Health Belief Model

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The Health Belief Model (HBM) was developed to break down decisions related to health behaviors such as health promotion and harm reduction. (edelman, 2010) The theory is used to understand why people fail to participate in programs to prevent and detect disease. (edelman, 2010) One idea behind the theory being there are two components that change a person’s health related behavior, one being the desire to avoid illness, and secondly the belief that specific health action will prevent, or cure illness. (Boston univeristy, 2013) These two components are thought to be part of the reason people do not strive for early prevention and health promotion. There are six parts of the HBM, the first 4 parts are the original model from 1950’s, while…show more content…
This for me is important because I am a huge enthusiast for health promotion and any method I can use to help a person take control of their own health is something that I fully support. My perception of this model is that it is meant to explain and predict health behaviors, I think that knowing how to predict human behaviors is key to helping somebody take control. By being able to predict patient behaviors you learn exactly what is needed to motivate each person individually, and motivation is the most crucial factor in health promotion. The process of health education directs people towards voluntary changes of their health behaviors. In order to achieve success of any health related goal entirely depends on the individual’s view of the situation and their willingness to learn. My perception of the health belief model is that the nurses job is to assist each person individually through the process of self-understanding and self-direction, by doing this the induvial will gain the motivation to change. I do not think at a person can make major life decisions without learning, and since nurses play such a huge part in patient teaching, it makes us one of the key factors in determining if somebody will take control of their health. When a nurse is able to encourage logical and clear thinking in her patients, then it assists that patient in the progress to meeting their

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