Health belief model

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Dynamic Health Belief Model2

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The Health Belief Model (HBM) is a psychological model that attempts to explain and predict health behaviors by focusing on the attitudes and beliefs of individuals. It was developed in the 1950s by social psychologists Irwin M. Rosenstock, Godfrey Hochbaum, S. Stephen Kegeles, and Howard Leventhal.

Components of the Health Belief Model

The HBM is based on the understanding that a person will take a health-related action if that person:

• Feels that a negative health condition can be avoided,
• Has a positive expectation that by taking a recommended action, they will avoid a negative health condition,
• Believes that they can successfully take a recommended health action.

The model consists of several key components:

Perceived Susceptibility

This refers to an individual's assessment of their risk of getting a condition. For example, a person may believe they are at high risk of developing diabetes if they have a family history of the disease.

Perceived Severity

This involves an individual's belief about the seriousness of contracting an illness or of leaving it untreated. This can include both medical consequences (e.g., death, disability) and social consequences (e.g., impact on family life, social relationships).

Perceived Benefits

This is the belief in the efficacy of the advised action to reduce risk or seriousness of impact. For instance, a person may believe that regular exercise will reduce their risk of heart disease.

Perceived Barriers

These are the individual's assessment of the obstacles to behavior change. It includes both tangible and psychological costs of the advised action. For example, a person may believe that the cost of a gym membership is too high, or they may feel embarrassed to exercise in public.

Cue to Action

This is the trigger that prompts the decision-making process to accept a recommended health action. Cues to action can be internal (e.g., symptoms of a health condition) or external (e.g., advice from friends, media campaigns).

Self-Efficacy

Added to the model in 1988, self-efficacy refers to the level of a person's confidence in their ability to successfully perform a behavior. Higher self-efficacy can lead to greater motivation and persistence in the face of challenges.

Applications of the Health Belief Model

The HBM has been widely used to develop interventions aimed at changing health behaviors. It has been applied to a variety of health issues, including:

• Smoking cessation
• Weight loss
• Vaccination
• HIV/AIDS prevention
• Chronic disease management

Criticisms of the Health Belief Model

While the HBM has been influential, it has also faced criticism. Some of the main criticisms include:

• It does not account for a person's attitudes, beliefs, or other individual determinants that dictate a person's acceptance of a health behavior.
• It does not take into account behaviors that are performed for non-health related reasons such as social acceptability.
• It does not consider environmental or economic factors that may influence health behaviors.
• It assumes that everyone has access to equal amounts of information on the illness or disease.

See Also

• Theory of Planned Behavior
• Social Cognitive Theory
• Transtheoretical Model
• Health psychology
• Behavioral medicine

References

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