Essay on The Health Belief Model (HBM)

The Health Belief Model is commonly used for health promotion and health education. Its’ underlying concept is that health behavior is explained by perception of the disease and the strategies available to lower its occurrence. There are four perceptions of the HBM, which are perceived seriousness, perceived benefit, perceived susceptibility and perceived barriers. In addition to that, more constructs are added to health belief model that includes motivating factor, cues to action and self-efficacy. Each of these constructs in combination or individually, could be used to determine health behavior. The HBM also provides guidelines for the program development allowing planners to address reasons for non-compliance with recommended health action. The health belief model is a process used to promote healthy behavior among individuals who may be at risk of developing adverse health outcomes. A person must gauge their perceptions of severity and susceptibility of developing a disease. Then it is essential to feel vulnerable by these perceptions. Environmental factors can play a role as well as cues to action such as media, and close friends. In order to determine that taking action will be meaningful, the benefits to change must be weighed, against the barriers to change behavior (Green & Murphy, 2014).

The health belief model is composed of two factors that influences a person’s particular health behavior: the perceived health threat and the perceived threat reduction (pros and cons). Using the health belief model, there are three factors considered when perceiving a health threat: general health values, specific beliefs about personal vulnerability/susceptibility, and beliefs about the consequences of the disorder as well as the severity of it. In the scenario, Charles is a college student that smokes cigarettes and is fully aware of the risks and consequences associated with doing so because of the Surgeon General’s warning.

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

“Effects of a Health Belief Model-base nursing intervention on Chinese patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A randomised controlled trial” is a study conducted by Wang et al. (2014) that utilises the HBM. This study aims to investigate the effects on healthcare outcomes in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by pairing scheduled follow-up sessions after discharge with a HBM-based nursing intervention. The use of HBM was to improve disease management by the patients especially in reducing COPD acute attacks. They hypothesised that this intervention will improve COPD patients’ healthcare outcomes which includes HBM’s health beliefs and self-efficacy, activities of daily

The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not a health education program changed the knowledge and attitudes of low-income women, surrounding breast cancer and mammography. The hypothesis of this study is that the education program will have a positive affect on both attitudes and knowledge. This study will measure the constructs of the health belief model to determine what changes have been made from the start of the program to finish. The health belief model is a model that focuses on attitudes and beliefs in an attempt to explain and foresee a certain health behavior, in this case that behavior is getting a mammogram. Women of low-income living in New Hanover county will be recruited to participate in this study.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a group of more than 200 related viruses. More than 40 HPV types can be easily spread through direct sexual contact, from the skin and mucous membranes of infected people to the skin and mucous membranes of their partners. They can be spread by vaginal, anal, and oral sex. Other HPV types are responsible for non-genital warts, which are not sexually transmitted. High-risk HPV types cause approximately 5 percent of all cancers worldwide. In the United States, high-risk HPV types cause approximately 3 percent of all cancer cases among women and 2 percent of all cancer cases among men. High-risk HPVs cause several types of cancer: cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer, anal cancer, penile

The Health Belief model is a psychological construct that is used to predict health behavior (see Figure 1). The two components of the model that are used to predict behavior are the perception of the threat and the perception of the benefits and barriers to taking action to reduce the threat. The perception of the threat is composed of two elements: the perception of seriousness of the threat and the perception of the susceptibility to the threat (Sharafkhani, et al. 30). As an example, if the individual believes that being overweight or obese will have a very negative impact on their health, then the perceived seriousness of the threat will be high. At the other end of the spectrum, if the individual believes that being overweight or obese will have little effect of their health, the perceived seriousness will be low. The perceived susceptibility to the threat is the extent to which the individual believes that the consequences of overweight or obesity applies to them personally (Sharafkhani, et al. 30). For example, if the individual believes that they are unlikely to become diabetic or to develop high blood pressure as a result of being overweight or obese, the perceived susceptibility is low. If, however, the individual has several family members who have been diagnosed with hypertension or diabetes, they would be more inclined to believe that they have a high susceptibility to the consequences of being overweight or obese.

There are more than 4 million houses that have children that are being exposed to high levels of lead. Amongst these the number of children between ages 1-5 have blood lead levels > 5 micrograms per deciliter and are around half a million. It has been found out there no blood lead level that is safe in children and can be harmful to the body. This poisoning is a very serious problem but it is still curable. Children can suffer from neurological damage because of which they can have low IQ level and behavioral problems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended for public health actions to be taken on this matter.4

The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs and behaviors of college women when it comes to gynecological exams. The second objective was to apply some of the constructs of the Health Belief Model to predict college women’s intentions and behaviors related to gynecological screenings. Ultimately the study aimed to see if the difference between college women’s PAP tests behaviors and intentions could be attributed to their perceptions, as the Health Belief Model suggests.

Edelman and Mandle (2010) describes health belief model as it explores the client’s readiness to change, the client’s perception toward needing to change, and the clients perceived benefits to the health change. The nurse can use this model to encourage patient’s behavior changes by educating patients and their families. The nurse should be prepared with the education material. The nurse should identify if the patient is ready to learn or not. The nurse should choose the time to educate the patient when patient are not tired, not distracted and have energy and readiness to learn. The nurse should explain clearly and in simple way that the patient would understand. The nurse should explain the outcome of smoking and how the particular behavior

Some of the Health Belief Model’s strengths are: that it can be used alone or in conjunction with other models, it also gives us a good understanding about what beliefs or attitudes motivate a person’s behaviors. It also is a good tool to use in ending of detrimental behaviors and gaining of positive behaviors, the Health Belief Model also enhances self-control. The benefit of this model is that it helps us remember that people's health choices are based not only on rational thought but also on our emotions, normal day-to-day habits, social conditioning and personal preference. It opens our eyes to what might be more effective social teaching methods that promote healthy habits. Studies have indicated that the Health Belief Model has limited predictive ability in most health-related areas.

Using the Health Belief model, patients must be motivated about their health, they must want to take ownership of it, and they must make changes and choices which will benefit their life. This is a difficult challenge for most because it will put them out of their comfort zone, it will force them to make changes which most people will view in a negative way. A great example of this is people who are insulin dependent diabetics.

The health belief model was developed in the 1950’s and is considered one of the most recognized health behavior theories in the field (NIH, 2005). The model was initially created by social psychologists Hochbaum, Rosenstock, and Kegels for the U.S. Public Health Service to determine why free tuberculosis screenings were not successful. The model’s usage has grown to incorporate the long and short term behaviors in individuals with HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and osteoporosis. The health belief model’s main goal is to explain and predict health behaviors. Essentially, the model explains why an individual will or will not participate in a recommended health improvement process.

In the article Nonadherence and osteoporosis treatment preferences of older women: a qualitative study, Unson et al. (2003) outlines a qualitative study that involves focus group discussions. The purpose of this study is to show that physicians must have an understanding of patients’ medication beliefs in order to enhance medication adherence. This study examined how beliefs about medication and four osteoporosis treatments influenced treatment selection and adherence. The framework in the study is the Health Belief Model (HBM). Health Belief Model (HBM) likelihood of adherence to a treatment increases when a person perceives himself or herself to be susceptible to an illness, evaluates the illness outcomes as severe, and concludes that

Health Belief Model According to Boskey (2010), Health Belief Model (HBM) is defined as a realistic tool that scientists use to change health behaviour. It was originally developed in the 1950s and updated in the 1980s. It is based on the theory that a person’s willingness to change their behaviour is primarily due to the following factors.