Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

The role of images on illness behaviour: Interdisciplinary theory, evidence, and ideas

Williams, Brian; Murray, Jennifer

Authors

Brian Williams



Abstract

If illness behaviour is to be fully understood, the social and behavioural sciences must work together to understand the wider forms in which illness is experienced and communicated with individuals and society. The current paper synthesised literature across social and behavioural sciences exploring illness experience and communication through physical and mental images. It argues that images may have the capacity to embody and influence beliefs, emotions, and health outcomes. While four commonalities exist, facilitating understandings of illness behaviour across the fields (i.e., understanding the importance of the patient perspective; perception of the cause, sense of identity with the illness, consequences, and level of control; health beliefs influencing illness experience, behaviours, and outcomes; and understanding illness beliefs and experiences through an almost exclusive focus on the written or spoken word), we will focus on exploring the fourth commonality. The choice to focus on the role of images on illness behaviour is due to the proliferation of interventions using image-based approaches. While these novel approaches show merit, there is a scarcity of theoretical underpinnings and explorations into the ways in which these are developed and into how people perceive and understand their own illnesses using image representations. The current paper identified that the use of images can elucidate patient and practitioner understandings of illness, facilitate communication, and potentially influence illness behaviours. It further identified commonalities across the social and behavioural sciences to facilitate theory informed understandings of illness behaviour which could be applied to visual intervention development to improve health outcomes.

Citation

Williams, B., & Murray, J. (2021). The role of images on illness behaviour: Interdisciplinary theory, evidence, and ideas. Psychological Reports, 124(6), 2453-2475. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294120945602

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 7, 2020
Online Publication Date Aug 5, 2020
Publication Date 2021-12
Deposit Date Jul 8, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Psychological Reports
Print ISSN 0033-2941
Electronic ISSN 1558-691X
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 124
Issue 6
Pages 2453-2475
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294120945602
Keywords Visual intervention, Visual communication, Illness behaviour, Theory informed intervention, Theory based intervention
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/2674946

Files




You might also like



Downloadable Citations