Using personal health records to scaffold perceived self-efficacy for health promotion

According to Bandura (1977), believing in one's ability to achieve a goal is one of the best predictors that a goal will be accomplished. Given its predictive power, the concept of belief in one's ability to succeed, or perceived self-efficacy, is well researched for its influence on health promotion. It has been argued that a paradigm shift must occur away from illness treatment towards illness prevention and health promotion, for healthcare to accommodate the needs of the population. Personal Health Records (PHRs) may be a tool to help facilitate this paradigm shift. PHRs are repositories of information that individuals can use to access, manage, and share their personal health information. An extension of Bandura's model of self-efficacy will be presented here which identifies opportunities for PHRs to enhance perceived self-efficacy through mastery, social modeling, social persuasion, and physiological state. Bolstering self-efficacy through PHR tools will expand the utility of PHRs beyond self-management to also facilitate health promotion and illness prevention and gains in self-efficacy are also likely to transcend into other areas of consumers' lives.