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Social Cognitive Theory

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For the purpose of this paper, the following theories will be applied to explain the causes and consequences of EVD, and predict ways to address the disease: Social Cognitive Theory and Community Organization complemented with health communication.
Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) addresses interactions between individuals (internal) and their environment (external). Cognition (what we know and think), and our environment influence our choices and actions. Individuals exist within an environment, as part of families, communities or other group; interact with each other, influence their environment and are influenced by the environment. The constructs of SCT are Individual characteristics (Behavioural capability, Expectations and Expectancies, …show more content…

It actively engages members of the community, ensuring that designed interventions are relevant, effective, socially and culturally acceptable; and promote uptake of prevention and risk reduction measures. This leads to empowerment, as the community gains control of the issues, set their priorities and take necessary actions to produce change. Ultimately, the community develops competence with respect to solving its problems, and gains experience. Health promotion is made easier as conditions that favour healthy behaviours are created; thus it can be concluded that communities can either support or inhibit health behaviour change (Edberg …show more content…

Thus, community mobilization will be very useful in addressing EVD. According to the WHO, community engagement and social mobilization is critical to successfully controlling outbreaks. This entails defining communities to be mobilised such as villages, settlements, and in the process, identify community leaders e.g. village chief, traditional healers, village elders, and local secret societies. These leaders are respected in their communities, and usually have the people’s ear; they can bring community members together on a platform where they can participate in identifying problems /challenges and formulating solutions tailored to their sociocultural context. This process confers a sense of ownership and responsibility on the community, and makes acceptance of proposed solutions easy. The community can also advocate for change with respect to how health authorities communicate with the community, and performance of dignified

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