The Health Belief Model

The Health Belief Model is a psychological model that attempts to explain as well as predict people’s health behaviors. The model accomplishes this by concentrating on an individual’s beliefs and attitudes (Livi, Zeri & Baroni, 2017).

Perceived susceptibility and severity

Explaining to the individual the perceived susceptibility of the behavior is one way a nurse might persuade a patient to make an immediate or permanent behavior adjustment. A patient would grasp the causes of many health conditions after hearing this explanation. For example, by informing the individual that eating junk food can lead to obesity, the individual will gradually change his or her lifestyle pattern. The next step is by letting the individual know the perceived severity of his her action. Taking the same case of obesity, the nurse can outline the dangers of obesity such as heart problems or diabetes. The person will understand these problems and may immediately change his or her behaviors.

Perceived benefits and barriers

A nurse can also encourage a patient to change his or her lifestyle by highlighting the perceived benefits of leading a different life. For instance, the nurse can highlight the positive effect of the change a person ought to make. When a patient makes the changes, the patient can run into barriers that may hinder the change. A nurse is responsible for ensuring that the barriers can be reduced or the patient encouraged. The encouragement may come in the form of assistance or incentives (Livi, Zeri & Baroni, 2017). The nurse can further provide self-efficacy through providing training or guiding the individual in making those changes. By undertaking these measures, a nurse will succeed in helping a patient change his or her behaviors for a better lifestyle.

References

Livi, S., Zeri, F., & Baroni, R. (2017). Health beliefs affect the correct replacement of daily disposable contact lenses: Predicting compliance with the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, 40(1), 25-32.