
The health belief model suggests that modifying variables affect health-related behaviors indirectly by affecting perceived seriousness, susceptibility, benefits, and barriers. The health belief model posits that a cue, or trigger, is necessary for prompting engagement in health-promoting behaviors. Cues to action can be internal or external.
What are the Six constructs of the health belief model?
- Demographic variables (such as age, gender, ethnicity, occupation)
- Socio-psychological variables (such as social economic status, personality, coping strategies)
- Perceived efficacy (an individual's self-assessment of ability to successfully adopt the desired behavior)
What is an example of a health belief model?
The health belief model was developed specifically to explain health behavior. Health belief model examples have been applied to understand, for instance, the association and influence of diabetes knowledge and diabetes management health benefits and breast cancer screening behaviors.
What is the health belief model theory?
The health belief model theory helps to explain the relationship between health behavior, motivation, and action. This theory aids in understanding why some individual’s health behaviors can be changed while others cannot.
What are the limitations of the health belief model?
There are several limitations of the HBM which limit its utility in public health. Limitations of the model include the following: It does not account for a person's attitudes, beliefs, or other individual determinants that dictate a person's acceptance of a health behavior.

How does the Health Belief Model influence behaviour?
The model defines the key factors that influence health behaviors as an individual's perceived threat to sickness or disease (perceived susceptibility), belief of consequence (perceived severity), potential positive benefits of action (perceived benefits), perceived barriers to action, exposure to factors that prompt ...
How effective is the Health Belief Model?
The HBM has been used continuously in the development of behaviour change interventions for 40 years. Of 18 eligible studies, 14 (78%) reported significant improvements in adherence, with 7 (39%) showing moderate to large effects.
How can the Health Belief Model be used for mental health?
The HBM is a socio-cognitive approach that proposes that people are likely to engage in a given health-related behavior when they believe the problem could have serious consequences for daily living activities, when they believe the intervention will be effective, and when they perceive few barriers to taking action.
How do you explain the Health Belief Model?
The Health Belief Model states that people's beliefs influence their health-related actions or behaviors. Individuals will likely take action when experiencing a personal threat or risk, but only if the benefits of taking action outweigh the barriers, whether real or perceived.
What is the Health Belief Model simple explanation?
The Health Belief Model (HBM) posits that messages will achieve optimal behavior change if they successfully target perceived barriers, benefits, self-efficacy, and threat. While the model seems to be an ideal explanatory framework for communication research, theoretical limitations have limited its use in the field.
What is an example of Health Belief Model?
People will not change their health behaviors unless they believe that they are at risk. For example: Individuals who do not think they will get the flu are less likely to get a yearly flu shot. People who think they are unlikely to get skin cancer are less likely to wear sunscreen or limit sun exposure.
Which of the following is an example of a health behavior?
Actions that can be classified as health behaviors are many; examples include smoking, substance use, diet, physical activity, sleep, risky sexual activities, health care seeking behaviors, and adherence to prescribed medical treatments.
What is the importance of being able to explain and predict health related behaviors?
Public Health as a Social Science Social and behavioral theories and models not only help to explain health-related behavior and its determinants, they can also guide the development of interventions to influence and change health-related behavior and ultimately improve health.
What are the limitations of the Health Belief Model?
Limitations of Health Belief Model It does not take into account behaviors that are habitual and thus may inform the decision-making process to accept a recommended action (e.g., smoking). It does not take into account behaviors that are performed for non-health related reasons such as social acceptability.
Is the Health Belief Model a theory?
The Health Belief Model (HBM) is a tool that scientists use to try to predict health behaviors. It was originally developed in the 1950s and updated in the 1980s. The model is based on the theory that a person's willingness to change their health behaviors primarily comes from their health perceptions.
How is self-efficacy achieved?
One's sense of self-efficacy can provide the foundation for motivation, well-being, and personal accomplishment. People's beliefs in their efficacy are developed by four main sources of influence, including (i) mastery experiences, (ii) vicarious experiences, (iii) social persuasion, and (iv) emotional states.
What is true regarding the Health Belief Model quizlet?
