Health behaviour theory, adaptive capacity and the dynamics of disease risk

Abstract

Climate change may lead to shifts in the distribution and prevalence of a range of diseases that already pose severe health threats in many developing countries. In order to understand better both human vulnerability to those changes and prospects for adaptation, it is important to direct research attention in this field to aspects of the health behaviour of people currently exposed to disease risk. This review paper explores the potential for building on health behaviour theory to frame analysis of adaptive capacity to climate-sensitive infectious diseases at the grassroots level. It focuses on vector-borne diseases currently endemic in many lower-income countries and draws on existing behavioural studies to examine the applicability and limitations of a social cognitive approach. The review suggests that such an approach has clear value for deepening analysis of adaptive capacity, but needs to be complemented by a wider understanding of how adaptive behaviour is likely to be socially structured, economically constrained and modified over time.