[Desire, knowledge..., belief, choice, ...and ability]

The evolution of various approaches to health education and additions from educational psychology have brought about a proposition of an easy-to-follow (thus useful) model for health educators based on five nouns: Desire, Knowledge, Belief, Choice, and Ability (Vouloir, Savoir, Se voir, Choisir et Pouvoir). 1. Desire creates the motivation which is essential to action, and can stem from: anticipating consequences; and/or an internal need to resolve problems; and/or external constraints; and/or an interest, reflecting a system of values. Motivation increases, of course, when more than one of the above factors comes into play and the effects are combined. 2. Knowledge is the cognitive competence which is acquired through direct experience, imitation of models, or "verbal apprenticeship" which provides the individual with a repertoire of effective solutions to various problems. 3. Belief concerns the concept of self-evaluation (or rather self-estime). An individual judges his/her capacity to act according to his/her capabilities, and the community according to its actual or potential human, financial and material resources. 4. An individual or community uses its "knowledge" to consider a series of possible solutions to a given problem and chooses the solution according to a base of preferences. In health, as elsewhere, all actions have positive and negative consequences. An example can be found in the alcohol/tobacco area: a certain positive image of smoking and drinking has been portrayed in many socio-cultural environments, and educational campaigns have had a difficult time convincing the public of the negative consequences of these actions. It is thus not surprising that the "balance" of the decision continues toward substance abuse. 5. After "desire, knowledge, belief and choice" have filtered potential solutions, the decisive step is left: the individual and/or community execute an action according to their ability to succeed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)