1. PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH Students learn about Perceptions of health
perceptions of their health
perceptions of the health of others eg parents, the elderly, the homeless
implications of different perceptions of health
perceptions of health as social constructs
impact of the media, peers and family

2. PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH Students learn to
examine perceptions of health by exploring questions such as:
how healthy am I? How healthy do other people think I am?
how healthy do I think other people are?
why would my perceptions of health be similar or different to others?
how might an individual’s perception of health affect their behaviour and wellbeing?
determine the degree to which perceptions of health are socially constructed

3. PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH - OVERVIEW
The term perception is about how something is interpreted and understood. It is similar to perspective, but is not limited to what you see, but how you interpret what you see. E.g. the glass is half full or half empty.
This dot point then, focuses on how health is regarded, understood and interpreted. It relates to people’s opinions of health and how these opinions are formed. How something is understood often relates to preconceived ideas and belief systems, which are affected by society around us. This includes: media, family and peers. We also need to consider how society as a whole influences your construct of health – what it means? how to be healthy? etc
Everyone has an idea of what health is, and what health is to you will be different from what it is to other people. These ideas of health are very subjective and open to change. They also affect your behaviour, and if your perception of your health is incorrect it can lead to dangerous behaviours.

4. PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR HEALTH
Perceptions of their health is asking how you understand health. How you interpret your own health is affected by many things including:
our family’s perception of health
our peers understanding of what health is and how to become it
how health is portrayed in the media
our personal beliefs and preconceptions about life in general
the value we place on health
our previous experiences related to health (fitness, sport, injury, illness, disease)
our environment (geographical location, access to health information and technology)
our level of health education etc.
Your perception of your own health will change over time as your health changes and as any of the above change. For example, if you become more educated about the five dimensions of health, you may realise that four aspects of your health are great, but you still need to work on your physical health.

5. PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR HEALTH - CONT.
As you consider perceptions of their health, you are asked to examine these perceptions of health by considering the following questions:
How healthy am I?
How healthy do other people think I am?
As you consider how healthy you think you are, you should also consider why you might think this? Especially if you consider yourself unhealthy and others disagree and think you are healthy, or visa versa. It is important for you to consider why such differences may occur. It could be a cultural background or people not knowing what you eat when they are not looking. It could be the impact of family or friends that cause them or you to think differently.
Try placing yourself on the health continuum and asking others to do the same for you and see what the differences are. Make sure you ask them why they have placed you there on the continuum.

6. PERCEPTIONS OF THE HEALTH OF OTHERS
Your perceptions of the health of others is largely influenced by your view of health and what you know about the person. Just like your view of your own health was influenced by your level of education, beliefs, family and more, so your perception of the health others is affected by them. However, unlike our view of our own health, we tend to judge others very superficially.
Our perceptions of the health of others is open to change. As our understanding of the person changes, as our education changes, as their health changes. In order to judge someone else’s health, it is important to have a better understanding of who they are, what they do, who is around them and more. Health consists of five dimensions and we need to consider each dimension in order to successfully judge another's health
How healthy do I think other people are? (Complete the following as a task within the class)
To do this, start by making judgements based on what you know about the person already (e.g. parents), and include people you know and that you don’t know. Then go and interview them. Find out about their social life, family, life purpose, goals, feelings, mental capacity, as well as their physical health. After interviewing them, provide a second judgment on their health and think about why your perceptions of the health of others has changed.

7. IMPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH
It is important that a person’s perception of their health is as accurate as possible in order to guide their behaviour in the correct direction. If a society has an false perception of what health is, this can also have a negative impact on the health of individuals, governments, organisations and more.
How might an individual’s perception of health affect their behaviour and wellbeing?
At an individual level the implications of different perceptions of health relates to a person with an inaccurate perception. A classic example of this is a person with anorexia. They continually see themselves as overweight and unhealthy leading to them not eating.
Another example is a person who goes to the gym regularly to increase muscle mass, and believes that they are healthy. However, they are not eating fruit or vegetables, spending little time with their family and friends and often feel sad or angry
In contrast to someone with a different perception, a person with a correct perception of their health may acknowledge that they are overweight and that their weight makes them more likely to have a range of lifestyle diseases: hypertension, cardiovascular disease, cancer etc. Such as person may then change their diet, cut out refined sugars, soft drinks, and consume more fruit and vegetables to correct their health.

8. IMPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENT PERCEPTION OF HEALTH - CONT
As a society, the implications of different perceptions of health can be devastating for the health of a country. If our perception of health is different to the truth, then our actions will not improve our health, and may in fact make it worse. An example of this may be a society who thinks that being beautiful is the same as being healthy. This can lead people to go to great extents – anorexia, fad dieting, surgery, drugs etc.
Another possibility is a society that gives too much power to pharmaceutical companies who then control government legislation, academic organisations, and produce mass advertising. This leads people to think that the drugs produced by the pharmaceutical companies are safe and effective, when it may not be the case.
For example, the companies advertisements make us think that it is ok to fix a headache caused by dehydration or low blood sugar, by taking a drug, rather than drinking water or eating a meal. Society may then begin to become over-reliant on the use of drugs and may produce further health problems. An example of this may be the production of superbugs after the overuse of antibiotics

9. PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH AS SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS
We construct our own meanings of health depending on our social circumstances. This concept is known as a social construct.
Why would my perceptions of health be similar or different to others?
Example: Think about a person in a third world country who has no access to clean water, cannot afford foods other than maze, has lost their family due to war and lives in a refugee camp. What they think about what it means to be healthy and what health is will be largely affected by the circumstance of their life.
Compare that to a wealthy businessman, who runs a international gym company, has a university degree in health and spends lots of time with his family and gets his food delivered from an organic farm. His thoughts and understanding of health will be very different to the refugee.
Your understanding of perceptions of health as social constructs should identify that an individual’s interpretation of health is largely influenced by their: socioeconomic status (education, employment, income), sociocultural status (family, peers, media, religion, culture), and environment (geographical, political, social, access to information and technology) among other things.

10. PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH AS SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS - CONT
Perceptions of health as social constructs also means that the interpretation of health changes with time. This can be seen with the commoditisation of fitness and the growth of the health industry alongside pharmaceuticals and the medical system.
Determine the degree to which perceptions of health are socially constructed
Perceptions of health are judgements made by individuals based on their observations and experiences with health. Most of those judgements are based on values that have been established through social interaction with family and the community over time.
Health can be viewed from a socio-cultural perspective. That is, from the viewpoint of society as a whole. This allows us to look at the underlying causes or contributing factors relating to health status. Health status is not only an individual concern, often it has a wider community impact. The choices we make about health are based on the social, cultural and economic conditions of our family and community life.

11. IMPACT OF THE MEDIA, PEERS AND FAMILY
The impact of the media on our perception of health has dramatically increased with advances in technology. Now we wake up in the morning and the first thing we do is check our phone.
We now access our magazines, news, sports, friends, clients, businesses, movies and TV over the internet using personal technology. The increase in exposure to media has meant a rise on the impact that media can have on our perception of anything, including health.
Media communicates information about health in two ways: implicit and explicit. The easily identifiable ways are explicit. Shows like the Biggest Looser, or news articles that discuss the rising obesity levels or raise awareness for prostate cancer are all explicit. However, the implicit communication is usually more effective in affecting our understanding of health and bring about changes in our perception without us realising. Implicit communication occurs through movies, marketing and television shows. The use of beautifully workshopped images to advertise health products or frequently seeing beautiful actors playing the happy healthy person affects the way we think about health and then affects our behaviour.

12. IMPACT OF THE MEDIA, PEERS AND FAMILY - CONT
Peers impact our perception of health also, as our frequent conversations occur with them, and often they are the first person we go to for answers to our questions. This applies to many things, including health. You will have more conversations about health with your peers than anyone else. And in groups, humans tend to adopt the position of the group leader rather than do their own research and come up with their own understanding and interpretation.
With regards to health, interpretation is usually acquired by the person most beautiful in the group, or the person who is most sporty. This person may or may not have a good understanding of health, but regardless, what they say influences your perception of health. Once the group position health is established new members will take on this position in order to be in the group, rather than because it is the right perception.
For example, a group that values health and encourages each other to eat vegetables and fruit as part of a balanced diet. Who value time together and accept people putting family first, and may even all believe in the same higher purpose for life, will cause others to be similar. However, if the group smoke, drink and drive dangerously, people who join the group are more likely to accept these behaviours and views of health.

13. IMPACT OF THE MEDIA, PEERS AND FAMILY - CONT
Family possibly have the largest impact on our perception of health. Family construct the basis of your beliefs, knowledge, wealth, environment, and more for the first years of your life. The opinion of your parents will often outweigh that of an expert in health because of their position and not their knowledge. The interpretation you develop concerning health while living with your parents will likely be the interpretation you have when you are older and what you pass on to the next generation.
For example, if you are raised in a family that is abusive, smokes, eats fast food and thinks they are healthy, you are likely to think this as well. However, if your family go for a walk every day together, eat plenty of nutritious food, have a thriving social life and have no mental or emotional issues, you are likely to develop the same habits and values and interpret health within your upbringing.

14. PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the degree to which a person's perception of their health is socially constructed. 6 marks
2. What are the implications of different perceptions of health? 3 marks
3. How do media, peers and family impact people’s concept of health? 4 marks