Research summary

Health Belief Model

(A person’s beliefs influence their health-related behaviors)

•  Designed to understand & predict health behavior.

Source: Glanz K, Rimer BK, Viswanath K, eds. 2008. Health Behavior and Health EducaAon: Theory, Research, and PracAce (4th ed). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Constructs of the HBM •  Perceived severity: beliefs about the seriousness of contracting an illness or

health-related condition.

•  Perceived susceptibility: belief about the likelihood of personally contracting an illness

•  Perceived Threat: combination of severity and susceptibility, resulting in our psychological state of readiness to take action.

•  Perceived benefits: our opinions about whether an action or behavior is useful in reducing the risk or threat of getting the condition.

•  Perceived barriers: our perceptions of the difficulties of performing the behavior.

•  Self-efficacy: the confidence we have that we can perform a the behavior. CAN BE ENHANCED

•  Cues to action: External or internal events that cues that remind us to take action or act. Ex. Illness of friend or personal pain