Objective To explore the application effect of a health education program based on the ADOPT model in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Methods A total of 78 patients with inflammatory bowel disease were selected as the research participants and divided into an observation group and a control group, with 39 cases in each group. The observation group received a health education program based on the ADOPT model, while the control group received conventional health education. The intervention started from the first day of hospitalization and lasted for 12 weeks. Self-management behaviors, disease knowledge, self-efficacy, and quality of life were assessed and compared between the two groups at baseline, 4 weeks post-intervention, and 12 weeks post-intervention. Results A total of 33 patients in the control group and 35 in observation group completed the study. Significant between-group effects， time effect， and interaction effects were found for self-management behaviors, disease knowledge, self-efficacy, and quality of life scores in both groups (P<0.05). At 4 weeks and 12 weeks of intervention, the observation group demonstrated significantly higher scores in self-management behaviors, disease knowledge, self-efficacy, and quality of life compared with the control group (all P<0.05). Conclusion The health education program based on the ADOPT model can effectively improve the self-management behavior and disease knowledge level of patients, and is helpful to enhance their self-efficacy and overall quality of life.