Complementary Tools to Empower and Sustain Behavior Change

Abstract

Improving health behaviors is fundamental to preventing and controlling chronic disease. Healthcare providers who have a patient-centered communication style and appropriate behavioral change tools can empower patients to engage in and sustain healthy behaviors. This review highlights motivational interviewing and mindfulness along with other evidence-based strategies for enhancing patient-centered communication and the behavior change process. Motivational interviewing and mindfulness are especially useful for empowering patients to set self-determined, or autonomous, goals for behavior change. This is important because autonomously motivated behavioral change is more sustainable. Additional strategies such as self-monitoring are discussed as useful for supporting the implementation and maintenance of goals. Thus, there is a need for healthcare providers to develop such tools to empower sustained behavior change. The additional support of a new role, a health coach who specializes in facilitating the process of health-related behavior change, may be required to substantially impact public health.

Experiences of women with cervical dysplasia and associated diagnoses using electronic cigarettes for smoking substitution

“…Several women also noted the importance of long‐term follow‐up support. Sohl, Birdee & Elam advocate motivational interviewing, as well as eliciting the aid of a life or health coach to empower continued behavioural change . Without long‐term support, women may experience feelings of desertion that several mentioned during previous unsuccessful quit attempts when support had been withdrawn too soon.…”

What impact does written information about fatigue have on patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases? Findings from a qualitative study

“…The serial nature of the interviews was, perhaps, the most significant feature of the research, with all participants expecting to be asked to give an account of their reaction to, and use of, the booklet. The role of follow‐up in supporting behaviour change is acknowledged in the literature (Sohl, Birdee, & Elam, in press). Active and sustained follow‐up of patients' self‐management goals (in addition to their clinical status) is also a key component of the “productive interactions” (Cramm & Nieboer, ) associated with Wagner's chronic care model (Wagner, ).…”

The EMPOWER-SUSTAIN e-Health Intervention to improve patient activation and self-management behaviours among individuals with Metabolic Syndrome in primary care: study protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial

“…Training will also include reinforcing the use of relevant clinical practice guidelines (CPG) [64] as decision support for management and prescribing. The PCPs and nurse will be trained on the basis of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), which would be useful for them to understand how patients' behaviour change can be influenced by health care providers [65]. They will also be trained in motivational interview (MI) techniques and health-coaching skills to facilitate patients' autonomous self-regulation to enhance their behaviour change [65][66][67][68].…”

“…The PCPs and nurse will be trained on the basis of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), which would be useful for them to understand how patients' behaviour change can be influenced by health care providers [65]. They will also be trained in motivational interview (MI) techniques and health-coaching skills to facilitate patients' autonomous self-regulation to enhance their behaviour change [65][66][67][68]. MI training would include the skills to formulate open-ended questions, reflective statements (i.e., restating what the patients conveyed) and stimulating what the patients know before providing relevant education [65].…”

“…They will also be trained in motivational interview (MI) techniques and health-coaching skills to facilitate patients' autonomous self-regulation to enhance their behaviour change [65][66][67][68]. MI training would include the skills to formulate open-ended questions, reflective statements (i.e., restating what the patients conveyed) and stimulating what the patients know before providing relevant education [65]. The main aim of the MI is to engage patients in problem solving by encouraging active learning [66] and facilitating patients' autonomous self-regulation to achieve goals by enabling patients to develop individualised action plans [67,68].…”