t the importance of developing and evaluating nutritional education programs in diverse Third World Countries cannot be over-emphasized.
It was stated that there are several factors involved in Third World Females being at risk for low birth-weight infants and infant mortality. Of the several contributive factors, the one most salient to this study is poor dietary habits. A central assumption of this research is that the reason Third World Women do not practice adequate nutrition is that they are slow to seek available health care services and thus do not learn about nutrition during pregnancy; nor do they receive the benefits that would come with seeking health care such as vitamin shots, and so forth.
The explanation offered for Third World females being slow to seek health care when they become pregnant is based on the theoretical notions associated with the Health Belief Model.The Health Belief Model holds that seeking health care depends upon three primary factors, motivation, susceptibility, and cost/benefit ratio (Becker, 1978). The first of these is motivation. In order to seek health care, people must have sufficient motivation (health concern) otherwise medical issues are not viewed as personally salient.
The second important factor is susceptibility. In order to seek health care, people must believe that they are vulnerable to a health problems; their degree of vulnerability is commonly referred to as their level of "perceived threat.
The third factors discussed by Becker is the cost-benefit ratio. In order to seek health care, people must believe that the care benefits them by reducing their level of perceived threat, and that it does so at a cost that is acceptable to them. Cost barriers include a variety of factors but the most common factor is financial outlay.
What needs to be realized about Becker's Health Belief Model is that its central thesis is that what contributes to effective seeking ...