For my discussion this week, I will be referring to members of the Healthy People assigned to focus on the area of osteoporosis. I will be using the Health Belief Model because you can apply it to the social ecology of health model. The Health Belief Model is a framework to help us understand our health behaviors and why we may not be compliant with the instructions of the medical physician in order to have a healthy bone life. There are four constructs that serve as perceptions: perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers. If we look at why we could be non-compliant to measures that prevent osteoporosis, it could be because we do not think of it is a serious disease.

According to the Health Belief Model, people will make changes only when they perceive that osteoporosis is serious, and less likely to practice healthy behaviors if they believe that the disease is not severe (Coreil, 2010). Osteoporosis could results in hip fractures, crippling fractures, low self-esteem, and physical pain in routine activities. Emotional sufferings and the stress of falling and being dependent on others is also a negative result of osteoporosis. It affects 25 million people in the United States, 80% of whom are women (McBean, Forgac &Finn, 1994). It is also includes 1.5 million fractures annually, including hip fractures, which is a life-threatening outcome (Krall & Dawson-Hughes, 1999).

Another common barrier is the low perception of susceptibility, believing it only happens to old women. These people will not take positive preventive action. Unfortunately, the disease is a silent one and without symptoms until it has progressed. How do you prevent osteoporosis? Educational classes, bone mineral density testing and individual consultations help people to become more aware or increase the perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, self-efficacy and cues to action, while decreasing perceived barriers to actions that