Putting illness beliefs in context: new (uncommon) perspectives on the common-sense model

Abstract

Rationale The common-sense model of health and illness by Leventhal and colleagues has been widely used to understand individual attempts at coping with illness and illness-related stimuli. Research in the area has been greatly facilitated by the Illness Perception Questionnaire in different adaptations and revisions, but the application of the common-sense model beyond the measurement of established illness representation dimensions remains under-explored. Aims of this symposium: • To provide new or uncommon perspectives on the common-sense model • To explore the common sense model in context: the cultural context, the context of multiple illnesses, and the health care system context • To explore mediators and external influences in common-sense model research • To stimulate future research through the discussion of new perspectives on an established model. Symposium Summary: Dr Derwin Chan will present how the common-sense model can be applied in a non-Western context (China), examining the effects of illness perceptions on health and illness outcomes. Dr Jenny Mc Sharry’s contribution will present findings from a review on how people make sense of their illnesses in the context of multimorbidity. Prof Sheina Orbell’s study examines how the seasonal context affects individual illness cognitions. Prof Martin Hagger’s contribution will examine mediators in the context of the common-sense model, and Dr Benjamin Schuez shows how individual illness experience varies in the context of regional differences in health care supply. Through these contributions, we will highlight the need to consider new methods and perspectives, and to take individual contexts into account, when exploring the common-sense basis of health and illness experiences.