Health Behavior Change - Assignment Example

Health Behavior Change Introduction Every aspect of human beings is to change and so is the behavioral pattern of an individual. Change is the permanent characteristic of human life and there is immense value for the behavioral change models and theories. Theoriesof behavioral change are important in the sense that they explicate the causes for the variations in behavioral patterns of human beings. It is fundamental to comprehend that the personal, behavioral, and environmental characteristics of an individual determine his behavior. The focus in the modern times has been to apply the various behavioral change theories in education, health, and criminology so as to advance the services in these fields. Health behavior change has a central significance in the recent years and health psychology utilizes several sound behavioral change theories in order to ensure this. One of the most effective theoretical models in this respect is thetranstheoretical model of changewhich has ceiling usefulness in envisaging success or failure of individuals in accomplishing behavior change. This paper deals with strategies of implementing a health behavior change for my client who is 22 year old female, newlywed and very busy. As I am trying to change her behavior and help her to enjoy better time management in order to fit in time to exercise, the Transtheoretical Model of change (TTM), self-efficacy, theory of reasoned action, and planned behavior were found most useful. Since my client is in the preparation stage (PR) of the Transtheoretical Model, she is all set to make the changes in her behavior in a very short period of time. It has been maintained that the individual in this stage "recognizes the problem and intends to change the behavior within the next month." (Behavior Change -- A Summary of Four Major Theories). At this stage, the individual does not attain the distinct behavior change criterion, though there may be reports of certain behavior change efforts. The strategies to be adopted in implementing the health behavior change for my client, therefore, depend on all these aspects. Description of the Client As aforementioned, the central focus of the paper is to direct the various strategies in implementing a health behavior change for my client. Therefore, it is most significant to have a detailed description of the client which will be useful in determining the specific strategies or interventions to implement the behavioral change. To introduce my client, she is 22 year old, newlywed, and very busy person who never found time to exercise. In fact, understanding her in person would make one justify her behavior as she has been engaged in several activities, apart from the events in her current life which includes her marriage. However, she has never given importance to physical exercises and its consequences are gradually seen in her body. It has been long now since she began to realize the significance of changing her behavior and prioritizing activities related with physical exercises in her life. Therefore, she has gone through the pre-contemplation stage and contemplation stage of change according to the Transtheoretical Model and she has an immense desire to change her behavior now. My task is to instill her desires to change the behavior and help her in the better time management in order to fit in time to exercise. My primary attempt will be to understand how the client moves through the process of behavior change until she makes her new behavior a behavior. As my client has undergone the first two stages of behavior change, she is in the crucial stage of preparation where people take simple steps to engage in the behavior, but not the successful action. People in this stage, as says, are the best candidates for patient education programs and "they are the most receptive of any in the three non-participant groupsabout moving to the action." (Lorig, 2000, 44). Therefore, it is most significant to assist my client to reach the stage of action. It needs to be clarified here that the client has developed an interest for behavior change over a period of time and it is of permanent nature now. She is highly motivated to affect the change in her life and to manage the time better in order to find scope for physical exercise in her life. This has resulted in her towering confidence in her chances of changing the behavior. Her high confidence predicts her self-efficacy and it has close relationship with behavioral change. Whereas the client's chances for the problem behavior, in the previous two stages, were higher compared to her self-efficacy to desist, in her present stage she has a high efficacy to maintain the change. "As individuals move from Preparation to Action, the disparity between feelings of self-efficacy and temptation closes, and behavioral change is attained." (The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change). The Factors Affecting the Behavioral Change, Data Collection, and Effective Strategies In order to help the client in changing her behavior and in better time management, it is important to incorporate the most essential factors in the strategies for behavioral change. Therefore, the listing of various factors in her present behavior will have pertinent implications and these factors influence the goals of the client as well as her state of being. Determining the factors that affect the client's specific behavior has significant value and