Question

Select a prevalent health issue (Obesity) discussed in the lecture or required reading for this unit. Using this health issue, provide one example for each of the six building blocks of the health belief model (HBM).

Answer 1

The Health Belief Model (HBM) is a psychological model that attempts to explain and predict health behaviour by focusing on the attitudes and beliefs of individuals.

The underlying concept of the original health belief model is that health behavior is determined by personal beliefs or perception about a disease , and strategies available to decrease its occurrence.

The Health belief model (HBM) assumes that individual involvement in health-related behaviors is determined by understanding six following constructs:

1) Perceived severity - an individual's perception of the seriousness and potential deleterious effects of the condition.

2) Perceived susceptibility - an individual's assessment of his risk of getting a disease.

3) Perceived benefit - an individual's beliefs about whether the recommended behaviour will reduce the risk or severity of impact.

4) Perceived barrier- an individual's assessment of the difficulties and cost of adopting behaviors.

5) Cue to action - the internal or external motivations that promote the desired behavior.

6) Self-efficacy - an individual's belief about his capabilities to successfully perform a new health behaviour.

These six constructs provide a conceptual framework for designing both long and short-term health behaviour interventions.

In the health issue taken up by us i.e .,Control of Obesity , the Health belief model may be illustrated as follows:-

(A) Perceived Susceptibility :

I eat junk food .Therefore,I will always be obese.

My doctor says I am at risk of heart disease and diabetes. But I do not have any symptoms so far.

(B) Perceived Severity :

People who develop complications of obesity like diabetes usually die early.

But I wont reach that point.Even if I get the disease , I could lead a normal ,happy life.

(C) Perceived Benefit :

If I eat healthier, I will live longer.

I have tried different diets and exercises in the past, but nothing has worked.The effort put in is not worth the change.

(D) Perceived Barriers :

I enjoy junk food ; I’m addicted to that.

It is expensive to follow a healthy diet.The exercise schedule does not fit into my busy schedule.

(E) Cues to action :

I see my friend eating healthy food, and exercising regularly.That inspires me to try changing my lifestyle.The constant motivation from my family helps me strive for a change in lifestyle.

The health education campaign on television has prompted me to start regular exercise.

(F) Self efficacy :

Changing my habits is challenging ; but still, if I could focus on the inspiration from my family, friends ,doctor and trainer, I can bring about a change.

The above descrbed factors help to predict the likelihood of a lifestyle modification being adopted by the person to prevent obesity.