Question

Describe how one of the following behavior change theories such as health belief model that may be useful in explaining a specific personal behavior that affects your health-positively or negatively. Describe how you think it currently applies and how it may also be useful to promote future positive behavior changes

Answer 1

Since the end of the Second World War much academic and health service effort has been devoted to developing and applying social cognition theory based models of health behaviour change. There is evidence that these can successfully predict a substantial degree of observed variance in behavioural intentions in adult populations, and to a lesser extent health behaviours. The extent to which the use of such models has in practice led to health gains that would not otherwise have been achieved is uncertain. But they have probably been of positive utility, and can almost certainly be employed to greater future effect.There is evidence that the Theory of Planned Behaviour has a greater predictive power than the Health Belief Model or the Theory of Reasoned Action. But neither the TPB nor the TRA or the HBM is specified to offer insight into how health
behavioural change can most effectively be facilitated. In this respect the Trans Theoretical Model (which embodies both ‘stage-of-change’ and ‘process of change’
constructs) is fundamentally different in terms of its structure, and how it can be used to define and manage the delivery of health behaviour change interventions. It bridges a divide between social cognition theory based models of health behaviour and other, more practice focused, health promotion programme management instruments. As a result, evaluations of the TTM have often been oriented towards assessing health outcomes achieved, rather than the percentages of observed or reported behavioural variance explained. This emphasis on the delivery of desired outcomes – rather than the formation of more theoretically relevant information – is to be welcomed. However, there is little unequivocal evidence that the use of TTM based health behaviour change strategies are better at promoting health behaviour change than other reasonably constituted approaches.