health belief model
(redirected from HBM)Also found in: Dictionary, Acronyms, Wikipedia.
health belief model
a conceptual framework that describes a person's health behavior as an expression of health beliefs. The model was designed to predict a person's health behavior, including the use of health services, and to justify intervention to alter maladaptive health behavior. Components of the model include the person's own perception of susceptibility to a disease or condition, the perceived likelihood of contracting that disease or condition, the perceived severity of the consequences of contracting the condition or the disease, the perceived benefits of care and barriers to preventive behavior, and the internal or external stimuli that result in appropriate health behavior by the person.
health be·lief mod·el
(helth bĕ-lēf modĕl)A psychological precept that attempts to explain and predict health behaviors by focusing on the attitudes and beliefs of individual patients.
Health Belief Model
,HBM
A theory used to explain health-seeking or health-avoiding behavior that is based on the assumption that attitude and belief motivate action. The model proposes that an individual facing health-related decisions weighs: 1. the likelihood that she may be at risk for a disease; 2. the gravity of the disease, were she to succumb to it; 3. the value of making choices that will prevent the illness; 4. the costs or challenges of making those choices. Health-benefiting actions will be taken when: cues/reminders to take that action are delivered to her and she believes that she has the capability to make her efforts count.