How the Health Belief Model Influences Your Behaviors

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsComponentsExamplesEffectivenessCriticismsThe TakeawayFrequently Asked Questions

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Components

Examples

Effectiveness

Criticisms

The Takeaway

Frequently Asked Questions

Close

What is the health belief model?

According to the health belief model, your beliefs about health and health conditions play a role in determining your health-related behaviors. Key factors that affect your approach to health include:

Health experts often look for ways that health belief models affect people’s actions, particularly as they relate to individual and public health.

This article discusses how the health belief model works, the different components of the model, and how this approach can be used to address health-related behaviors.

Components of the Health Belief Model

There are six main components of the health belief model. Four of these constructs were main tenets of the theory when it was first developed. Two were added in response to research on the model related to addiction.

Perceived Severity

The probability that a person will change their health behaviors toavoid a consequencedepends on how serious they believe the consequences will be. For example:

The severity of an illness can have a major impact on health outcomes. However, a number of studies have shown that perceived risk of severity is actually the least powerful predictor of whether or not people will engage in preventive health behaviors.

Perceived Susceptibility

People will not change theirhealth behaviorsunless they believe that they are at risk. For example:

Research suggests that perceived susceptibility to illness is an important predictor of preventive health behaviors.

Perceived Benefits

It’s difficult to convince people to change a behavior if there isn’t something in it for them. People don’t want to give up something they enjoy if they don’t also get something in return. For example:

These perceived benefits are often linked to other factors, including the perceived effectiveness of a behavior. If you believe that getting regular exercise andeating a healthy dietcan prevent heart disease, that belief increases the perceived benefits of those behaviors.

Perceived Barriers

One of the major reasons people don’t change their health behaviors is that they think doing so is going to be hard. Changing health behaviors can require effort, money, and time. Commonly perceived barriers include:

Sometimes it’s not just a matter of physical difficulty, but social difficulty as well. For example, If everyone from your office goes out drinking on Fridays, it may be very difficult to cut down on your alcohol intake. If you think that condoms are a sign of distrust in a relationship, you may be hesitant to bring them up.

Perceived barriers to healthy behaviors have been shown to be the single most powerful predictor of whether people are willing to engage in healthy behaviors.

Cues to Action

One of the best things about the Health Belief Model is how realistically it frames people’s behaviors. It recognizes the fact that sometimes wanting to change a health behavior isn’t enough to actually make someone do it.

Because of this, it includes two more elements that are necessary to get an individual to make the leap. These two elements arecues to actionandself-efficacy.

Cues to action are external events that prompt a desire to make a health change. They can be anything from a blood pressure van being present at a health fair, to seeing a condom poster on a train, to having a relative die of cancer. A cue to action is something that helps move someone from wanting to make a health change to actually making the change.

Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacywasn’t added to the model until 1988. Self-efficacy looks at a person’s belief in their ability to make a health-related change. It may seem trivial, but faith in your ability to do something has an enormous impact on your actual ability to do it.

Finding ways to improve individual self-efficacy can have a positive impact on health-related behaviors. For example, one study found that women who had a greater sense of self-efficacy toward breastfeeding were more likely to nurse their infants longer. The researchers concluded that teaching mothers to be more confident about breastfeeding would improve infant nutrition.

Thinking that you will fail will almost make certain that you do. Self-efficacy has been found to be one of the most important factors in an individual’s ability to successfully negotiate condom use.

RecapThere are six components of the Health Belief Model. They are perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy.

Recap

There are six components of the Health Belief Model. They are perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy.

Examples and Uses of the Health Belief Model

One important aspect of public health is the design of programs that encourage people to engage in healthy behaviors, so understanding how the health belief model can apply to different situations can be useful.

For example, experts may be interested in understanding public attitudes about cancer screenings. Looking at factors such as perceptions of cancer risk, the benefits of being screened for cancer, and the barriers to being screened can help healthcare professionals look for ways to encourage people to get screened.

The health belief model may also be used for public health programs. Schools, for example, may rely on educational programs to help children understand challenges regarding health, substance use, physical activity, nutrition, and personal safety. Such programs are often based on the health belief model and work to educate, offer skills training, reduce barriers, and boost self-efficacy.

RecapHealthcare professionals and public health experts apply the health belief model to create programs and interventions to help prevent health problems, encouragetreatment behaviors, and support behavior change.

Healthcare professionals and public health experts apply the health belief model to create programs and interventions to help prevent health problems, encouragetreatment behaviors, and support behavior change.

How Effective Is the Health Belief Model?

