The Ecological Model Is Used To Improve Health Programs

By Ilana Stein

For many of us, the word “ecology” brings to mind images of nature, of food webs and pyramids, of how every living thing is interconnected with another. But, the idea of an ecological model has little to do with nature and much to do with health, human behavior and health education. It is the way that ecology works – its interconnectedness – that is being used.

An ecological model is a strategy used by health promotion programs, which looks at the interaction between factors and elements of a particular health issue. In ecological models – also called social ecological models – the idea is that there are multiple levels of influence affecting health behaviors.

The Purpose of an Ecological Model

The point of ecological models is to help improve health behaviors and health education through the use of what is known as the “ecological perspective”. This model explains that there is more to health promotion than eating right or basic health practice.

Social ecological models take into account the health behavior across society or a community – the societal factors – from an organizational, physical and social point of view. Through using this ecological framework, health promotion and health education, as well as public policy, can be developed.

The Levels of Influence in The Ecological Model

The ecological framework works with what is known as “multiple levels of influence.” These are factors that are defined as follows: individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy.

Each or any of these different levels of influence, or the interaction between them, will have an impact on health behavior. Studying the interaction between and interplay of factors helps create the social ecological model.

How to Build an Ecological Model

Let’s say we’re looking at a health issue in public health. Perhaps it is the need to promote healthy eating to prevent diseases. It is not enough to discuss the health problem on its own. We need to look at it from different perspectives and using the interaction of different factors. So we would need to research the issue at hand.

Once done, we must take the attitudes or beliefs of the individual into account, as well as the social and cultural norms of the society in which he or she lives. We would need to look at the influence of his/her social networks and family, aligning this to the interpersonal factor, and the health organizations that provide health education – as well as the availability of any public health organization within the person’s immediate environment.

Inward and Outward Interactions of The Ecological Model

After all, people interact with their physical environment as well as their social environment. This interaction works both ways – we all behave in a way that affects those around us and we are in turn affected by the environment around us. This idea of behavior that influences and is in turn impacted by multiple levels of influence is an important element of the ecological perspective; these points can promote healthy behavior and health education.

Once we have the range of factors and how they work with each other, these are now analyzed, which allows for better understanding of the influences of health behavior. Other models can be brought in as well, so that eventually, there is a design of a public policy program aimed at disease prevention or encouraging health behavior that is all-encompassing. The ecological nature of such a model usually results in a much more effective program with a higher success rate of being implemented.

Results of the Ecological Model

The results of a successfully implemented ecological model can be more than just good strategies for health organizations. They can lead to positive changes in health behavior of individuals and communities. What strategies does the ecological model use? There are a number of ways to change behavior successfully. These include: Behavior change communication, social change communication, social mobilization, and advocacy.

Communication is one of the most important methods, from that of communicating with individuals, to communicating within social groups. One way of communicating is to spread knowledge or making people aware of issues. Social change communication makes use of social media or other societal resources or influences, such as community organizations – these can help to change attitudes or beliefs.

Social mobilization is when the community comes on board and begins to become the change it wishes to see. Here, the community is in charge and creates the change itself.

Finally, advocacy empowers the individual (sometimes via the community) to take up the cause by demanding policy changes at the leadership level.

Emphasizing the “Ecological” in the Model

While this model has been developed and used successfully in the health sphere, for example in disease control and prevention, the same idea can apply to the environmental sphere. In trying to get people to change their behavior to help the natural environment, we can use the same methods – researching the various factors involved in people’s behaviors.

Once the factors have been identified on the five levels of individual, interpersonal, organizational, community and public policy, strategies can be implemented in which we can communicate ways to change behavior that can make our planet a healthier one for all who live on it.

Religion and the Ecological Model

Religious organizations offer a powerful venue from which to influence society, especially when utilizing the social ecological model. In a study on using churches for promoting health, researchers found the following: “From a socioecological perspective, churches and other religious organizations can influence members’ behaviors at multiple levels of change.” Utilizing religious organizations to address the biggest issues facing society like climate change is a crucial part of our work at the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development (ICSD).

However, the study cited above comes with a caveat: “A collaborative partnership approach utilizing principles of community-based participatory research, and involving churches in program design and delivery, is essential for recruitment, participation, and sustainability.” The ecological model works wonderfully in tandem with religious organizations, but it must be implemented in a spirit of “collaborative partnership.” We can save the planet using religion and the ecological model, but only if we work together as equals.

* Featured image source