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The secret of the health belief model: How does it change people's health behaviors?
The Health Belief Model (HBM) is a social psychological model of health behavior change that aims to explain and predict health-related behaviors, particularly in the uptake of health services. The model emphasizes an individual's beliefs about preventing disease, maintaining health, and pursuing well-being. Developed in the 1950s by social psychologists at the U.S. Public Health Service, the model remains one of the best-known and most widely used theories in the study of health behavior.
The health belief model states that people's beliefs about health issues, perceived benefits of taking action, barriers to action, and self-efficacy explain the extent to which they engage in health-promoting behaviors.
The core of the health belief model lies in several theoretical constructs, including perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers. These factors together influence whether individuals engage in health-promoting behaviors. In order for a healthy behavior to be triggered, a stimulus or cue to action must be present.
Historical BackgroundThe health belief model is one of the early health behavior theories, first proposed in the 1950s by Irwin M. Rosenstock, Godfrey M. Hochbaum, S. Stephen Kegels, and Developed by Howard Leventhal and others. At the time, researchers and health workers were concerned that despite the availability of mobile X-ray vehicles in communities, few people were being screened for TB. Since then, HBM has been applied to predict various health-related behaviors, such as cancer screening, vaccination, and even the most recent COVID-19 vaccination.
Theoretical Components
The theoretical components of the health belief model mainly originate from cognitive psychology. These components are influenced by individuals' perceptions of health behaviors.
Perceived Susceptibility
Perceived susceptibility involves an individual's subjective assessment of their own risk of developing a health problem. HBM predicts that when individuals perceive their susceptibility to a health problem as high, they are more likely to take steps to reduce their risk. Conversely, for individuals at low risk, they may be in denial about their susceptibility.
Perceived severity
Perceived severity refers to an individual's subjective assessment of a health problem and its potential consequences. The HBM argues that people who perceive a health problem as serious will be more likely to engage in preventive behaviors. The study showed that most people's perceived severity of the flu directly affects their willingness to get a flu vaccine.
For example, studies have found that higher perceived severity of influenza is associated with higher willingness to get vaccinated.
Perceived Benefits
Health-related behaviors are also influenced by individuals’ perceived benefits of taking action. When individuals believe that an action will reduce the risk or severity of a health problem, they are likely to engage in that behavior. For example, people believe that sunscreen can prevent skin cancer and are therefore more willing to use it.
Perceived barriers
Perceived barriers refer to an individual's assessment of the obstacles to behavior change. Even if a person feels threatened by a health problem and believes that taking action would be beneficial, barriers may prevent them from engaging in the behavior. These barriers may include convenience, cost, and potential discomfort. For example, for low-income people, lack of access to health insurance becomes a barrier to vaccination.
Application Examples
The health belief model has been used to design effective interventions aimed at changing health behaviors that target a variety of constructs. For example, providing health education to increase perceived susceptibility and severity of a disease often inspires behavioral change. Additionally, interventions can provide action cues to remind individuals to engage in health-promoting behaviors.
Multiple studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the health belief model in explaining people's intentions to change their behaviors.
For example, a 2016 study examining physical activity levels among people with mental illness in Hong Kong showed that perceived barriers and self-efficacy play important roles in physical activity and highlighted the need for interventions targeting these factors. The importance of interventions.
The health belief model is not only effective at the individual level, it can also work at the societal level. Broader advocacy and promotion of healthy behavior change through legislation and public media campaigns. Movements such as the #MeToo movement have also built on this model to raise awareness of and responses to the risks of violence faced by women.
So, are you willing to re-evaluate your health beliefs and change the way you think about and practice healthy behaviors?
