The health belief model (HBM) was one of the first, and remains one of the best known social cognition models. It is a health behavior change and psychological model developed by Irwin M. Rosenstock in 1966 for studying and promoting the uptake of health services. The model was furthered by Becker and colleagues in the 1970s and 1980s. Subsequent amendments to the model were made as late as 1988, to accommodate evolving evidence generated within the health community about the role that knowledge and perceptions play in personal responsibility. Originally, the model was designed to predict behavioural response to the treatment received by acutely or chronically ill patients, but in more recent years the model has been used to predict more general health behaviors. The HBM suggests that your belief in a personal threat together with your belief in the effectiveness of the proposed behaviour will predict the likelihood of that behaviour.
An example of the health belief model would involve an individuals' opinion about a certain disease and the behavior they encompass to the disease. Mary commutes to work everyday. It is flu season and the virus is rampant. Mary believes that she will not catch the virus because she has a strong immune system. During lunch, she does not feel the need to wash her hands. Mary's behavior to the fact she believes she is immune to the virus would likely lead to her contracting the disease.
Read more about Health Belief Model: History, Constructs, Applications
Famous quotes containing the words health, belief and/or model:
“All health and success does me good, however far off and withdrawn it may appear; all disease and failure helps to make me sad and does me evil, however much sympathy it may have with me or I with it.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“‘Intellectualism’ is the belief that our mind comes upon a world complete in itself, and has the duty of ascertaining its contents; but has no power of re-determining its character, for that is already given.”
—William James (1842–1910)
“Research shows clearly that parents who have modeled nurturant, reassuring responses to infants’ fears and distress by soothing words and stroking gentleness have toddlers who already can stroke a crying child’s hair. Toddlers whose special adults model kindliness will even pick up a cookie dropped from a peer’s high chair and return it to the crying peer rather than eat it themselves!”
—Alice Sterling Honig (20th century)