Lifecourse and lifestyle: the social and cultural location of health behaviours.

Drawing on two qualitative studies carried out independently in the U.K. this paper examines the cultural construction of physical and social ageing, and the part this plays in commonsense assessments of daily health relevant behaviour. The concepts of lifecourse and lifestyle are examined as they are presented in both social scientific and lay discourse. The collaborative inductive analysis was based on the observation from both studies that respondents regularly accounted for health and illness, and their associated behaviours, in terms of individuals perceived social circumstances and obligations. Position in the lifecourse was regularly used to express and encapsulate these constellations of socio-cultural processes and variables. The analysis focuses on there stage of the lifecourse as identified by respondents; and examines how these were related in lay discourse to particular health-relevant behaviours or lifestyles. It is concluded that it is important for health promotion to work with rather than against cultural norms and every day principles of social organisation in order better to understand lay perceptions of what constitutes acceptable health-relevant behaviour.

Lay evaluation of health and healthy lifestyles: evidence from three studies.

The maintenance of good health in the well population is an important goal of modern general practice. This often takes the form of encouraging patients to lead healthier lives, particularly where diet, exercise, alcohol and smoking are concerned. The fact that many people appear not to follow 'healthy lifestyle' advice suggests that more needs to be known about how relatively simple health promotion messages are understood and evaluated by the lay public. In this paper, findings from three independent qualitative social research projects in Scotland and Wales are analysed together. As qualitative social research is usually carried out with small numbers of informants, the work reported here represents an unusual opportunity for a large amount of interview and observational data to be analysed. The findings indicate that lay evaluation processes use subtle ideas of balance to weigh up the desirability of behaviour change, and that the practice of 'trading-off' positive and negative aspects of health-related behaviour is widespread. Conclusions for health promotion in the general practice setting are drawn. In particular it is suggested that the local knowledge held by the primary care team, and the opportunities for one-to-one interaction which exist in the general practice setting, are extremely important resources, given the highly personal nature of public evaluations of lifestyle change.

Stage-specific Monoclonal Antibodies to the Potato Cyst Nematode Globodera pallida Stone (Behrens).

Using standard hybridoma technology and hierarchical screening, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were obtained with specific reactivity against two developmental stages of Globodera pallida. The procedure was based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with homogenates prepared from second-stage juveniles, young adult females, and potato roots. Hybridomas were formed by fusing myelomas with splenocytes derived from mice immunized with either infective juveniles or females of G. pallida. About 600 hybridoma lines were screened from the fusion involving the mouse immunized with juveniles. Two MAbs (LJMAbl &2) were identified with high reactivity toward second-stage juveniles but no reactivity with either potato roots or females of G. pallida. A total of 630 cell lines was screened from the corresponding fusion involving the spleen of a mouse receiving immunogens from adult female nematodes. One MAb (LFMAbl) was obtained with the required specificity against only adult female G. pallida. This work extends the application of monoclonal antibodies in nematology from valuable probes for research and species identification to recognition of developmental stages. These specific MAbs have potential value in plant breeding programs for screening for resistant lines unable to support nematode development.

Patterns of unhealthy eating behaviours in a middle aged Scottish population.

This paper examines unhealthy eating in a middle aged Scottish population. Data from a 1989 survey of 500 Scottish men and women aged 45 to 59 years are used to explore inter-relations among five items of unhealthy eating, smoking and alcohol consumption. The results show that unhealthy eating behaviours are highly correlated, indicating strong links among certain nutrition habits. The findings also reveal that such patterns of unhealthy eating vary considerably between males and females. Finally, unhealthy eating behaviours were also found to be significantly associated with smoking and alcohol consumption. Implications of these findings for future research in epidemiology and health promotion are considered.

The construction of health knowledge in middle class families.

This paper examines some of the complexities involved in the relationship between knowledge, both 'lay' and 'scientific', and everyday health relevant behaviour. It is based on a multi-interview qualitative study of middle class family groups. The study explored the ways in which images of health, the socio-cultural context of behaviour and the constraints of daily life provided the background to health-relevant behaviour. The sample comprised a randomly selected group of home-owning, middle class couples, each with two children. Three rounds of semi-structured interviews were carried out with spouses during an 18 month fieldwork period. Their children, age range 4-12, were also interviewed. The main focus of the study was on the development of health-relevant beliefs and behaviours in the context of everyday life, particularly domestic life. In this paper some characteristics of how respondents perceived, interpreted and evaluated health knowledge are described. Illustrations are given of the differences between respondents' initial accounts of their 'usual' behaviours and the detailed descriptions of their daily lives obtained in later interviews. It is concluded that knowledge about health was not necessarily translated into behavioural practices, even in a supposedly health promoting environment. Qualitative examination of the socio-cultural context of daily behaviour may add to our understanding of the gaps between knowledge, attitudes and practices.