OBJECTIVE To assess behavioral health providers' beliefs about the benefits and barriers of health information exchange (HIE). METHODS Survey of a total of 2010 behavioral health providers in a Midwestern state (33% response rate), with questions based on previously reported open-ended beliefs elicitation interviews. RESULTS Factor analysis resulted in four groupings: beliefs that HIE would...

Information provision, which is a common behavior-change strategy, is only effective if the information is credible. Infectious disease prevention messages that rely on the germ theory may fail to persuade people who are unfamiliar with microbes. A novel program in rural Pakistan augments conventional hygiene instruction by demonstrating with microscopes that microbes exist. Through a randomize...

Theories that focus on beliefs and actions of individuals were among the first theories of health behavior to be developed and remain the most widely used today. In this chapter, we comment on four theories introduced in Part Two of this book: Health Belief Model, Theory of Planned Behavior, The Transtheoretical Model, and Precaution Adoption Process Model. We discuss why theory is needed, exam...

Using ethnographic techniques, I studied the religious and spiritual aspects of health care at the N.R.I. Academy of the Sciences in Chinakakani, Andhra Pradesh, India, to gain perspectives on how culture influences people’s beliefs about health. It became apparent that “cultural customs” accounted for people’s similar beliefs concerning recovery from disease and injury, irrespective of their d...

BACKGROUND Hypertension is a major health risk factor for mortality globally, resulting in about 13% of deaths worldwide. In Nigeria, the high burden of hypertension remains an issue for urgent attention. The control of hypertension, among other factors, is strongly determined by personal beliefs about the illness and recommended treatment. OBJECTIVE The aim of this review is to systematicall...

OBJECTIVE Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of illness and death in Western society. The present study was designed to evaluate the utility of illness perceptions and medication beliefs in predicting secondary preventive behaviour among patients with CHD. An extended version of Leventhal's self-regulatory model (SRM) was used as a theoretical framework for this study [Leventhal H,...

BACKGROUND Individual health beliefs are likely to play a key role in how people respond to knowledge and information about the potential harm from smoking and alcohol abuse. The objectives of the study were to 1) explore whether functional beliefs and risk minimizing beliefs were associated with intention to quit smoking and confidence to quit smoking and 2) explore whether functional beliefs ...

The large-scale use of agrochemicals has raised environmental and human health concerns. A comprehensive intervention strategy for improving agrochemical safety among rice farmers in Thailand is lacking. The objective of this study is to develop a model in order to improve farmers' health and prevent them from being exposed to agrochemical hazards, in addition to evaluating the effectiveness of...