Psychosocial determinants of late prenatal care: the Health Belief Model.

This paper presents a theoretical framework for investigating psychosocial determinants of delayed prenatal care among disadvantaged women. This framework is based on the Health Belief Model (HBM), which postulates that beliefs concerning prenatal care are modified by psychological and social attributes and may predispose one to delay prenatal care enrollment. The HBM has a number of advantages for family medicine researchers in comparison to other models; its use in future investigations can provide the understanding necessary for overcoming psychosocial deterrents to entry into prenatal care.