Why do people avoid making healthy changes or visiting the doctor?

Welcome to Week 2

This week we’ll explore barriers that prevent people from taking steps to change their lifestyle or check their health. We’ll examine some ways you can overcome these barriers when talking about cancer. We’ll cover how you can encourage and support people to take practical actions. We’ll catch up with Anita and Brian at a later stage in their lives and listen in on more of their conversations with friends and family to see examples of barriers. We’ll also see how others may be able to offer encouragement and helpful support. This will help develop our understanding of what people think, say and do when they struggle to make improvements to make healthy changes or notice a change in their bodies. We’ll learn how to make a difference when talking about cancer. In the video above, lead educators Gill and Gwen talk about some of the reasons people give for not making healthy changes or not visiting their doctor when they notice an unusual or persistent change to their body. We refer to these thoughts and attitudes as barriers, because they prevent people from taking action. And don’t forget to review the learner discussion themes from week 1, in the PDF guide below.

Activity and Discussion

• Write down the views and barriers that you identified in the quotes Gill and Gwen reported. What were the common themes in the quotes?
• Why do you think people give such reasons?
• What other reasons have you heard people give for not taking action regarding their health?
• Please share your views in the comments section.

What’s next?

In the next step, we’ll listen in on conversations that Brian and his wife have with friends. Think about the barriers we’ve identified and spot the issues that arise in their talks.