The Health Belief Model In Community Health Nursing

One of the most essential roles of the community health nurse is that of educator. The goal of health education is to promote wellness and decrease disability by understanding the factors that influence health behavior. To be effective, the nurse must forge a trusting relationship within the community and plan education intervention that considers cultural, educational and socioeconomic components (Nies & McEwen, 2015). In this post I will choose the health belief model (HBM) and apply it to the health problem of infant mortality that I identified in week one. I will define the theory, discuss how I would apply it and list teaching strategies I would use for the target population.
When reviewing the local health statistics in week one,

To tackle the concepts of perceived susceptibility and severity the nurse would help parents understand their level of risk by reviewing the sobering infant rates of mortality by race in Franklin County and what the consequences might be for those families who are not knowledgable. Next, the nurse would address the concept of perceived benefits by educating parents on what steps they can take to mitigate the risk of infant death such as safe sleeping habits and clarifying the positive effects from applying these habits. To identify individual perceived barriers, the nurse should have the parents share the personal barriers they may have following safe sleep habits such as being able to afford a crib with safety features, their desire to have the baby sleep with them, or remembering to place the baby on its back and taking objects out of the crib when the baby is sleeping. For cues to action, the nurse should provide education information to all members of the household to promote awareness and provide reminders such as follow up calls on a monthly basis. For self-efficacy, the nurse would assess the sleep environment and provide suggestions for a better outcome, provide training, and follow up with home visits to reinforce