causes kidney failure as well as and in particular with people who have diabetes have a high susceptibility. The perceieved threat would be to live on a life support machine or get a kidney transplant. If people eat right and make healthy choices when it comes to their eating habits and taking care of themselves than they are less likely to get renal disease. After having the knowledge of the disease I have adopted it in my life by eating better, checking my blood pressure regularly, and much more.
