Social and Behavioral Sciences
Core concepts
This domain explains how social conditions and behavior shape health. Know the social determinants of health (income, education, housing, employment, food security, neighborhood, social support) and the fundamental cause idea-social advantage persists across changing disease patterns. Understand health equity vs equality and the life course perspective (critical periods, cumulative risk).
Master behavioral models: the Health Belief Model (perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, cues to action, self-efficacy); the Transtheoretical/Stages of Change model (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance); Social Cognitive Theory (self-efficacy, observational learning, reciprocal determinism); and the Ecological Model (individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, policy levels).
Traps
- Confusing equity (tailored to need) with equality (same for all).
- Mixing primary prevention (prevent onset) with secondary (early detection) and tertiary (reduce complications).
- Attributing behavior solely to individual choice-questions reward multilevel explanations.
- Misapplying stages of change: a person unaware of a problem is precontemplation, not "action."
Worked example
A smoking cessation program: a patient who has never considered quitting is precontemplation-interventions should raise awareness, not prescribe a quit plan. A patient ready to quit within 30 days is in preparation-provide concrete action support. Matching the intervention to the stage is the tested skill.
Rule of thumb
When a stem describes a policy, community, or interpersonal factor, locate it on the Ecological Model level rather than labeling it an individual trait.