Description Of Scenario and Psychosocial Factors
This scenario involves Greg, a high school coach and teacher suffering from stress-induced hypertension and a heart arrhythmia. Greg has been advised by his physician to reduce the level of stress in his life by reducing his workload. However, because he has a history of working hard influenced by his upbringing, Greg is refusing to change his lifestyle to address his own health and well-being. The psychosocial factors influencing Greg’s health behavior and his diseases include societal pressure to over-achieve, the idea of male dominance and masculinity, and the influence of his family on his work ethic.

Order Now
Use code: HELLO100 at checkout

Public Health Strategies to Address Identified Factors
Public health strategies such as education about the impact of stress on individual health and well-being can be useful in addressing the psychosocial factors identified above. Through helping Greg understand that over-taxing his heart through excess work may lead to heart attack and even death, it may be possible to help him understand the significance of his need. Additional education on how a male-dominated society’s expectations influence his own behaviors can also serve to move Greg toward relinquishing some of his coaching duties without seeing himself as a failure or less of a man than he may currently perceive himself.

Explanation of Challenges Associated with Strategies
The main challenges of using education as a strategy to help Greg overcome his societally-imposed ideas of masculinity are directly related to the engrained nature of those beliefs. Greg has been conditioned to believe that men behave in a specific fashion and has created his identity as a sports coach and man around those beliefs. It will be a significant challenge to change his perception of self and help him reposition himself in a world where he is not any less of a man due to the need to relinquish some of his duties.

Importance of Understanding Psychosocial Factors
Disease is a function of mental, physical, and emotional disorder. When any one of these elements is off track, individuals will experience illness that impacts multiple systems. It is critical for health professionals to recognize the holistic nature of the human biological system and the influence of psychosocial factors on perceptions of self and the choices made impacting well-being.