| "Is it easy to
do (especially in terms of skills, access, time, and money)?"
Another determinant is whether or not the person thinks the
preventive action is (or would be) easy for him or her to
do. Another name for this barrier is "perceived self-efficacy."
If a person thinks that an action is very difficult to do,
he or she may not do it. This includes (but is not limited
to) having the required
- Ability (skills or knowledge),
- Access (e.g., to services, supplies), and
- The “costs” in terms of time and money
Examples
-
The old fisherman said that it was too difficult to quit
smoking. He did not know a good method for quitting.
-
Let's say that a mother thinks that her child can get
dehydrated, that dehydration is serious, that ORS works
to prevent it, and her family is in favor of it, but she
thinks that it is too difficult to make. She probably
will not use it. The same is often true with boiling water
for purification (i.e., too much time and firewood are
required for many people to do this).
What could we do to make boiling water easier? Boil it
with a lid; it takes much less time. Also, we could look
into why it is so difficult for people. We may suggest
that people use the last bit of hot coals to boil the
water once they have finished cooking, and save the water
for the next day. The presence of this barrier should
lead us to think of creative ways to decrease the amount
of time, money, or other resources needed to do the behavior.
This determinant can also be turned around into a positive
attribute of the action. If someone really enjoys and feels
skilled at doing a particular behavior (e.g., preparing nutrient-dense
meals), he/she may be more likely to do it.
You can ask them what made them feel confident in their ability
to do it, and use their response when promoting the behavior
with others. For example, a person may say that preparing
ORS in the presence of a CHW (the first time they made it)
made him or her feel better prepared to do it on their own.
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