The Health Belief Model takes into consideration an individual's attitude towards a threat by a health condition. Tom lost his left leg and is afraid that if does not maintain the healthy lifestyle there will be serious health consequences.
How to use the health belief model?
Ready to start using the Health Belief Model? Here are a couple of things to keep in mind before you do: 1 Not every theory can be used to address every behavior. 2 Theories can be used most effectively when you understand the construct your community struggles with the#N#most. 3 It may make sense for you to combine constructs from multiple theories. 4 Theory is only one part of an effective program.
How to motivate behavior change?
There are lots of ways you can add cues to action to motivate behavior change. If you’re with the individuals regularly, add visual cues somewhere they’re likely to notice. You can also inform people of cues to action that may be helpful and help them identify the most effective reminder for them.
How do we go about helping our communities make healthier choices while maintaining our own sanity?
So, how do we go about helping our communities make healthier choices while maintaining our own sanity? The best way is to use an evidence-based program that’s been proven to affect the behaviors you want to change. But sometimes using an evidence-based program just isn’t feasible for several reasons:
What is the most widely used model to study and change behavior?
One of the most widely models used to study and change behavior is the Health Belief Model (HBM). The model basically says that an individual’s behavior is determined by their beliefs about the behavior and the condition that might result from the behavior.
Is theory only one part of an effective program?
Theory is only one part of an effective program.
Can every theory be used to address every behavior?
Not every theory can be used to address every behavior.
Does behavior change produce immediate benefits?
Sometimes, behavior change produces immediate benefits. If that’s the case for the behavior you hope to change, use it. My personal favorites are the advertisements that show how your body improves as soon as you quit smoking (like the one below). These images do a great job of helping people understand the immediate benefits, which is especially important for young people who are rarely thinking about their health at the ripe “old” age of 50.
How many components are there in the Health Belief Model?
Components of Health Belief Model (HBM): There are six components of HBM. The first four components are established as the original beliefs of the HBM while the last two are more regarded as the research about the HBM developed. The six components are:
What is HBM in psychology?
It is a methodical tool that researchers or experts often use to determine or forecast human behaviors towards health. This is done by focusing on the attitudes and beliefs of individuals. Familiarizes theories from behavior disciplines to inspect health complications. HBM is based on following assumptions or predictions: ...
What is the path of action plan a person takes in inhibiting (or curing) illness or disease?
The path of action plan a person takes in inhibiting (or curing) illness or disease be dependent on reflection and evaluation of mutually perceived susceptibility and perceived benefit, such that an individual would agree on the acclaimed health action if it was observed as beneficial.
What is HBM based on?
HBM is based on following assumptions or predictions: An individual desire or wants to evade illness, or inversely get well in case of current illness. An individual believes that an exact health act might avoid, or treat illness.
What is self efficacy in psychology?
This conception was added to the model in recent times in mid-1980. Self-efficacy is a paradigm in several behavior theories. For instance, it openly relates to whether a person carries out the preferred behavior.
When was the HBM model developed?
During the development of HBM, social psychologists were asked to explain why people do not participate in health behaviors (Rosenstock, 1960; 1966) The model was developed in 1950’s as a way to explain why medical screening programs offered by US Public Health Service were not successful.
Does smoking explain behaviors?
It does not explain the behaviors that are routine and consequently may possibly inform the decision-making process to accept an acclaimed action (e.g., smoking).
What is the purpose of the health belief model?
The Health Belief Model is a theoretical model that can be used to guide health promotion and disease prevention programs. It is used to explain and predict individual changes in health behaviors. It is one of the most widely used models for understanding health behaviors.
What is the purpose of conveying the consequences of the health issues associated with risk behaviors in a clear and un?
Conveying the consequences of the health issues associated with risk behaviors in a clear and unambiguous fashion to understand perceived severity.
What is the health belief model?
The health belief model is a psychological model that attempts to explain and predict health behaviors by focusing on the attitudes and beliefs of individuals. The key variables of the health belief model are as follows [4 ]: 1. Degree of perceived risk of a disease.
What is the central aspect of the Health Belief Model?
