Appraisal Delay

The time between recognizing that a symptom exists and deciding that it is serious

Behavioral Delay

The time between deciding to seek treatment and actually doing something about

Commonsense Model of Illness

A model maintaining that people hold implicit commonsense beliefs about their symptoms and illnesses that result in organized illness representations or schemas and that influence their treatment decisions and adherence

Delay Behavior

The act of delaying seeking treatment for recognized symptoms

Illness Delay

The time between recognizing that a symptom implies an illness and the decision to seek treatment

Illness Representations

An organized set of beliefs about an illness or a type of illness, including its nature, cause, duration, and consequences

Lay Referral Network

An informal network of family and friends who help an individual interpret and treat a disorder before the individual seeks formal medical treatment

Medical Delay

A delay in treating symptoms, which results from problems within the medical system, such as faulty diagnoses or lost test results

Medical Students' Disease

The relabeling of symptoms of fatigue and exhaustion as a particular illness resulting from learning about that illness

Secondary Gains

Benefits of being treated for illness, including the ability to rest, to be freed from unpleasant tasks, and to be taken care of by others