Health Belief Model Constructs are perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cue to action The Health Belief Model (HBM) argues that a person’s willingness to change their health behaviors primarily comes from their health perceptions.  The HBM model was developed in the 1950s by social psychologists Godfrey Hochbaum, Irwin Rosenstock, and Rosenstock and Kirscht. The model was developed among other things to to explain reasons why people do not participate in Public Health Service programs, their responses to experienced symptoms, and medical compliance.

Perceived susceptibility is one of the six Health Belief Model Constructs. This define a person’s subjective perception of the risk of acquiring an illness or disease. The model admits that there is wide variation in a person’s feelings of personal vulnerability to an illness or disease. The second construct is perceived severity, wich refers to a person’s feelings on the seriousness of contracting an illness or disease. The next construct is perceived benefits. This construct define a person’s perception of the effectiveness of various actions available to reduce the threat of illness or disease.

The next Health Belief Model Constructs is perceived barriers, which mean a person’s feelings on the obstacles to performing a recommended health action. Barriers include anger, discomfort, expense and inconvenience. This is where the person weighs the effectiveness of the actions against the perceptions of cost, side effects, unpleasant, or time-consuming. The next construct is cue to action, which is the stimulus needed to trigger the decision-making process so that an individual accepts recommended health actions. It argues that wanting to change a health behavior isn’t enough to  make someone do it. The sixth construct is self-efficacy added to the model 1988. It considers a person’s level of confidence in their ability to successfully perform a behavior. APA