In this paper, I will first talk about the negative effects of smoking on the
body, and then apply the Health Belief Model to a scenario.
A Case from Personal Experience
I
live in Greenwich Village, which is present on the west side of Lower
Manhattan, New York City. Here in my
colony, both teenagers and adults love smoking even
though they know about its health consequences. Even in my neighborhood, there is a young man who
shifted here the previous year; he and his wife are friendly, and we love
spending time together. Once his wife told me
that she has been trying to keep her husband from smoking, but he does not
listen to her in this regard.
The previous week, I called them to my house for
a get-together and found that the man was smoking once or twice an hour, which
was a matter of serious concern as he had developed depression, and his lungs
could have been damaged if he did not
quit on smoking. I sat with him and
explained that no matter how you smoke
it, tobacco is not good for your health.
As is described by John Chapin and Grace Coleman in their article titled Health Belief Model Scale, from tar and
acetone to carbon monoxide,and nicotine,
the substances of tobacco not only affect the lungs but also cause problems for
the entire body (Chapin & Coleman, 2014).
I
was shocked to see that the man already knew all this, but still, he was not
ready to quit on this bad habit. He told me
that his wife once bought him a magazine on the side effects of smoking, and he
had read it carefully, but the fact is, according to him, it is not possible to
quit on smoking since it has become an integral part of his life. He could live
without food, but not without tobacco.
The Health Belief Model
The health belief model uses a variety of
psychological indicators to predict the health behavior or condition of an
individual. This model was developed in 1950 by psychologists and socialists of
the U.S. Public Health Service. According to this model, people’s beliefs about
health issues are different from one another (Lavranos & Vassou, 2016).
Some of them may believe in the effectiveness of psychotherapy, while the
others will not as they do not want to quit their bad habits or are not
interested in changing their lifestyles at any cost.
The Concepts from the Model and How They
Integrate into the Case
This model helps explain why people get
engaged in high-risk health behavior, even though they understand the
seriousness of the issue. An example is smoking. The problem of that man who
lives in my neighborhood is that he
cannot decrease his dependence on tobacco even when he knows it could damage
all the systems of his body. It looks like he is suffering from cognitive illusion
as he continues to smoke in all situations, and when he wants to do it, he does
not listen to anyone and fails to understand the feelings and behaviors of
people around him.
The core benefit of the health belief model
is that it helps us understand how people make varying health choices based on
personal interests, emotions, social conditions, and habits. Thus, it opens our
eyes to what could be the negative impacts of smoking and how people would
react if they are asked to quit this bad habit. The fact is that smoking can
lead to some ongoing complications and long-term effects, such as high blood
pressure, depression, cancer and stomach problems. However, those who smoke
ignore what other people say or think about them and keep doing what they like
the most (Menon & Szalacha, 2008).
Nurses can use the health belief model to
design long and short-term interventions. For this purpose, they should first
develop an understanding of its action-related components that influence health
behaviors to an extent:
1. First
of all, it is important to conduct a health assessment and collect information
to determine the potential risks of the disease and know more about the target
population.
2. Secondly,
nurses should convey the consequences of a health problem in a clear and
understandable way.
3. Communication
with the target population may also be needed so that desired actions can be taken.
4. The
provision of care or assistance while reducing the barriers to action should be ensured.
5. Lastly,
the actions should be demonstrated
through skill development activities.
All of these actions play a key role in
strengthening the overall healthcare system. In order to ensure success within
the health belief model, nurses and doctors should identify cues to action that
are appropriate and meaningful for the target patient or population.
References
Menon, U., & Szalacha, L.
(2008). Health Belief Model. The International Encyclopedia of
Communication. doi:10.1002/9781405186407.wbiech006
Chapin, J., & Coleman, G.
(2014). Health Belief Model Scale. PsycTESTS Dataset. doi:10.1037/t61379-000
Lavranos, G., & Vassou, P.
(2016). Promoting reproductive health in
adolescents: Implementation of the Health Belief Model. European
Journal of Public Health, 26(Suppl_1). doi:10.1093/eurpub/ckw172.036