The health belief model has been used for decades to help produce behavior change interventions. Research suggests that the health belief model can help professionals develop strategies that promote healthy behaviors and improve the prevention and treatment of health conditions.

A study published inHealth Psychology Reviewfound that, in studies looking at the health belief model, 78% reported significant improvement in behavior adherence. Of the studies they looked at, 39% reported moderate to large effects related to health interventions.

Criticisms of the Health Belief Model

Critics of the health belief model assert that it fails to address:

The health belief model can help health educators design interventions to improve individual and public health. By understanding the factors that influence health-related choices, healthcare professionals can tackle ways to reduce barriers, improve knowledge, and helpmotivate action.

One of the main benefits of the Health Belief Model is that it simplifies health-related constructs so they can be more readily tested and implemented in public health settings.Because it emphasizes some of the prerequisites for health behaviors, it can be helpful for addressing the things that need to happen before a person can successfully implement a behavior change.

The Health Promotion Model is a multidimensional approach that takes into account how a person’s interaction with their environment affects their health choices. It is similar to the Health Belief Model in some ways, but where the HBM is focused on being health-protective, the Health Promotion Model focuses more on helping people improve their well-being and achieveself-actualization.

Mental Biases That Can Affect Your Health Choices

9 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ghorbani-Dehbalaei M, Loripoor M, Nasirzadeh M.The role of health beliefs and health literacy in women’s health promoting behaviours based on the health belief model: a descriptive study.BMC Women’s Health. 2021;21(1):421.Jones CL, Jensen JD, Scherr CL, Brown NR, Christy K, Weaver J.The Health Belief Model as an explanatory framework in communication research: Exploring parallel, serial, and moderated mediation.Health Commun. 2015;30(6):566-576. doi:10.1080/10410236.2013.873363Loke AY, Chan LK.Maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy and the breastfeeding behaviors of newborns in the practice of exclusive breastfeeding.J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2013;42(6):672-684. doi:10.1111/1552-6909.12250Montanaro EA, Bryan AD.Comparing theory-based condom interventions: Health belief model versus theory of planned behavior.Health Psychol. 2014;33(10):1251-60. doi:10.1037/a0033969Baghianimoghadam MH, Shogafard G, Sanati HR, Baghianimoghadam B, Mazloomy SS, Askarshahi M.Application of the Health Belief Model in promotion of self-care in heart failure patients.Acta Med Iran. 2013;51(1):52-8.Jones CJ, Smith H, Llewellyn C.Evaluating the effectiveness of health belief model interventions in improving adherence: a systematic review.Health Psychol Rev. 2014;8(3):253-69. doi:10.1080/17437199.2013.802623Carpenter CJ.A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of health belief model variables in predicting behavior.Health Commun. 2010;25(8):661-9. doi:10.1080/10410236.2010.521906Orji R, Vassileva J, Mandryk R.Towards an effective health interventions design: An extension of the health belief model.Online J Public Health Inform. 2012;4(3):ojphi.v4i3.4321. doi:10.5210/ojphi.v4i3.4321Galloway RD.Health promotion: causes, beliefs and measurements.Clin Med Res. 2003;1(3):249-258. doi:10.3121/cmr.1.3.249

9 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ghorbani-Dehbalaei M, Loripoor M, Nasirzadeh M.The role of health beliefs and health literacy in women’s health promoting behaviours based on the health belief model: a descriptive study.BMC Women’s Health. 2021;21(1):421.Jones CL, Jensen JD, Scherr CL, Brown NR, Christy K, Weaver J.The Health Belief Model as an explanatory framework in communication research: Exploring parallel, serial, and moderated mediation.Health Commun. 2015;30(6):566-576. doi:10.1080/10410236.2013.873363Loke AY, Chan LK.Maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy and the breastfeeding behaviors of newborns in the practice of exclusive breastfeeding.J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2013;42(6):672-684. doi:10.1111/1552-6909.12250Montanaro EA, Bryan AD.Comparing theory-based condom interventions: Health belief model versus theory of planned behavior.Health Psychol. 2014;33(10):1251-60. doi:10.1037/a0033969Baghianimoghadam MH, Shogafard G, Sanati HR, Baghianimoghadam B, Mazloomy SS, Askarshahi M.Application of the Health Belief Model in promotion of self-care in heart failure patients.Acta Med Iran. 2013;51(1):52-8.Jones CJ, Smith H, Llewellyn C.Evaluating the effectiveness of health belief model interventions in improving adherence: a systematic review.Health Psychol Rev. 2014;8(3):253-69. doi:10.1080/17437199.2013.802623Carpenter CJ.A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of health belief model variables in predicting behavior.Health Commun. 2010;25(8):661-9. doi:10.1080/10410236.2010.521906Orji R, Vassileva J, Mandryk R.Towards an effective health interventions design: An extension of the health belief model.Online J Public Health Inform. 2012;4(3):ojphi.v4i3.4321. doi:10.5210/ojphi.v4i3.4321Galloway RD.Health promotion: causes, beliefs and measurements.Clin Med Res. 2003;1(3):249-258. doi:10.3121/cmr.1.3.249

