Reflection:

1. Which health topics (choose at least two) are you most interested in, and why?

2. What health issues have affected you and/or your family/friends, and how has that influenced your attitude towards health?

Essay:

1. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, how motivated are you to make a healthy behavior change at this point in time, and WHY?

2. How will you maintain or increase your motivation for making healthy behavior changes?

After completing the questions above, choose one health-related behavior that you will work to change throughout the duration of this course and beyond. Include all of the following information:

Behavior Change Contract:

3. My behavior change goal will be (use the “SMART” criteria to set your goal):

4. What type of prevention (i.e. primary, secondary, or tertiary) would your behavior change be considered, and why?

5. Explain whether you have an External or Internal Locus of Control, and how this may affect your ability to attain this goal.

6. Explain how the constructs of the Health Belief Model apply to your situation and how this may affect your goal.

7. Explain what stage of the Transtheoretical Model you are currently in regarding this goal.

8. Discuss strategies and steps you will try to incorporate to support your efforts to change.

Reflection:

1. What stressors in your life would you like to deal with more effectively – briefly discuss them?

2. How do you typically deal with stress (include all ways that you can think of and be honest!)?

3. What positive characteristics or strengths do you have that will help you deal with stress better (explain how it will help)?

4. What are some of the traits you have that might obstruct your ability to handle stress effectively (explain how/why)?

5. Choose at least two relaxation techniques/strategies that you think might help you to manage stress more effectively, and briefly discuss how/when you would realistically try to incorporate them into your life.

Research Summary:

Choose any TWO of the following cancer risk topics to focus on:

• Obesity
• Alcohol
• Physical Inactivity
• Tanning
• HPV
• Chewing Tobacco

Based on the research provided from the National Cancer Institute via https://www.cancer.gov/, develop a summary for EACH topic that you choose by discussing important aspects associated with the selected cancer risk. Be sure to include sufficient information about the selected risk factor itself and how it potentially contributes to cancer, the types of cancers in particular that are identified in conjunction with the risk factor and why, any recommendations for prevention or how to reduce risk, and your overall reaction to the research findings (e.g., perhaps you were unaware of certain cancers being associated with a particular risk factor, etc.).

EACH summary should be at least 500 words in length (= a total of at least 1,000 words), and MUST be written using your own words! You cannot simply copy and paste information into your summary as this is considered plagiarism and will result in a failing grade. If you use additional sources (other than the National Cancer Institute) to obtain further research, you must cite those sources within your summary.

Discussion Forum/Essay:

It’s your turn to research and present information for all of us to learn from! You will decide which topic to focus on (below), and ultimately provide a summary/essay of your research findings for the class to review and discuss. Remember, your summary must be written in your own words – you cannot simply copy/paste information from another source into your summary/post. At the end of your summary, include a reference list of all sources used (APA style citation is preferred). You must use and cite at least three sources.

Choose ONE of the following options to research, and be sure to address all related questions. Your initial summary/post should be approximately 250-300 words in length. Submit your initial post no later than Wednesday, and then submit at least two replies on a subsequent day after reading through your classmates’ posts. Your replies need to be more substantial than just, “I agree” or “That’s interesting.” You need to expand upon your thoughts and offer additional insight and/or cite research to back your statements. Keep the discussion going throughout the week! As always, the quality of your writing matters (i.e. spelling, grammar, etc.), as does the reliability of the sources you use!

Option 1: Synthetic drugs

• Explain what synthetic drugs are, and give at least two specific examples/names of these drugs.
• What are some of the potential health risks associated with synthetic drugs? How/where are these drugs purchased? Discuss any current legislation regarding the sale of such drugs.
• Do you know someone, or have heard about someone (in the news, etc.), who has abused synthetic drugs? Briefly discuss the abuse, and what happened as a result. Based on your research, what would your message be to other people about the potential dangers of synthetic drugs?

-OR-

Option 2: Electronic cigarettes

• Explain how electronic cigarettes are used, and how this differs from smoking cigarettes.
• What are the potential health risks/concerns associated with vaping, and why does additional research need to be conducted on this topic?
• Based on your overall research, what seems to be the initial message about its safety, as well as its utilization as a quit smoking method? Do you know someone who uses e-cigarettes? If so, briefly discuss why they are vaping (e.g. just for “fun”, to relax, to help quit smoking, etc.), and whether or not smoking cigarettes has been, or still is, a part of their life.

Final Paper/Analysis:

All questions must be answered thoroughly and completely to reflect your level of understanding (and sufficient time and effort) in correlating the concepts learned from this course to your behavior change analysis. Note: Your grade will not be based on whether or not you reached your goal, but rather on the experience of setting and working toward a health behavior change goal, the learning that took place, and the quality of your related responses for this analysis.

1. Restate your initial behavior change goal and the specific strategies you had initially planned for making this change. Include any modifications that you made to your goal along the way, and explain why changes were made.

2. Discuss the progress that you have made toward your goal from the beginning of this course until now. Be specific in stating measurable outcomes (e.g. If your goal was to quit smoking, state how many cigarettes you used to smoke per day as compared to how many you currently smoke per day, etc.). Include specific barriers and challenges that you faced and how you addressed them.

3. Refer back to the Health Belief Model and discuss what, if any, changes occurred during this process in relation to your perceived seriousness and perceived susceptibility to potential health problems, as well as any cues to action that may have affected you.

4. Refer back to the Transtheoretical Model and discuss which stage you are currently in, and whether or not you have moved forward from where you started at the beginning of the course.

5. Realistically, how motivated are you to maintain and/or improve upon your health-related goals for the future? If you are not very motivated, what will potentially happen if you do not make any changes (be specific in discussing health related issues)?

6. Discuss the areas in your life that you most need to address and continue working on to improve your overall health (e.g. managing stress, quitting smoking, improving your communication skills, exercising more frequently, etc.).