Health Belief Model and HPV Vaccination Uptake in Young Adults
This paper applies two behavioral health theories to real-world vaccination and empowerment challenges. Part One uses the Health Belief Model to analyze why HPV vaccine uptake remains low among young adults in the United States and globally, examining constructs such as perceived susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, barriers, and cues to action through findings from multiple studies. Part Two applies the Theory of Planned Behavior to evaluate a randomized controlled trial that tested an educational intervention aimed at improving healthcare empowerment among reproductive-age women, assessing how attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control contributed to behavioral intention and empowerment outcomes.
- Introduction: HPV Vaccination and the Health Belief Model: HPV vaccine context and model overview
- Perceived Susceptibility and Seriousness of HPV: Beliefs about HPV risk and severity
- Perceived Benefits and Barriers to HPV Vaccination: Benefits perception versus cost and access barriers
- Cues to Action for Increasing Vaccine Uptake: Education campaigns and school-based strategies
- Theory of Planned Behavior Applied to Healthcare Empowerment: TPB constructs applied to empowerment intervention
- Intervention Design, Findings, and Limitations: Session outcomes and theory limitations discussed
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What makes this paper effective
- Systematically applies each construct of the Health Belief Model to empirical evidence from multiple studies, keeping theory and data tightly integrated throughout.
- Uses quantitative findings (percentages, participant counts) to ground abstract theoretical constructs in concrete, measurable outcomes.
- Transitions cleanly from a broad model application in Part One to a specific article critique in Part Two, demonstrating versatility in theoretical application.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates construct-by-construct theoretical mapping — a core academic technique in health behavior research. Rather than applying a theory as a vague lens, the author anchors each named construct (e.g., perceived seriousness, subjective norms) to specific study findings, making explicit how empirical data confirms, complicates, or extends each theoretical component.
Structure breakdown
The paper is divided into two clearly delineated parts. Part One moves sequentially through the five constructs of the Health Belief Model, using Calderon-Mora et al. (2020) and Donadiki et al. (2014) as primary evidence sources. Part Two pivots to a single article review structured around the Theory of Planned Behavior, covering the intervention's design, outcomes by construct, and a brief critical reflection on the theory's limitations. The reference list follows APA formatting throughout.
Introduction: HPV Vaccination and the Health Belief Model
Cervical cancer is a fundamental health concern for nations globally. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as an effective way to prevent HPV-related conditions, including cervical cancer (Alsulami et al., 2023). The vaccine is available for young children aged between 9 and 12, although young adults aged between 13 and 26 may also receive a catch-up immunization if they did not begin or complete the vaccination series before age 12 (Alsulami et al., 2023). According to Kamolratanakul and Pitisuttithum (2021), the HPV vaccine is 80 percent effective in preventing HPV-related infections. However, uptake of the HPV vaccine among young adults in the United States and globally remains low. The Health Belief Model provides a framework for understanding the possible reasons for this trend.
The Health Belief Model postulates that the decision to screen for, prevent, or control illness depends on an individual's perceived susceptibility to the disease, perceived seriousness, perceived benefits and barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy (Alsulami et al., 2023).
Perceived Susceptibility and Seriousness of HPV
Perceived Susceptibility
Perceived susceptibility is a measure of an individual's belief that they can contract a disease (Alsulami et al., 2023). Young adults are more likely to get vaccinated if they believe they are at risk of getting infected with HPV (Calderon-Mora et al., 2020). Calderon-Mora et al. (2020) conducted a study of 599 women in the United States to identify the psychosocial factors that influence HPV vaccination rates. Of the 599 women, only 93 (representing 15.5 percent) believed they were at risk of getting HPV, and only 13 percent believed they were likely to get such an infection within the next ten years. In another study by Donadiki et al. (2014), approximately 30 percent of female university students in Greece did not see the need to get vaccinated because they did not believe the vaccines were effective in preventing cervical cancer and other conditions. Moreover, 92.5 percent did not get vaccinated because they believed their sexual behavior was safe and, therefore, they were not at risk of getting HPV. Donadiki et al. (2014) conclude that there is a need to intensify efforts to increase knowledge of the overall nature of HPV and individual susceptibility among young adults as a way of encouraging more people to get vaccinated.
Perceived Seriousness of HPV Infections
Perceived seriousness is a measure of how serious an individual perceives a disease and its consequences to be (Calderon-Mora et al., 2020). Young adults are more likely to get vaccinated if they believe HPV poses a significant threat to their health. In their study, Calderon-Mora et al. (2020) found that a majority of women in the United States — over 86 percent — agreed that HPV would disrupt their physical health, romantic relationships, and overall quality of life. However, Donadiki et al. (2014) found that approximately 20 percent of university students did not understand the potential harms of HPV or that failure to obtain the vaccine increased the risk of developing cervical cancer or genital warts. This lack of awareness regarding the severity of HPV and its consequences reduces young adults' inclination to seek vaccination.
References
Alsulami, F., Sanchez, J., Rabionet, S., Popovici, L., & Baraka, M. A. (2023). Predictor of HPV vaccine uptake among foreign-born college students in the US: An exploration of the role of acculturation and the health belief model. Vaccines, 11(2), 422. DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11020422
Boston University. (2022). The theory of planned behavior. Boston University. https://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/mph-modules/sb/behavioralchangetheories/BehavioralChangeTheories3.html
Calderon-Mora, J., Ferdous, T., & Shokar, N. (2020). HPV vaccine beliefs and correlates of uptake among Hispanic women and their children on the US-Mexico border. Cancer Control, 27(1), 1–9. DOI: 10.1177/1073274820968881
Donadiki, E. M., Jimenez-Garcia, R., Hernandez-Barrera, V., Sourtzi, P., Carrasco-Garrido, P., Andres, A., Jimenez-Trujillo, I., & Velonakis, E. G. (2014). Health belief model applied to non-compliance with HPV vaccine among female university students. Public Health, 128(3), 268–273. DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2013.12.004
Kamolratanakul, S., & Pitisuttithum, P. (2021). Human papillomavirus vaccine efficacy and effectiveness against cancer. Vaccines, 9(12), 1413. DOI: 10.3390/vaccines9121413
Sabouri, M., Shakibazadeh, E., Mohebbi, B., Tol, A., Yaseri, M., & Babaee, S. (2020). Effectiveness of an educational intervention using theory of planned behavior on healthcare empowerment among married reproductive-age women: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 9(1), 1–8.
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