According to the Health Belief Model, what drives action on health behavior?

The Health Belief Model (HBM) emphasizes that an individual's beliefs about health problems, perceived benefits of action, and barriers to action all play a crucial role in determining whether they will engage in health-promoting behaviors. The model posits that it is the individual's perceptions of costs and benefits—such as perceived severity of a health issue, perceived susceptibility to that issue, perceived benefits of taking action, and perceived barriers to taking that action—that significantly influence their likelihood of changing behavior.

By focusing on individual perceptions, the model suggests that even if someone recognizes a health issue, it is their assessment of the implications—like how much they believe an intervention will help them or how difficult or easy it might be to implement the change—that truly drives their decision-making process. This makes individual perceptions a key driver of health behavior, as they directly impact motivation and readiness to act.

In contrast, while social influences, community support, and perceived benefits also play roles in shaping health behaviors, it is the combination of perceived costs and benefits that serves as the direct motivator according to HBM. Thus, the understanding of individual perceptions is essential for effectively promoting health behaviors.