Social Support and Health Promotion

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Social Support and Health Promotion

• 173 Week 3

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Objectives

• Differentiate between social networks and social
  support
• Understand relevance to health
• Describe components for assessment
• Identify major sources of support
• Discuss strategies to enhance support

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Social Networks

• Refer to a web of social relationships that
  surround an individual
• Are defined as the objective, structural
  components of support
• Composed of persons an individual or family
  knows and with whom he or she interacts
  Pender p. 224-5

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Social Support

• Refers to social interactions within the network
  that are sensed as being available and supportive
  (perceived) or that actually provide support
  (received) Pender p.225
• Usually much smaller than the network

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Said in other wordssocial support is

• a network of interpersonal relationships that
  promote companionship, assistance, and emotional
  nourishment

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Relevance to health?

• Why study social support and network in health
  promotion course?
• Give reasons
• Hints first term determinants of health,
  stress reduction, mind and body connection,
  multiple dimensions of health, Pender, etc

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Social Support and Health

• Decreases the occurrence of stressors
• Buffers the impact of stress
• Decreases physiologic reactivity to stress

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Social Support and Health (contd)

• Research indicates social support is related to
  decreased stress during times of life crisis
• Unclear mechanisms in which social support
  positively affects mental and physical health

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Social Support and Health (contd)

• Importance of social support to mental and
  physical health is well established
• Lower levels of support are consistently linked
  to higher rates of morbidity and mortality

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How does social support enhance health? Possible
explanations.

• Promotes healthy or unhealthy behaviours (e.g.
  provide info, overcome barriers)
• Fosters positive affect, a sense of meaning in
  life and self worth
• Buffers effects of stress
• Promotes links to peers who refer to health care
  providers e.g. Pap screening

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Social Support and Health (contd)

• RECALL Pender model of health promotion and
  social influences on motivation to adopt
  healthy actions
• E.g. Interpersonal influences family, peers,
  norms, support, models
• Pender p. 56

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Social Support and Health (contd)

• RECALL Maslows hierarchy of needs
• Social belonging
• All individuals need a system of sustaining
  support to realize their full potential
  Pender p. 224

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Types of Social Support

• Emotional demonstration of caring, empathy,
  love and trust
• Instrumental includes tangible actions
• Informational includes advise and info
• Appraisal provides affirmation, constructive
  feedback for self evaluation

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Social Support and Culture

• Need understanding of the cultural context of
  those giving and receiving support
• Require knowledge of various groups and
  sensitivity to differences
• Require self awareness and reflection

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Types of Social Support Systems

• Natural support systems (e.g. families)
• Peer support systems (e.g. classmates, internet)
• Organized religious support systems (e.g.
  churches, mosques)
• Organized professional support systems (e.g.
  professional-led counselling groups)
• Organized self help support systems (no
  professionals) e.g. AA

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Comparing support systems

• Family remains the primary support
• Peers effective as often share common experience,
  valuable insight and advise
• Religious systems share common values and enhance
  spiritual health
• Professional support often last resort lack
  intimacy, empathy, power over
• Self help groups have significant impact on
  health growing numbers, varied topics, internet
  increases access

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Support systems and the individual and family

• Systems are synergistic
• Various systems dominate at different times
• Dominant system depends on factors such as age,
  stage, type of need (crisis), personal coping
  style, culture, etc.

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Social support systems can enhance health
behaviour

• Lay referral system (e.g. contemplation stage
  consult peers and family) affects response to
  health care providers
• Trained lay assistants (e.g. trained home
  visitors from same culture as clients in Healthy
  Babies/Healthy Children Program)
• Some evidence that having spousal support
  increased individuals compliance with new
  exercise program

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Family as primary social support system

• Family cohesion, expressiveness and lack of
  conflict favour mutual support
• Study of children raised in adverse conditions
  showed positive influence of protective factors
  such as social competencies, communication skills
  and social support (Pender p. 229)

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Nurses role in enhancing social support..

• Thorough assessment of social support and social
  networks for individuals and families
• Focus on strengths and assets
• Explore the specifics, e.g. type, frequency of
  contact, untapped possibilities

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Nursing roles

• Facilitating social interactions e.g. social
  skills training
• Enhancing coping skills, e.g. stress management,
  accessing community resources
• Preventing loss of support and loneliness

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Nursing roles

• Plan goals and nursing actions to enhance social
  support for
• An individual e.g. 80 yr old widow with health
  problems, living alone and only a daughter in
  B.C.
• A very busy family with 2 working parents and 3
  active teenagers in high school
• A community distraught about a 5 yr old who was
  walking with grandmother and was killed in a car
  accident in the neighbourhood

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Case Studies done in groups Motivating Change
and Social Support

• In small groups, use the BPGs listed in the
  syllabus for week 3 in developing a plan with 3
  health promotion strategies.
• Case 1 Mrs. Green is 82 years old and wants to
  remain independent in her senior citizens
  apartment. It is crowded with her antique
  furniture and many precious sentimental things.

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Case studies (contd)

• Case 2 Alicia is a 16 year old pregnant
  adolescent who expects her first baby in 1 month.
  She lives with her mother. They emigrated from
  Central America 5 years ago. Alicia is afraid
  her mother will take over the care of the
  infant.

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Case Studies (contd)

• Case 3 Frank is a 42 year old engineer who
  works in a local plant. He is married with 2
  teenagers. He recently had a scare when
  hypertension was identified at a BP clinic held
  at work. He smokes, is 40 pounds overweight and
  is too busy to exercise.

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Case Study 4

• John and Mary recently separated after much
  marital conflict. Their 10 year old son Ryan is
  acting out, e.g. not wanting to go to school, not
  co operating with routine and rules, getting into
  fights at school. The 5 year old daughter Amy is
  likewise acting out. Both children are asking is
  Dad is coming back home, as they only see him on
  weekly visits.