The aim of this research paper is to propose preventative measures based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) to be used in the emergency department in order to reduce the incidence of hypertension and death by the communicable diseases it causes within the United States Mexican American population. This project advocates for strategies to be applied at the Emergency Department, to which this is the primary care for many in the uninsured Mexican American population, the same population to which hypertension has one of the highest prevalence. Through this proposed intervention, the field of public health will gain a new prevention strategy for reducing hypertension in Mexican Americans, as well as, decreasing mortality due to hypertensive …show more content…
Perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action and self efficacy are the constructs that compose the HBM (Strecher & Rosenstock, 1977). These constructs are important when formulating this intervention in terms of perceived severity, cues to action, and self efficacy. Perceived severity is a person’s view of the level of threat of disease. When sick with a cold a person would have a low perceived severity (they do not think they will die). However, when one is told they have heart failure or Ebola, they have a higher perception of the threat of mortality the disease causes and will more likely take action to reduce the risk of contraction or …show more content…
A visit to the emergency department can be considered a cue to action, for those coming in with a hypertension related complaint. If one is having to go to the emergency department for hypertension, their perceived threat of disease will increase, which will usually make them more motivated and have higher self-efficacy toward changing behavior in order to prevent further complications. Emergency departments are positioned between inpatient and outpatient care and can effectively serve as a portal for initiating validated screening methods, as well as making individuals aware of their risk (Prendergast et al