The Health Belief Model
The Health Belief Model is the most used theory in the promotion of health. Initially, the underlying concept was that personal beliefs about an ailment could determine the health behavior. The model has four perceptions that serve as constructs of promoting health. They include perceived susceptibility, seriousness, barriers, and benefits.
A person’s belief on the severity of a disease is spoken by the construct of perceived seriousness. While this perception is based on medical knowledge, it can also come from a belief an individual has on the challenges an ailment would create (Kearney-Nunnery, 2016). For instance, to a majority of the people, the flu is viewed as just a minor illness. People are prompted to adopt healthier behaviors if their susceptibility to a disease is high. If the degree to contract a disease is high, then individuals tend to come up with ways that will enable them to stay safe (Kearney-Nunnery, 2016). For instance, condoms are used in efforts to reduce the contraction of HIV infection. It is logical that when individuals believe that they are at risk for a certain disease, they will adopt measures that will prevent themselves from contracting the ailment.
The construct of perceived benefits reflects an opinion of a person on the usefulness of a new behavior in decreasing the susceptibility of contracting an illness. Most people embrace healthier conducts that will play a great role in ensuring that chances of contracting ailments are reduced (Kearney-Nunnery, 2016). For instance, individuals tend to take a lot of fruits and vegetables because they believe it is beneficial to their health. However, with the adoption of useful behaviors is not easy and this is where the construct of perceived barriers come in. One evaluates the obstacles they are expecting to face in the adoption of the new behavior. The benefits of this practice adoption should outweigh the consequences (Kearney-Nunnery, 2016).
The Health Belief Model has four perceptions that serve as constructs of promoting health. They include perceived susceptibility, seriousness, barriers, and benefits. These attitudes help in the promotion of health by encouraging the adoption of good behaviors.
References
Kearney-Nunnery, R. (2016). Advancing your career: Concepts of professional nursing. Philadelphia : F.A. Davis Company
