Health promotion model (HPM) components.

• A. Individual characteristics and experience; behavior-specific cognitions and affect; behavioral outcomes.
• B. Only environmental factors determine health actions.
• C. Medical treatment past and future predict behaviors.
• D. Random chance determines health actions.

Answer: (A)

Health promotion actions are explained by three interacting elements in Pender’s Health Promotion Model. First, individual characteristics and experiences include personal factors like age, gender, health history, and prior behavior that shape how a person responds to health decisions. Second, behavior-specific cognitions and affect cover the thoughts and feelings tied to the action—perceived benefits and barriers, self-efficacy, and the emotional responses that influence motivation. Third, behavioral outcomes refer to the actual actions and the degree of commitment to health-promoting behaviors that result from those cognitions and experiences. The option reflects these three domains exactly, making it the best fit for the model. Other choices oversimplify health behavior by focusing only on environment, past medical treatment, or random chance, none of which capture how internal factors, beliefs, and outcomes interact to drive health actions.