Therefore, a central aspect of the Health Belief Model is that behavior change interventions are more effective if they address an individual’s specific perceptions about susceptibility, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy [5].
What is HBM in psychology?
The HBM attempts to predict health-related behavior in terms of certain belief patterns. A person's motivation to undertake a health behavior can be divided into three categories: individual perceptions, modifying factors, and likelihood of action.
What is the HBM model?
The Health Belief Model (HBM ) hypothesizes that health-related behavior depends on the combination of several factors, namely, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy. Perceived susceptibility refers to an individual's opinion of the chances ...
What is the dependent on health related behaviors?
Whether an individual chooses to engage in health-related behaviors is further dependent on his/her perceptions of (1) susceptibility to the health threat, (2) severity of the health threat, (3) likelihood of reducing the threat by engaging in the behavior, and (4) costs associated with engaging in the behavior.
What are the two theories of behavior change?
BEHAVIOR CHANGE THEORIES AND STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE. Two theories of behavior change, the health belief model and social cognitive theory, have been widely used to develop strategies to help patients learn to adopt healthy behaviors and to work with their clinicians to improve their health.
What is motivation for change?
Motivation for change depends on the presence of a sufficient degree of perceived risk in combination with sufficient self-efficacy. Perceived risk without self-efficacy tends to result in defensive cognitive coping, such as denial, rationalization, and projection, rather than behavior change. The first element of this change model can easily be converted to a degree of perceived promise (for a positive goal), being the cross-product of perceived probability of obtaining the eventual reward.
What is the Health Belief Model?
A behavioral health theory is a combination of knowledge, opinions, and actions taken by an individual in reference to their health. The health belief model (HBM) is one of the first behavioral health theories.
Health Belief Model Background
A group of social psychologists developed the health belief model in the 1950s while working in the U.S. Public Health Service. They wanted to explain why so few people were participating in a free tuberculosis screening program.
Health Belief Model Constructs
There are six health belief model constructs that are utilized to predict why people will or will not take action to prevent, screen for, or control illness conditions. These six constructs focus on individual beliefs about health conditions. They include:
What is the health belief model?
The health belief model (HBM) was developed by social psychologists in the 1950’s. It is meant to account for various factors that may be influenced by human cognitions and beliefs. The HBM theorizes that these factors have influence over “health-related behaviors” These factors include: ”general health values, perceived susceptibility to illness, perceptions of illness severity, expectation of treatment success, self-efficacy, perceived barriers and benefits, and cues to action.” (Gruman, 203)
What is perceived susceptibility to illness?
Perceived susceptibility to illness: This is how and to what degree a person perceives a health risk. This depends on their knowledge of the disease and their personal connection to it.
Is HBM a good intervention?
The HBM is clearly a valuable tool of intervention for reducing and changing unhealthy behaviors. However, as with anything it is not without its shortcomings. Some studies that have followed this theoretical model’s framework have not found “supportive” results and a few psychologists have critiqued the HBM for only “listing factors that affect health behaviors, not explaining direct relationships. Luckily (or perhaps not) the “HBM has the ability to be operationalized in different ways.” (Gruman, 205) More work is definitely needed in this theoretical subfield before it can be applied.

Components of The Health Belief Model
Examples and Applications
- It can be helpful to look at how the Health Belief Model can be applied in different situations. One important aspect of public health is the design of programs that encourage people to engage in healthy behaviors, so understanding how this model can be applied to different situations can be useful.4 For example, experts may be interested in understanding public attitudes about cancer …
Criticisms of The Health Belief Model
- The Health Belief Model is not without criticism. Some of the limitations of this approach to understanding health include:6 1. It does not take into account how people's decisions may be shaped by habitual behaviors. 2. It focuses on the health-related reasons for behaviors but ignores the fact that people often engage in actions for other reasons, such as social acceptance. 3. It d…
A Word from Verywell
- The Health Belief Model can be a helpful way for health educators to design interventions that can improve both individual and public health. By understanding the factors that influence the health choices people make, programs can tackle ways to reduce barriers, improve knowledge, and help people feel more motivated to take action. It can also be a useful tool for thinking about your ow…