Adult adaptive health actions are partially shaped by their locus of health decision-making control, varying between an external locus, where health decisions are made by others, and an internal locus, where health decisions are primarily made by the individual.
Relevance: Health care marketing communications need to apply different tactics depending on the locus of health decision-making control of the target audience.
Relevance: Health care marketing communications need to apply different tactics depending on the locus of health decision-making control of the target audience.
Locus of Health decision-making control and
The adaptive patterns stage
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As adults develop an internal locus of health decision-making control, health decisions become more complex. They are increasingly influenced by personal preferences, dislikes, habits, and physical capabilities as adults encounter new and routine health-related situations.
These interactions complicate health decision-making, forcing the individual to unconsciously adopt a default pattern optimized for balancing internal preferences against situational adaptive necessities. This is the Adaptive Patterns stage. |
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Relevance: Marketing communications, engagement, or behavior change interventions optimally tailored to an adult's health adaptive pattern, representing intrinsically-goal-directed motivations, will generate greater success than one-size-fits-all alternatives.