Public Health Theories. Health Belief Model

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Description of Health Intervention and Assigned Article

HIV testing is a common preventive health measure for the management of HIV and AIDS spread. By knowing one’s status, it is easy for people to take precaution not to spread the virus (if infected) and not to get the virus (if not infected). In other words, HIV testing helps people to make the right choice about their sexual health by knowing their status. The assigned article discusses the same issue by analyzing the factors that influence the conduct of HIV testing among Nigerian youth. The researchers found that proximity to urban areas, age, access to radio, and per capita income were significant indicators of HIV testing and sexual health behaviors among Nigerian youth (Oyekale & Oyekale, 2010).

Description of Health Belief Model and its Application to the Health Issue

Developed in the 1950s, proponents of the health belief model used it to predict behavior change, based on people’s beliefs about health issues (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2015). The theory posits that people’s beliefs and perceived benefits of healthy behaviors determine their ease of adopting positive and healthy behaviors (National Cancer Institute, Rimer, & Glanz, 2005). This theory applies to the selected health issue because it explains the main factors that inform young people’s decision to engage in risky sexual behaviors. This theory is especially critical in explaining why the targeted population continues to engage in risky sexual health behaviors regardless of their understanding of HIV transmission methods. Comprehensively, the theory outlines the beliefs that explain these health issues.

Perceptions of HBM used in the Study and that Apply to the Assigned Article

The HBM has four key perceptions that its proponents use to predict human behavior. They include perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers (Noroozi, Jomand, & Tahmasebi, 2011). Perceived barriers emerged as the commonly used tenet of the HBM in the assigned study. The authors showed that although many of the respondents knew about HIV and AIDS (including its transmission), their perception of stigma (especially in the case of a positive diagnosis) and ease of access to testing services prevented them from being tested (Oyekale & Oyekale, 2010). In other words, a significant section of the article focused on explaining some of the barriers that prevented Nigerian youth from being tested. Therefore, the authors used perceived barriers as the main criterion for explaining sexual health behaviors among the targeted population. I agree that the perception barrier was the most relevant tenet of the HBM to apply to the selected health issue because there has been a lot of information given to people about HIV and AIDS. The failure to act on such information only indicates the existence of perception barriers (Humiston et al., 2011).

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Health Belief Model as it Applies to the Health Issue

Strengths

The HBM is a reliable predictor of health behavior because there is a lot of empirical evidence to back it up. Furthermore, by targeting specific tenets of the theory, it is possible to increase people’s awareness about the need to change their behaviors. Similarly, it is possible to teach them how to overcome some of the barriers that prevent them from doing so. In this regard, the theory is useful in promoting social education about HIV and AIDS. Lastly, the information obtained from using the HBM is important in providing cues to action for some of the Nigerian youth who are reluctant to act on the information they know about HIV and AIDS.

Limitations

Oyekale and Oyekale (2010) have used the health belief model to explain some possible reasons why there are low HIV testing rates among Nigerian youth and why they engage in risky sexual behaviors in the first place. However, the model only accounts for individual differences in beliefs and attitudes about HIV and AIDS. It fails to account for habitual factors that would explain the same healthy behaviors. For example, it fails to account for habitual and cultural factors influencing sexual behavior, such as having multiple partners among some sections of Nigerian youth (Oyekale & Oyekale, 2010).

Additional Insights and Example

Although proponents of HBM broadly highlight its theoretical constructs, few distinctive studies have explained the relationship among the four perceptions of health behaviors highlighted in the model. For example, it is difficult to understand the relationship between perceived severity of HIV and perceived benefits of engaging in positive sexual health behaviors. I believe that researchers need to explore this area of research further.

Conclusion, Suggestion and Probing Question

HBM is useful in explaining why and how people adopt positive health behaviors. The findings of this paper demonstrate that a trigger, or cue, needs to be present for people to embrace positive health behaviors. I suggest that there needs to be a comprehensive research to address the cues that would lead to the adoption of positive or responsible sexual health practices because assessing these cues is difficult. Relative to this discussion, what is the extent of barriers that would force Nigerian youth to go for HIV testing?

References

Glanz, K., Rimer, B. K., & Viswanath, K. (Eds.). (2015). Health behavior: Theory, research, and practice (5th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Humiston, S. G., Marcuse, E. K., Zhao, Z., Dorell, C. G., Howes, C., & Hibbs, B. (2011). Parental delay or refusal of vaccine doses, childhood vaccination coverage at 24 months of age, and the health belief model. Public Health Reports, 126(Suppl. 2), 135–146.

National Cancer Institute, Rimer, B. K., & Glanz, K. A. (2005). Theory at a glance: A guide for health promotion practice (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.

Noroozi, A., Jomand, T., & Tahmasebi, R. (2011). Determinants of breast self-examination performance among Iranian women: An application of the health belief model. Journal of Cancer Education, 26(2), 365–374.

Oyekale, A., & Oyekale, T. (2010). Application of health belief model for promoting behaviour change among Nigerian single youth. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 14(2), 63–75.

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