Health Belief Model

The health belief model (HBM) was developed in the 1950s and remains one the most widely used models in health behavior research to this day. The HBM is used to explain health behaviors (e.g. eating healthy, smoking, exercising, treatment participation, etc.) and to predict the likelihood of these behaviors’ occurrence. According to this model, factors like personal views on health problems, perceived advantages and disadvantages of action, expected efficacy of one’s behavior, and sociodemographic variables, are important predictors of people’s engagement in health behaviors. This model can guide the creation and introduction of health promotion and disease prevention programs that incite people to engage in healthy behaviors and increase general well-being.