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Article: Health Belief Model
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Public Health
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
The health belief model, developed by researchers at the U.S. Public Health Service in the 1950s, was inspired by a study of why people sought X-ray examinations for tuberculosis. It attempted to explain and predict a given health-related behavior from certain patterns of belief about the recommended health behavior and the health problems that the behavior was intended to prevent or control. The model postulates that the following four conditions both explain and predict a health-related behavior:
A person believes that his or her health is in jeopardy. For the behavior of seeking a screening test or examination for an asymptomatic disease such as tuberculosis, ...