The Health Belief Model - Is it relevant to Korea？

With rapid economic development, the emphasis of the public health movement in Korea has shifted towards addressing the burden of chronic disease. With this shift in direction comes a greater focus on health behaviour and the need for planning models to assist in lifestyle modification programs. The Health Belief Model (HBM), which originated in the US, has generated more research than any other theoretical approach to describe and predict the health behaviour of individuals. In recent years it has been applied in many different cultures and modifications have been suggested to accommodate different cultures. Given the centrality of language and culture, any attempts to use models of health behaviour developed in a different culture, must be studied and tested for local applicability. The paper reviews the applicability and suitability of the HBM in Korea, in the context of the Korean language and culture. The HBM has been used in Korea for almost three decades. The predictability of the HBM has varied in Korean studies as in other cultures. Overall, this literature review indicates that the HBM has been found applicable in predicting health and illness behaviours by Korean people. However if the HBM is used in a Korean context, the acquisition of health knowledge is an important consideration. Most new knowledge in the health sciences is originally published in English and less frequently in another foreign language. Most health knowledge in Korea is acquired through the media or from health professionals and its acquisition often involves translation from the original. The selection of articles for translation and the accuracy of translation into language acceptable in the Korean culture become important determinants of health knowledge. As such translation becomes an important part of the context of the HBM. In this paper modifications to the HBM are suggested to accommodate the issues of language and knowledge in Korea.