How do the Health Belief Model and the stages of change explain whether a person will adopt a healthier behaviour?
Apply behaviour change models, including the Health Belief Model and the stages of change, to explain and influence health behaviour
A focused answer to the WACE Year 12 Health Studies Unit 3 content on behaviour change models. Covers the Health Belief Model constructs and the transtheoretical stages of change, and shows how to apply each to explain and influence a person's health behaviour.
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What this dot point is asking
WACE expects you to use the models as tools to diagnose where a person is stuck and design a response. A strong answer names the relevant constructs or stage, matches them to the scenario, and proposes a strategy that targets that specific construct or stage. Marks reward correct, applied use rather than a memorised list of parts.
The Health Belief Model
The Health Belief Model explains an individual decision through a set of beliefs. Perceived susceptibility is how likely the person thinks they are to experience the problem. Perceived severity is how serious they judge the consequences to be. Together these create perceived threat. Perceived benefits are the person's view of how much a recommended action would help, and perceived barriers are the costs, effort or inconvenience of acting. The person acts when benefits clearly outweigh barriers. Cues to action are triggers such as a symptom, a friend's diagnosis or a campaign, and self-efficacy is the person's confidence that they can actually perform the behaviour.
The model is useful because it tells you exactly what to change. If a young person does not use sunscreen because they feel skin cancer will not happen to them, the barrier is low perceived susceptibility, so the strategy should raise their sense of personal risk. If they accept the risk but find sunscreen greasy and expensive, the barrier is perceived barriers, so the strategy should reduce cost and inconvenience.
The stages of change
The stages of change (transtheoretical) model describes behaviour change as a process over time rather than a single decision. In precontemplation the person is not thinking about change and may not see a problem. In contemplation they are aware of the problem and weighing change but feel ambivalent. In preparation they intend to act soon and may take small steps. In action they have changed the behaviour recently. In maintenance they have sustained the change and work to prevent slipping back. Relapse is a return to the old behaviour, treated as a normal part of the cycle rather than a failure.
The value of this model is that it matches the strategy to the stage. A person in precontemplation needs information and a reason to care, not a quit-smoking timetable. A person in action needs support, coping skills and relapse prevention, not basic awareness. Pushing an action-stage strategy onto a precontemplation-stage person usually fails, so identifying the stage first is essential.
Using the models together
The two models answer different questions. The Health Belief Model explains the weighing of beliefs behind a single decision, while the stages of change explain the journey over time. Used together, you can diagnose both why a person is hesitating (which belief is the barrier) and where they are in the process (which stage), then design a response that fits both.
How this maps to the exam
Expect a stimulus describing a person who has or has not changed a behaviour. Identify the relevant constructs of the Health Belief Model or the stage of change, explain what is driving the behaviour, and propose a strategy that targets that exact construct or stage. Use the details in the scenario rather than generic advice.