A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Health Belief Model Variables in Predicting Behavior

The Health Belief Model (Rosenstock, 1966) was constructed to explain which beliefs should be targeted in communication campaigns to cause positive health behaviors. The model specifies that if individuals perceives a negative health outcome to be severe, perceives themselves to be susceptible to it, perceives the benefits to behaviors which reduce the likelihood of that outcome to be high, and perceives the barriers to adopting those behaviors to be low, then the behavior is likely. A meta-analysis of 18 studies (2,702 subjects) was conducted to determine if measures of these beliefs could longitudinally predict behavior. Benefits and barriers were consistently the strongest predictors. The length of time between measurement of the HBM beliefs and behavior, prevention versus treatment behaviors, and drug taking regimens v. other behaviors were identified as moderators of the HBM variables’ predictive power.