Four Stages Of Delay Behaviour

There is a delay behaviour when individuals do not seek medical health care for a problem immediately. There are four stages of delay behaviour which are Appraisal, Illness, Behavioural and Medical. There are also many reasons why individuals delay their medical treatment.

Appraisal delay is defined as the time it takes for the individual to decide whether the symptoms are serious. If the individual is not experiencing any symptoms that is illness then the result is appraisal delay. If the individual is experiencing symptoms that is illness then there is something wrong with his/her body. He or she will then proceeds to the next stage which is illness delay. For example, if the individual is experiencing symptoms such as a lump on the breast then he or she would go through a period of trying to decide what the symptom might mean and then what to do about it.

At this period of time, the individuals must decide whether to seek assistance from doctors, physician or others with a similar condition. For example, if the symptoms shown are serious and important enough to require action then the individual will seek various ways such as going for medical check-up. For example, if the cough persists and lasts for weeks then it might be something wrong and then they will seek medical treatment to know what the root cause of the problem is.

Behaviour delay is defined as the time between deciding to seek treatment and actually doing so. The factors affecting the individual’s decision to seek medical help are affordability such as whether they can afford the medical expenses as the cost of medical treatment is expensive. Therefore, they might not have the money to seek medical treatment for their