the personality as well as the psychological, emotional and motivational factors needs to be given importance. Thus, it may be noted that the client, unlike her previous life, is highly motivated to affect the desired changes in her behavior. However, a better strategy requires a greater understanding of the various aspects of the client which will be gathered through the interviews with the client and direct observations. Transtheoretical Model of points out that individuals use different processes of change as they move through various stages of change. Ultimately, "efficient self-change thus depends on doing the right thing (processes) at the right time (stages)." (Grizzell). As the psychological, cultural, social, and motivational aspects of the client are significant, the outline for strategy includes steps in the collection of required data. The questions in the interviews with the client will mainly determine these factors. The variables affecting the strategy for behavior change include the intension of the client, the constraints on the environment, various skills, the expected results and attitudes, the general as well as personal standards, emotion, and self efficacy of the client. These are the factors that can normally affect the behavior change in the client and the questions in the interview will decide upon these factors. The process adopted in the behavior change is determined by these data and ten important processes are mainly focused. The usefulness of the various stages of Change in explaining when changes in cognition, emotion, and behavior take place is categorical. However, it is the different processes of change which can effectively clarify how these changes take place. It is crucial to implement the following ten covert and overt processes "to successfully progress through the stages of change and attain the desired behavioral change." (The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change). These may be grouped under the experimental processes and the behavioral processes. The experimental processes include consciousness raising, dramatic relief, self-reevaluation, environmental reevaluation and social liberation, whereas the behavioral processes consists of counter-conditioning, helping relationships, reinforcement management, self-liberation, and stimulus control. The usefulness of these processes in the behavior change has been unquestionable and there have been research evidences to prove their value. According to Burbank, and Riebe, "although people changing their behavior were found to use over 100 techniques to help them, the techniques used were found to be substantive components of these ten processes." (Burbank, and Riebe, 2001, p. 61). Therefore, the most effective intervention strategy to affect the behavior change in the client is the one which is based on the Transtheoretical Model of behavior change. The five stages of the behavior stages as well as the ten processes of attaining the ultimate results will be useful in dealing with the behavioral problem of the client. Through the specific methods of interview and direct observation, the information required for the strategy will be collected. As the client has been going through the stage of preparation, the attainment of the behavior change is not far and the intervention strategies will focus on ensuring the goal attainment by the client. Conclusion Implementing the health behavior change for my client will mainly focus on the strategies of behavioral change which includes five steps and ten processes. The ultimate result of these steps will be that the client achieves a confirmation about her chances of behavior change. The psychological readiness of the client will be ensured through the processes and changes of behavioral change. In conclusion, the Transtheorectical Model of behavior change has been found most valuable in this strategy and the success of the strategy depends on how effectively it is implemented. References Behavior Change -- A Summary of Four Major Theories. Family Health International. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from http://www.fhi.org/NR/rdonlyres/ei26vbslpsidmahhxc332vwo3g233xsqw22er3vofqvrfjvubwyzclvqjcbdgexyzl3msu4mn6xv5j/BCCSummaryFourMajorTheories.pdf Burbank, Patricia M. and Riebe, Deborah. (2001). Promoting Exercise and Behavior Change in Older Adults: Interventions with the Transtheoretical Model. Springer Publishing Company. p. 61. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from http://books.google.co.in/bookshl=en&id=urWY-DC7YFUC&dq=Transtheoretical+Model&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=VVz4tE7Y8x&sig=XahVQh8DXqPmsIPakDFOp7nk-oo&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPT85,M1 Grizzell, Jim. Behavior Change Theories and Models. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from http://www.csupomona.edu/jvgrizzell/best_practices/bctheory.html Lorig, Kate. (2000). Patient Education: A Practical Approach. SAGE. p. 44. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from http://books.google.co.in/booksid=MzhBND1bTgYC&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=Transtheoretical+Model&source=web&ots=zQB62nSJrd&sig=VctVG9qcKaMr9h5DK2cmUBa_Dzs&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result#PPA43,M1 The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change, The Habits Lab at UMBC. Retrieved October 13, 2008, from http://www.umbc.edu/psyc//habits/content/the_model/index.html Read More