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Ghorbani-Dehbalaei M, Loripoor M, Nasirzadeh M.The role of health beliefs and health literacy in women’s health promoting behaviours based on the health belief model: a descriptive study.BMC Women’s Health. 2021;21(1):421.Jones CL, Jensen JD, Scherr CL, Brown NR, Christy K, Weaver J.The Health Belief Model as an explanatory framework in communication research: Exploring parallel, serial, and moderated mediation.Health Commun. 2015;30(6):566-576. doi:10.1080/10410236.2013.873363Loke AY, Chan LK.Maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy and the breastfeeding behaviors of newborns in the practice of exclusive breastfeeding.J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2013;42(6):672-684. doi:10.1111/1552-6909.12250Montanaro EA, Bryan AD.Comparing theory-based condom interventions: Health belief model versus theory of planned behavior.Health Psychol. 2014;33(10):1251-60. doi:10.1037/a0033969Baghianimoghadam MH, Shogafard G, Sanati HR, Baghianimoghadam B, Mazloomy SS, Askarshahi M.Application of the Health Belief Model in promotion of self-care in heart failure patients.Acta Med Iran. 2013;51(1):52-8.Jones CJ, Smith H, Llewellyn C.Evaluating the effectiveness of health belief model interventions in improving adherence: a systematic review.Health Psychol Rev. 2014;8(3):253-69. doi:10.1080/17437199.2013.802623Carpenter CJ.A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of health belief model variables in predicting behavior.Health Commun. 2010;25(8):661-9. doi:10.1080/10410236.2010.521906Orji R, Vassileva J, Mandryk R.Towards an effective health interventions design: An extension of the health belief model.Online J Public Health Inform. 2012;4(3):ojphi.v4i3.4321. doi:10.5210/ojphi.v4i3.4321Galloway RD.Health promotion: causes, beliefs and measurements.Clin Med Res. 2003;1(3):249-258. doi:10.3121/cmr.1.3.249

Ghorbani-Dehbalaei M, Loripoor M, Nasirzadeh M.The role of health beliefs and health literacy in women’s health promoting behaviours based on the health belief model: a descriptive study.BMC Women’s Health. 2021;21(1):421.

Jones CL, Jensen JD, Scherr CL, Brown NR, Christy K, Weaver J.The Health Belief Model as an explanatory framework in communication research: Exploring parallel, serial, and moderated mediation.Health Commun. 2015;30(6):566-576. doi:10.1080/10410236.2013.873363

Loke AY, Chan LK.Maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy and the breastfeeding behaviors of newborns in the practice of exclusive breastfeeding.J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2013;42(6):672-684. doi:10.1111/1552-6909.12250

Montanaro EA, Bryan AD.Comparing theory-based condom interventions: Health belief model versus theory of planned behavior.Health Psychol. 2014;33(10):1251-60. doi:10.1037/a0033969

Baghianimoghadam MH, Shogafard G, Sanati HR, Baghianimoghadam B, Mazloomy SS, Askarshahi M.Application of the Health Belief Model in promotion of self-care in heart failure patients.Acta Med Iran. 2013;51(1):52-8.

Jones CJ, Smith H, Llewellyn C.Evaluating the effectiveness of health belief model interventions in improving adherence: a systematic review.Health Psychol Rev. 2014;8(3):253-69. doi:10.1080/17437199.2013.802623

Carpenter CJ.A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of health belief model variables in predicting behavior.Health Commun. 2010;25(8):661-9. doi:10.1080/10410236.2010.521906

Orji R, Vassileva J, Mandryk R.Towards an effective health interventions design: An extension of the health belief model.Online J Public Health Inform. 2012;4(3):ojphi.v4i3.4321. doi:10.5210/ojphi.v4i3.4321

Galloway RD.Health promotion: causes, beliefs and measurements.Clin Med Res. 2003;1(3):249-258. doi:10.3121/cmr.1.3.249

Meet Our Review Board

Share Feedback

Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit

What is your feedback?