More is Not Better The Health Belief Model has been subjected to rigorous and repeated testing to ensure that validity and reliability are maintained across scales for different health problems. Despite this, few studies have tested this theory across cultures. Theories such as the health belief model, however sound in Western cultures, may or may not be culturally relevant in treating a patient from an Eastern culture. Health education and health promotion programs often fail to produce favorable results in programs designed to improve patient adherence, and few studies discuss language, ethnic, or the cultural problems unique to certain groups. The purpose of the study described in this monograph was to examine the Health Belief Model and to ascertain its cultural soundness in predicting the health behavior among a group of Vietnamese Americans.

Autorentext

Dr. Katalanos is the Director of the University of New Mexico Physician Assistant Program in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. She has been a physician assistant since 1978, working with many cultures over her more than 30 years of medical practice, including Southeast Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Mexican Americans, among others.