Health Belief Model and Nursing Philosophy Explained
This paper presents a personal philosophy of nursing grounded in two middle-range theories — self-efficacy theory and social cognitive theory — and examines how the Health Belief Model further informs that philosophy. Drawing on Bandura's foundational work and established nursing frameworks, the paper argues that effective patient care, particularly in psychiatric settings, requires understanding how individual beliefs, environmental influences, and perceived health risks shape behavior. The author explains how nurses can apply the Health Belief Model in practice through needs assessments, health education, barrier reduction, and role modeling, all aimed at improving patients' health outcomes and overall wellbeing.
- Introduction: A Collaborative Philosophy of Nursing: Defines nursing philosophy and introduces collaborative care approach
- Middle-Range Theories in Psychiatric Nursing Practice: Self-efficacy and social cognitive theory applied in psychiatry
- The Health Belief Model and Its Core Components: Five core factors shaping individual health beliefs and behavior
- Applying the Health Belief Model to Patient Behavior: How perceived risk and self-efficacy drive health decisions
- Nursing Practice and the Health Belief Model in Action: Concrete nursing interventions informed by the health belief model
- Conclusion: Nursing theories essential for improving patient health outcomes
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper clearly connects personal nursing philosophy to formal theoretical frameworks, showing how abstract concepts apply in real clinical contexts such as psychiatric care.
- It systematically walks through the components of the Health Belief Model — perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy — anchoring each to nursing actions.
- The use of a timely real-world example (COVID-19 precautionary behavior) strengthens the argument about perceived susceptibility and health behavior change.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective theory-to-practice bridging: the author introduces each theoretical construct (self-efficacy, social cognitive theory, the Health Belief Model) and then immediately illustrates how a nurse would apply it in patient care. This approach keeps the argument grounded and avoids purely abstract discussion, making it accessible and practically relevant.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by defining nursing philosophy and stating the author's collaborative personal philosophy. It then introduces two middle-range theories applied in psychiatric nursing. The following sections unpack the Health Belief Model's components, show how those components explain patient behavior, and describe specific nursing interventions the model informs. A brief conclusion restates the value of applying multiple theories to meet nursing's core goal of improving patient health.
Introduction: A Collaborative Philosophy of Nursing
A philosophy of nursing practice outlines the beliefs, ethics, and values that motivate nurses in their profession. It plays an important role in decision-making, given that nursing involves working with different stakeholders in diverse settings. Philosophy in nursing shapes the decisions nurses make regarding patient care across different environments. However, it is often difficult for nurses to make effective decisions about individual patients without applying nursing theories and drawing on theories from other disciplines.
According to my personal philosophy, providing the best care for patients requires collaboration across various disciplines. Collaboration in nursing practice enhances communication and thereby improves patient outcomes (O'Daniel and Rosenstein, 2008). This is especially true given that nursing practice is about far more than treating diseases. To help patients and understand their circumstances, nurses must learn how the environment influences health. For this reason, nurses need to apply nursing theories — such as middle-range theories — as well as theories from other disciplines to provide the best possible care. This essay reviews the middle-range theories applied in my philosophy of nursing and describes how the Health Belief Model can further inform that philosophy.
Middle-Range Theories in Psychiatric Nursing Practice
One of the middle-range theories I applied in my philosophy of nursing in psychiatry is the theory of self-efficacy. According to Bandura (1978), individuals' ability to exercise control over their behavior and social environment is determined by their beliefs, norms, attitudes, and expectations. Because self-efficacy is rooted in individual beliefs, nurses can base their interventions on an evaluation of patients' beliefs. In psychiatric nursing, nurses design interventions aimed at improving patients' self-efficacy, particularly because high self-efficacy improves resilience to symptoms associated with mental illness (Bandura, 1978). For instance, patients experiencing stress due to a mental illness can work through that situation by strengthening their self-efficacy with respect to behavioral change.
The other middle-range theory I applied in my philosophy is social cognitive theory. Human behavior is significantly shaped by the environment, and a change in environment can affect an individual's behavior either positively or negatively. For this reason, nurses in psychiatry can improve patients' health outcomes by advocating for changes to the patient's environment. For example, a mentally ill patient whose illness was caused by abuse may benefit substantially if their living environment is changed.
The Health Belief Model and Its Core Components
The Health Belief Model influences a person's beliefs in relation to their health behavior (Boskey, 2020). Because my personal philosophy is centered on caring for patients within their broader environment, the Health Belief Model would further shape that philosophy. The model explains how individual beliefs — themselves determined by environmental factors — influence health behavior, and it can also be applied alongside the middle-range behavioral theories discussed above.
According to Boskey (2020), the Health Belief Model is built on several key factors. First, an individual's confidence plays an important role in determining their perceived ability to succeed. Second, a person's thoughts about the consequences of an illness will influence their health behavior. Third, perceptions of personal susceptibility to an illness may also influence behavior (Boskey, 2020). Furthermore, an individual is likely to change their health behavior when that change is expected to produce clear benefits. Finally, exposure to health information and awareness of potential barriers can also determine health behaviors among individuals (Boskey, 2020).
Conclusion
Nurses play a significant role in helping individuals change their behaviors in order to achieve better health and wellbeing outcomes. One key goal of nursing practice is to improve patients' overall health and reduce suffering. To achieve that goal, nurses must apply a variety of theories — including middle-range theories and interdisciplinary frameworks — to guide their practice and inform their decisions in diverse care environments.
References
Bandura, A. (1978). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Advances in Behavior Research and Therapy, 1(4), 139–161.
Boskey, E. (2020). The health belief model.
O'Daniel, M., & Rosenstein, A. H. (2008). Professional communication and team collaboration. In R. G. Hughes (Ed.), Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2637/
Rural Health Information Hub. (2005). The health belief model. https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/toolkits/health-promotion/2/theories-and-models/health-belief
Jones, C. L., Jensen, J. D., Scherr, C. L., Brown, N. R., Christy, K., & Weaver, J. (2015). The health belief model as an explanatory framework in communication research: Exploring parallel, serial, and moderated mediation. Health Communication, 30(6), 566–576.
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