Question

What aspects of the HBM and HPM did the author explore in the article?

Answer 1

Author should explore several aspects during HBM and HPM studies. Those are described below in detail:

I. Health Belief Model (HBM)

The Health Belief Model (HBM) is a psychological model that attempts to explain and predict health behaviors. This is done by focusing on the attitudes and beliefs of individuals. Two principle components of HBM are the desire to avoid illness and the belief that a specific health action will prevent, or cure, illness. Author needs study the below aspects in HBM model:

1. Modifying factors
2. Individual perceptions
3. Likelihood of action

Modifying factors as below:

• Demographics (age, gender, race, ethnicity, etc.)
• Sociopsychologic variables (social class, peer pressure, etc.)
• Structural variables (knowledge about the disease, prior experience with the disease, etc.)
• Cues to action: This is the stimulus needed to trigger the decision-making process to accept a recommended health action. These cues can be internal (e.g., chest pains, wheezing, etc.) or external (e.g., advice from others, illness of family member, newspaper article, etc.).
• Self-efficacy - This refers to the level of a person's confidence in his or her ability to successfully perform a behavior. This construct was added to the model most recently in mid-1980. Self-efficacy is a construct in many behavioral theories as it directly relates to whether a person performs the desired behavior.

Individual perceptions-delineated as:

• Perceived susceptibility: his refers to a person's subjective perception of the risk of acquiring an illness or disease. There is wide variation in a person's feelings of personal vulnerability to an illness or disease. This might include the impact on family and work as well as the medical condition consequences of the process such as pain or disability.
• Perceived severity: This refers to a person's feelings on the seriousness of contracting an illness or disease (or leaving the illness or disease untreated). There is wide variation in a person's feelings of severity, and often a person considers the medical consequences (e.g., death, disability) and social consequences (e.g., family life, social relationships) when evaluating the severity.

Likelihood of action described as:

Perceived benefits: This refers to a person's perception of the effectiveness of various actions available to reduce the threat of illness or disease (or to cure illness or disease).

• Perceived barriers - This refers to a person's feelings on the obstacles to performing a recommended health action. There is wide variation in a person's feelings of barriers, or impediments, which lead to a cost/benefit analysis.

II. Health Promotion Model (HPM)

The Health Promotion Model (HPM) categorizes the factors influencing behaviors similar to the HBM. Analyzing modifying factors, cognitive-perceptual factors and variables influencing the likelihood of action, are the aspects. The HBM is a health protective model whereas the HPM is focused more on achievement of higher levels of well-being and self-actualization.

Modifying factors include behavioral and situational factors, interpersonal influences, and biological and demographic characteristics.

Behavioral factors describe the person's prior experiences with a given activity. The activity and associated information previously learned may influence the person's self-efficacy in resuming participation in the activity.

Situational factors may influence behavior as it relates to the surrounding environment. For example, if a person desires to lose weight, but only has high calorie or high fat food/meal options available they will be more challenged.

Interpersonal influences relate to social support and expectations of others. A respected clinician that advises a client to quit smoking can provide the impetus for the client to quit.18 Families and work colleagues are other sources of encouragement or discouragement toward a change of behavior.

Age, gender, income, ethnic, racial and educational background comprises the demographic characteristics associated with the model. For example, as an individual's income increases there is a greater likelihood the participant will engage in preventive services. This aspect provides meshing of the HPM with the concept of self-actualization.

Basic needs must be met before the client aspires to higher levels of self-actualization. These modifying components are suggested to indirectly affect health behaviors; however, cognitive-perceptual factors are the “primary motivating mechanisms for acquisition and maintenance of health promoting behaviors.”

The cognitive-perceptual elements include items such as, importance of health and perceptions of control of health, self-efficacy, health status, benefits and barriers to health-promoting behaviors.