ABSTRACTBandura's theory of self‐efficacy has been applied in many areas of health education including smoking cessation, pain control, eating problems, cardiac rehabilitation, and adherence to regimens. Consequently, self‐efficacy has emerged as an important concept with which health educators should be familiar. Self‐efficacy refers to one's belief in the ability to do a specific behavior. Self‐efficacy is a principle connection between knowledge and action since the belief that one can do a behavior usually occurs before one actually attempts the behavior. Self‐efficacy also affects the choice of behavior, settings in which behaviors are performed, and the amount of effort and persistence to be spent on performance of a specific task. This article will examine self‐efficacy theory, describe sources of self‐efficacy, and present applications of self‐
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