Toward a public health of situations: the re-contextualization of risk

Abstract

This paper reviews the role of situational variables in health risk behaviors and the literature on the impact of context and situation in public health

Pill taking ‘routinization’: a critical factor to understanding episodic medication adherence

“…Consistent with conceptual models that account for the influence of situational contexts in explaining health behaviour (Ross & Ferreira-Pinto, 2000), findings from this small exploratory study of episodic adherence suggest that understanding daily routines and their role in pill-taking behaviour may be vital to optimizing adherence. The experiences of our participants, and results from other studies indicating that 'change in daily routine' is a common reason for missed doses (Chesney et al ., 2000), suggest that the ability to successfully integrate the regimen into one's daily routine and to adjust to spontaneous disruptions in the routine are important components to achieving high levels of adherence.…”

Sexual Risk Behavior of Men Who have Sex with Men: Comparison of Behavior at Home and at a Gay Resort

“…Prevention resources are limited and it may be cost-and time-effective to focus prevention efforts in the riskiest contexts or locales to maximize their potential effectiveness. Environmental and situational contexts can influence the sexual risk that is undertaken by individuals (Binson et al, 2001;Ross & Ferreira-Pinto, 2000). In addition, some evidence suggests that sexual risk behavior while on vacation may be elevated over behavior when at home.…”

The profile of professionals in health and education fields at work in their communities

“…For example, a risk situation may include drug abuse, conjugal difficulties, an unfamiliar environment, lack of condoms, financial difficulties or solitude, which may add to an insecure sexual behavior with an unknown partner more likely (Ross & Pinto, 2000). Even under circumstances where an individual has a high degree of autonomy regarding behaviors related to health, the situation can increase the variation in the explanation of risk behavior.…”

“…With the task of quantifying the variation of risk behavior, the situation can supply a series of variances not foreseen previously (Ross & Pinto, 2000). Understanding the sources of these additional variances can assist Public Health professionals to identify the situational variables that are potentially modified, and at the same time, call attention to the interactions between people and the situation.…”