<P> Health - related behaviors are also influenced by the perceived benefits of taking action . Perceived benefits refer to an individual's assessment of the value or efficacy of engaging in a health - promoting behavior to decrease risk of disease . If an individual believes that a particular action will reduce susceptibility to a health problem or decrease its seriousness, then he or she is likely to engage in that behavior regardless of objective facts regarding the effectiveness of the action . For example, individuals who believe that wearing sunscreen prevents skin cancer are more likely to wear sunscreen than individuals who believe that wearing sunscreen will not prevent the occurrence of skin cancer . </P> <P> Health - related behaviors are also a function of perceived barriers to taking action . Perceived barriers refer to an individual's assessment of the obstacles to behavior change . Even if an individual perceives a health condition as threatening and believes that a particular action will effectively reduce the threat, barriers may prevent engagement in the health - promoting behavior . In other words, the perceived benefits must outweigh the perceived barriers in order for behavior change to occur . Perceived barriers to taking action include the perceived inconvenience, expense, danger (e.g., side effects of a medical procedure) and discomfort (e.g., pain, emotional upset) involved in engaging in the behavior . For instance, lack of access to affordable health care and the perception that a flu vaccine shot will cause significant pain may act as barriers to receiving the flu vaccine . </P> <P> Individual characteristics, including demographic, psychosocial, and structural variables, can affect perceptions (i.e., perceived seriousness, susceptibility, benefits, and barriers) of health - related behaviors . Demographic variables include age, sex, race, ethnicity, and education, among others . Psychosocial variables include personality, social class, and peer and reference group pressure, among others . Structural variables include knowledge about a given disease and prior contact with the disease, among other factors . The health belief model suggests that modifying variables affect health - related behaviors indirectly by affecting perceived seriousness, susceptibility, benefits, and barriers . </P> <P> The health belief model posits that a cue, or trigger, is necessary for prompting engagement in health - promoting behaviors . Cues to action can be internal or external . Physiological cues (e.g., pain, symptoms) are an example of internal cues to action . External cues include events or information from close others, the media, or health care providers promoting engagement in health - related behaviors . Examples of cues to action include a reminder postcard from a dentist, the illness of a friend or family member, and product health warning labels . The intensity of cues needed to prompt action varies between individuals by perceived susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, and barriers . For example, individuals who believe they are at high risk for a serious illness and who have an established relationship with a primary care doctor may be easily persuaded to get screened for the illness after seeing a public service announcement, whereas individuals who believe they are at low risk for the same illness and also do not have reliable access to health care may require more intense external cues in order to get screened . </P>

The environmental health model focuses on conditions outside the individual