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.
The key variables of the HBM are as follows:- Perceived Threat: Consists of two parts: perceived susceptibility and perceived severity of a health condition.
- Perceived Susceptibility: One's subjective perception of the risk of contracting a health condition,
- Perceived Severity: Feelings concerning the seriousness of contracting an illness or of leaving it untreated (including evaluations of both medical and clinical consequences and possible social consequences).
- Perceived Benefits: The believed effectiveness of strategies designed to reduce the threat of illness.
- Perceived Barriers: The potential negative consequences that may result from taking particular health actions, including physical, psychological, and financial demands.
- Cues to Action: Events, either bodily (e.g., physical symptoms of a health condition) or environmental (e.g., media publicity) that motivate people to take action. Cues to actions is an aspect of the HBM that has not been systematically studied.
- Other Variables: Diverse demographic, sociopsychological, and structural variables that affect an individual's perceptions and thus indirectly influence health-related behavior.
- Self-Efficacy: The belief in being able to successfully execute the behavior required to produce the desired outcomes.
References:
Rosenstock, I. (1974). Historical Origins of the Health Belief Model. Health Education Monographs. Vol. 2, No. 4.
Becker, M.H. (1974). The Health Belief Model and Personal Health Behavior. Health Education Monographs. Vol. 2, No. 4.
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