This scoping review (PRISMA-ScR, 26 studies) examined what factors shape an individual's beliefs about health interventions and how those beliefs influence therapeutic or performance outcomes across multiple treatment domains.
Qualitative content analysis identified five categories that shape health-intervention beliefs: individual characteristics, practitioner characteristics, individual–practitioner relationship, intervention characteristics, and setting characteristics. These converged into a unified 'belief effect' conceptual model.
Only 26 publications were included from 12,232 records, raising concerns about inclusion stringency; the review is dominated by review articles (n=15), limiting primary-data strength; and the resulting model is hypothesis-generating rather than empirically validated.
Clinicians can use the five-factor 'belief effect' framework to consciously shape patient beliefs through how they communicate, present treatments, and structure the care environment. The model provides a practical scaffold for designing belief-supportive interventions across specialties.
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