Health Belief Model Prostate Cancer

Conner and Norman, 1995 describe the health belief model as ‘the oldest and most widely used model in health psychology’. It originated in the 50’s and was developed further by Hochbaum, Rosenstock and Kegals throughout the 1980’s for health education programmes and to predict different health behaviours and responses to treatments. The four terms that are the basis for the HBM are perceived susceptibility, perceived barriers, perceived severity and perceived benefits. The behaviour of the individual depends on their belief that they are susceptible to a health problem, how serious they deem it to be, whether they think that treatment will benefit them and if there are barriers that may get in the way.

The Health Belief Model (HBM) is one of the first theories of health behavior. It was developed in the 1950s by social psychologists in the U.S. Public Health Services to better understand the widespread failure of tuberculosis screening programs. Today it continues to be one of the most widely used theories. Research studies use it to explain and predict health behaviors seen in individuals. There is a broad range of health behaviors and subject populations that it is applied in. The concepts in the model involve perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy. Focusing on the attitudes and beliefs of individuals being studied create an understanding of their

Although survival rates of breast cancer are improving, it is occurring at a slower rate for minorities (O’Keefe et al., 2015). Recommendations on when to begin mammography screenings vary slightly with greatest consensus for women with average risk to begin annual screening at 40-years-old. Fewer minority women adhere to mammography guidelines than white women and an even greater gap exists for those above and below the poverty line (Kerans, 2004). Based on evidence from a systematic review of 88 studies, the Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends multicomponent interventions for breast cancer screening for the greatest impact on underserved

Early detection, screening and prevention, often times is not provided by mainstream America to support programs that benefit all American’s. Often Minority groups are sometimes five years after preventative screening before tests are available to

The North Carolina-Based Breast Cancer Screening Program (NC-BCSP) was questioning if they could increase African-American women’s access to breast cancer screening, would this help women determine their risk factors and seek further screening process? The goal was to decrease the obstructions of the women in North Carolina to everyday health care, but at the same time increase women’s access to breast cancer screening, while making connections that could help women across the state. The evaluated outcomes was to implement an education process so that there was a tracking system that would determine if the participants were at the human health center and clinic for their initial visit or a repeat visitor.

The healthy belief method was demonstrated with this study. The study demonstrated that the impact of health beliefs on behavior showed a direct relationship between health

African Americans carry an uneven share of the cancer load in the United States, having the highest death rate and shortest survival of any racial or ethnic group for most cancers. In this article, I will provide updated data for African Americans on cancer rate, death, survival, and cancer screening. I also estimate the total number of deaths prevented among African Americans as a result of the decline in cancer death rates since the early 1990s.

Both the health belief model (HBM) and theories of reasoned action/planned behavior (TRA/TPB) are two model that has their root from psychology. Both models rely on social cognition as a mechanism to change individuals’ behaviors. Opponent criticizes the models for being unable to target social influence outside of an individual and overlook difference between target audiences.

Nature and scope of the project: Despite the advances in medical technology, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and is the second cause of mortality in African-American and Caucasian women in the United States. Mammography has shown to be one of the best method to reduce late detection of breast cancer. The American Cancer Society recommends monthly self-breast examination (SBE), clinical breast examination every three years and mammography starting at age of 40. Despite the recommendations, there is a disparity among different racial groups. The breast cancer screening rates are higher in certain subgroups, including low-income African-Americans and Hispanic

As stated previously in 2014 the USA had approximately 20.3 million people who were diagnosed with cancer. When exploring the 2013 incident rates of men with cancer black men had an incident rate of 518. Compared to white men of 473.9, next came Hispanic and Asian; black males had the highest death rate among all races (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016b). In regards to women, white women had an incident rate of 417.4, followed by blacks, Hispanics, and Asians, but the highest death rate is among black women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016b). According to the statistics the needs for increased screening and care is needed in the African American and Hispanic community.

Most men will not visit a physician on a regular basis unless they are getting very ill. They believe that their health will get better in time without the help of a certified doctor. The average black man, with hypertension dies at the age of 55 years old due to no adherence to a low sodium diet and medication. Most black men do not like to be told to alter their diets and change their ways, it’s a pride thing for them. But the health conscious men that do go it is normally because their wives have harassed them constantly. Once they are comfortable with their doctors and understand the purpose of the drugs that they have been issued, sticking to medication adherence will keep them healthy and promote healthier lifestyles. Hypertension is the number one issue in the black community today, with diabetes coming in at a strong second. More blacks and people of color, as a general are being medically educated through their communities, churches and even family members. In today’s society there is no excuse to not be educated about health, nutrition and exercise. Most communities have medical facilities that provide transportation to assist with transportation needs to get community members to these

The study discusses the social cognitive theory and relates to it by sending monthly information to the churches that highlights a health behavior change strategy consistent with this theory (Kyryliuk, Baruth, & Wilcox, 2015). The social cognitive theory is defined as “a three-way, dynamic, reciprocal model in which personal factors, environmental influences, and behavior continually interact” (Glanz, Burke, & Rimer, 2015, p. 244). Another way the study incorporates this theory is by evaluating the participants personal factors, such as self-efficacy, environmental factors, such as perceived stress, and behavior, including nutrition and physical activity. It discusses a person’s confidence in their ability to make changes despite encountering obstacles or challenges, which is a variable that is assessed and examined throughout the study (Glanz, Burke, & Rimer, 2015).

For most African Americans, the abundance of fast food chains combined with reduced access to healthy affordable foods contributes to the pervasiveness of obesity and chronic illnesses. Moreover, older African Americans may be distrustful of doctors due to experiences of past generations of African Americans with health care. However, in recent times, African Americans are becoming gradually health conscious and are seeking health screenings and treatments.

Boskey (2014) concludes that a person’s willingness to change their health behaviors includes perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barriers, and cues to action and self-efficacy. For example, Carpenter (2010) report the Health Belief Model stipulates that a change may occur if individuals see an adverse health outcome to be severe and perceive them to be vulnerable to it. Other perceptions include benefits of behaviors that reduce the likelihood of that outcome to be high, and the barriers to adopting those behaviors low (Carter, 2010). Furthermore, the HBM addresses the relationship between a person’s beliefs and behaviors. It provides a way of understanding and predicting how clients will behave about their health and how they will comply with healthcare therapies (Boskey, 2014).