Health Belief Model And The Ecological Model Of Health Behavior

The Health Belief Model along with the Ecological Model of Health Behavior are critically important tools in public health messaging. Ultimately, people make decisions to change their behaviors because of several factors. If they feel vulnerable to the threat and perceive the threat to be extreme enough to take action they will make changes. Additionally, the perception of barriers must be manageable and they must believe that their actions will make a difference in changing a negative outcome. Individuals perceptions are colored by their spheres of influence: interpersonal, community, organizations (schools and churches), and even public policies effect their social mores. Subsequently, successful health promotion programs will sufficiently