Treating Addictive Behaviors: Smoking Prevention and Cessation - Essay Example

"Treating Addictive Behaviors: Smoking Prevention and Cessation" is a well-written example of a paper on addiction.
There is the aspect of the willingness to cooperating with the patient, whereby, he participates in the therapy session with the nurse by agreeing to cut back his habit of smoking. This shows positive and successful therapy because the patient is moved from denial of the truth to acceptance of reality.  Most patients are willing to stop the addiction of smoking because with this plan they are aware of the dangers and the diseases that arise out of smoking. The essential strategic methods that can successfully change the patient’s addiction are by providing them with motivational interviewing techniques that help the patient to progress through each stage.

The Transtheoretical Model of change contains five stages and came from the research efforts of James Prochaska and Carlo DiClementre over 18 years ago. Most of the research was based on smoking cessation, but the model has as well been applied to other addictive behaviors including obesity, drug abuse, condom use, gambling, and exercise (Miller & Heather, 1998). In the model, intentional behavior change is accentuated as opposed to communal, developmental, or imposed change. The three organizing constructs of the model are processes of change, stages of change, and levels of change (DiClementre & Prochaska, 1998).

Stages of change comprise of five categories along a continuum that reflect a person’s motivation and interest to alter current behavior. An individual is capable of getting successful behavioral change through movement along these stages (Miller & Heather, 1998). The stages include contemplation, pre-contemplation, preparation, maintenance, and action. Health care providers must settle on the readiness to adjust or the period in which each patient is in prior to developing a healing plan. The processes of change being the second facilitate movements through the stages of change. On the levels of change, clinicians recognize that individuals have many problems that often overlie. For example, addiction may be associated with marital problems, personality disorders, financial problems, violence, and depression. With this recognition, the Transtheoretical Model of Change incorporates five levels of change for consideration. These include changes that relate to the situation or symptoms, intrapersonal problems, maladaptive cognitions, intrapersonal conflicts, and systems/family problems. Treatment outcomes are often better when a patient’s several problems are addressed.

Cognitive processes to promoting tailored messages are internally mediated factors that are associated with an individual’s values, emotions, and cognitions, the health provider uses behavioral processes to move a patient along the continuum through enhancing the discrepancies, empathetic listening, empowering the patient, and nonjudgmental problem-solving.

In evidence-based approaches to smoking prevention and cessation, patients have an upper respiratory infection like cough, wheezing, and expectorant. Patients also appear to be potentially resistant or unaware and thus, pre contemplative. Nurses use the transtheoretical model is to be used to inspire their patients and enlightening them more on the dangers of smoking addiction. There are also few trials with evidence about pharmacological interventions (bupropion and nicotine replacement) where none of the patients demonstrated effectiveness for adolescent smoking (Shinitzky & Kub, 2001).

The human race faces challenges for better health as well, whereby, causes of death in many countries are caused by chronic illnesses replacing infectious diseases, risk and protection for main causes of mortality being brought up by habitual behaviors and lifestyle. Behavior changes noticeably improving psychological and bodily health, as well as the excellence of care and information is essential but not enough approach for changing fitness behaviors.