[Models of health behavior]

One of the challenges for health professionals is to understand how individuals adopt and maintain healthy behaviours that lead to a better quality of life. This review of health behaviour models will help nurses determine appropriate interventions, and enhance programs that promote health and prevent sickness in individuals or groups of individuals. In order to establish priorities and to prevent omitting important points in planning such health programs, many theoretical and conceptual models have attempted to explain health behaviours as well as the indicators of compliance. The purpose of this article is to summarise the most utilised health behaviour models, to offer a schematic representation, and to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each model. Until now, no article had reviewed these models into the same work. This article will be of assistance to nurse researchers and clinicians working in health prevention, who are interested in choosing a health behaviour model to plan a scientific research, or to develop a clinical program. The models are presented according to the following classifications: cognitive value expectation; theories of personality; communication theories; models of program planning; and models of integration.