Assessing the appropriateness of the health belief model for teaching an art health and safety program to undergraduate art students

The purpose of this study is to further our understanding of how art students respond to art safety education and assess whether the health belief model (HBM) is an appropriate theory for an art safety program. The HBM had not been studied in the context of providing health education for artists. The HBM constructs (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, self-efficacy, and cues to action) were examined to determine which constructs were related to a students' intent to practice art safely. Many artists do not think consciously about hazards they are exposed while creating art. Limited efforts have been made to educate art students about these risks and related safety practices. Seventy-three undergraduate art students at Tyler School of Art were given a survey to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding their safety when making art. The HBM was explored in terms of assessing students' art risk exposure and the relationship between the HBM constructs and a students' intent to practice art safely. An art safety workshop was also provided offering information about hazards inherent to art materials and appropriate safety practices. After the workshop, a qualitative survey was used to obtain students' feedback regarding how the workshop was taught. Focus groups were conducted twelve weeks later to obtain students' “views” on making art safely and to determine what, if any, safety behaviors they had adopted when making art.;The results suggested that the HBM provides some useful approaches for teaching art safety. The HBM construct that was statistically significant for students' intent to practice art safely was perceived benefits, although perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy were also individually highly correlated with art safety intention. The follow-up survey indicated that students' found the workshop to be valuable in raising their awareness of the need to make art safely.;This study suggests that future research should explore how comprehensive art safety programs can utilize perceived benefits, barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy to affect behavioral change in students' art safety practices, with less emphasis on the threat to the artists' health (perceived susceptibility and severity).