Motivating people to stay at home: using the Health Belief Model to improve the effectiveness of public health messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aims to describe Facebook users’ beliefs toward physical distancing measures implemented during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic using the key constructs of the health belief model. A combination of rule-based filtering and manual classification methods was used to classify user comments on COVID-19 Facebook posts of three public health authorities: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, Public Health England, and Ministry of Health, Singapore. A total of 104,304 comments were analyzed for posts published between 1 January, 2020, and 31 March, 2020, along with COVID-19 cases and deaths count data from the three countries. Findings indicate that the perceived benefits of physical distancing measures ( n = 3,463; 3.3%) was three times higher than perceived barriers ( n = 1,062; 1.0%). Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 ( n = 2,934; 2.8%) was higher compared with perceived severity ( n = 2,081; 2.0%). Although susceptibility aspects of physical distancing were discussed more often at the start of the year, mentions on the benefits of intervention emerged stronger toward the end of the analysis period, highlighting the shift in beliefs. The health belief model is useful for understanding Facebook users’ beliefs at a basic level, and it provides a scope for further improvement.

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Public health messages on arboviruses transmitted by Aedes aegypti in Brazil

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-11339-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

India L. Clancy ◽

Robert T. Jones ◽

Grace M. Power ◽

James G. Logan ◽

Jorge Alberto Bernstein Iriart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Belief Model ◽

Behaviour Change ◽

Health Belief ◽

Health Messages ◽

Breeding Sites ◽

Potential Effectiveness ◽

Public Health Messages ◽

Belief Model ◽

The Health Belief Model

Abstract Background The outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil in 2015 followed the arrival of chikungunya in 2014 and a long history of dengue circulation. Vital to the response to these outbreaks of mosquito-borne pathogens has been the dissemination of public health messages, including those promoted through risk communication posters. This study explores the content of a sample of posters circulated in Brazil towards the end of the Zika epidemic in 2017 and analyses their potential effectiveness in inducing behaviour change. Methods A content analysis was performed on 37 posters produced in Brazil to address outbreaks of mosquito-borne pathogens. The six variables of the Health Belief Model were used to assess the potential effectiveness of the posters to induce behaviour change. Results Three overarching key messages emerged from the posters. These included (i) the arboviruses and their outcomes, (ii) a battle against the mosquito, and (iii) a responsibility to protect and prevent. Among the six variables utilised through the Health Belief Model, cues to action were most commonly featured, whilst the perceived benefits of engaging in behaviours to prevent arbovirus transmission were the least commonly featured. Conclusions The posters largely focused on mosquito-borne transmission and the need to eliminate breeding sites, and neglected the risk of the sexual and congenital transmission of Zika and the importance of alternative preventive actions. This, we argue, may have limited the potential effectiveness of these posters to induce behaviour change.

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Adherence to standard precautions from the standpoint of the Health Belief Model: the practice of recapping needles

Ciência & Saúde Coletiva ◽

10.1590/1413-81232014201.19822013 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 193-198 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Ronald Jefferson Martins ◽

Suzely Adas Saliba Moimaz ◽

Maria Lúcia Marçal Mazza Sundefeld ◽

Artênio José Ísper Garbin ◽

Patrick Raphael Vicente Gonçalves ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Health System ◽

Health Belief Model ◽

Public Health System ◽

Health Belief ◽

The Public ◽

Belief Model ◽

The Relationship ◽

The Health Belief Model

The aim of this study was to applythe Health Belief Model to explain the adherence to the recommendation not to recap needles by dentists and dental assistants of the public health system in a municipality in the State of São Paulo. A questionnaire validated and adapted for the oral health area was used, which included variables related to the frequency of recapping and health beliefs using Likert-type scales. The relationship between beliefs and adherence to the recommendation not to recap needles was obtained by regression analysis. Of all the professionals in this study (n=79), the majority (83.5%) reported recapping needles at least once in the last month. Through regression analysis, it was observed that the relationship between the beliefs described by the model and the attitude whether or not to follow the recommendation not to recap needles was explained by a lower perception of psychological barriers and a greater perception of stimuli not to recap needles. The conclusion reached is that the acceptance of recommendations to prevent working accidents with biological material was explained by some dimensions of the Health Belief Model, enabling discussion about reformulation of training offered to professionals of the public health system.

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The health belief model: How public health can address the misinformation crisis beyond COVID-19

Public Health in Practice ◽

10.1016/j.puhip.2021.100151 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 100151

Author(s):

Shandell Houlden ◽

Jaigris Hodson ◽

George Veletsianos ◽

Darren Reid ◽

Chris Thompson-Wagner

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Belief Model ◽

Health Belief ◽

Belief Model ◽

The Health Belief Model

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Using the Health Belief Model to Explain Parents' Participation in Adolescents' At-Home Sexuality Education Activities

Journal of School Health ◽

10.1111/j.1746-1561.1995.tb06213.x ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 65 (4) ◽

pp. 124-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Gay C. Brock ◽

Richard P. Beazley

Keyword(s):

Health Belief Model ◽

Sexuality Education ◽

Health Belief ◽

Belief Model ◽

The Health Belief Model ◽

At Home

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Historical trajectory of waste management; an analysis using the health belief model

Management of Environmental Quality An International Journal ◽

10.1108/meq-09-2013-0098 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 25 (5) ◽

pp. 615-630 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kiran Sandhu

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Waste Management ◽

Health Belief Model ◽

Health Belief ◽

Health Perceptions ◽

Review Of Literature ◽

Historical Aspect ◽

Content Type ◽

Belief Model ◽

The Health Belief Model

Purpose – How were health-based perceptions influenced by dominant public health theories in the historical past to present times and what impact did it have on waste management behaviours? Taking public health as the single most important driver of waste management responses from historic to the contemporary times, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the waste management practices through the lens of the leading public health constructs and their impacts on the adaptive practices of waste management. The research paper seeks to analyze the historical journey of waste management responses using the theoretical constructs of the Health Belief Model (HBM). Design/methodology/approach – The purpose of the research is achieved by conducting an extensive review into the available secondary source-based historic literature on waste. The paper uses qualitative method of research and applies content and text analysis to present the review of literature and establish patterns and co-relations between public health theories, health perceptions and waste behaviours. The HBM is applied in a modified format to evaluate the patterns of waste-based health perceptions and their impacts on adaptive waste management responses. Findings – Based upon a comprehensive review of literature pertaining to the historical aspect of waste management and public health constructs, the paper presents the link between the dominant public health theories, their impacts on waste-based health perceptions and waste management responses through the course of history. The analysis also reveals that while new approaches have been developed and adapted based upon the dominant public health theories, the age old practices and behaviours have not entirely faded away and rather continue to operate till date. Research limitations/implications – The research being under the preview of historical investigation, depends purely upon secondary review of literature to gather such information that shall lead to making an evaluation of health perceptions. As such the limitation of data itself for a thorough analysis is acknowledged. Also since the research setting uses the global context, the literature search found more information from the historic context of the western societies and less from other parts of the world and generalizations are therefore based on this literature. Originality/value – The paper presents a linkage between public health theories, perceptions and waste behaviours with application of the HBM and in doing so it makes a contribution towards understanding the historical journey of waste management responses. In the author's best knowledge the HBM has not been applied in environmental history research of this nature. The application of the HBM, while it has been done in the historical context herein, but it can be visualized that this model holds strength to make an application in contemporary settings to arrive at appropriate waste management policies and strategies.

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