Unit Assignment 8 Behavior
At this point, you have chosen a health theory (Unit 2), conducted a review of the recent literature and created an annotated bibliography (Unit 2), created goals and objectives for your program (Unit 4), and reflected and revised those goals to be culturally sensitive (Unit 6). Now it is time to synthesize that information and create a 5-7-page report (excluding title page, reference pages, and appendices) with your proposed intervention. Although you completed aspects of this project in other units, for this unit, you will imagine that this report is for your supervisor. To this end, your report should be comprehensive and formatted as a professional deliverable. You may borrow content from previous assignments, but attempt to substantively revise and synthesize that information.
Sample Paper
Unit Assignment 8 Behavior
Transtheoretical Model of behavior change is an integrative therapy theory that evaluates an individual’s willingness to act on new, improved behavior providing change approaches or processes to guide them (Hemenway et al.,2022). Transtheoretical theory can be applied to solve the issue of smoking in individuals. As an act of inhaling and exhaling gases of burning plant material, smoking has developed into a health issue. It causes cancer, stroke, heart and lung conditions, COPD, and diabetes. Smoking also increases the risk for tuberculosis, specific eye illnesses, and immune system issues, counting rheumatoid arthritis. Smoking has correspondingly been revealed to meaningfully reduce life expectancy, particularly among individuals who start smoking when young. Cigarette smoking remains a leading reason for avoidable illness and death in the U.S. It kills over 480,000 Americans every year (Murphy-Hoefer et al.,2018). Additionally, the United States spends over 300 billion dollars a year due to smoking-related diseases, including over 225 billion dollars in direct medical care for adults and 156 billion dollars in lost output.
Assumptions of Transtheoretical Theory
The transtheoretical theory is based on assumptions on the nature of behavioral change and population health interventions that may enable change. The assumptions that drive Transtheoretical theory, research, and practice include:
- Behavior changes as a process that reveals over time via system of phases. Health-based population programs require to support individuals as they develop over time.
- Both stages are steady and open towards change factors of chronic behavioral risk and are both stable and open towards change.
- Population-based health initiatives may encourage change through improving understanding of pros and reducing the value of the cons.
- Many people at-risk aren’t set for action and won’t be served by the traditional action-based prevention programs. Helping individuals to set accurate goals such as progressing to the next stage enable process of change.
- Particular change principles and procedures require stress at specific stages for improvement through stages to happen.
Stages of Transtheoretical Theory
The transtheoretical theory suggests that health behavior change encompasses progress through six stages counting pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. In the pre-contemplation stage, the individuals don’t mean taking action in a predictable future (defined as within the next six months) (Liu et al., 2018). Individuals are often uninformed that their behavior is a problem or forms adverse consequences. Individuals in this stage underrate the pros of changing behavior, placing much stress on the cons of changing behavior. In the contemplation stage, individuals aim at beginning healthy behavior in a predictable future (identified as in the next six months). Individuals distinguish that behavior can be a problem, and more practical and thoughtful consideration of cons and pros of changing behavior occur, with equivalent stress placed on all. Even with this credit, individuals still can feel hesitant towards changing their behavior. The preparation stage involves individuals being ready to take any action in the next 30 days. Individuals begin taking small steps towards behavioral change, believing that changing their behavior may lead to a healthy life. In the action stage, individuals have lately changed their behavior (stage known as within the past six months) and aim at keeping on moving ahead with the changed behavior. Individuals can show this by adjusting their problem behavior or obtaining healthier behaviors. The maintenance stage involve individuals sustaining their behavioral change for some time (known as over six months) and aim at maintaining behavior change onwards—individuals in this particular stage work to avoid decline in previous stages. Finally, in the termination stage, the individuals lack the need to get back to their unhealthy behaviors and are sure they won’t relapse. As this is hardly attained, and individuals have a habit of staying in the maintenance stage, the stage often isn’t considered in the health promotion-based programs.
All stages of transtheoretical theory for readiness to change may be used to addictive behaviors like smoking. The patient doesn’t believe smoking is an issue in the first stage or refuses to consider smoking cessation. In the second stage, the patient distinguishes smoking as an issue and wants to stop completely. During the third stage, the patient makes particular plans to stop smoking, like setting a quit date and defining how the smoking cessation would be attained. In the fourth stage, the patient stops smoking, while in the fifth stage, the patient continues abstinence from smoking. Decline towards smoking behavior is very common, and patients cycle through change stages sometimes before attaining the final stage of stable abstinence.
Intervention
Following the dangers of smoking, different establishments worldwide have led smoking cessation and tobacco control programs like tobacco taxation, population-level methods legislation, and several individual-level methods. Smoking cessation as an intervention for smoking lowers the danger of cancer and other severe health complications. Counseling, medicines, behavior therapy, and products with nicotine like gum, inhalers, nicotine patches, and nasal sprays can help individuals quit smoking. Comprehensive tobacco control-based programs as synchronized efforts execute population-level interventions. The interventions help reduce the demand and acceptability of using tobacco, increase cessation of tobacco use, reduce exposure to secondhand smoke, and prevent the beginning of tobacco use between young individuals (Levy et al.,2018).
Goal and Objectives of Smoking Cessation and Programs
The goal of smoking cessation would be to reduce morbidity and mortality due to tobacco use. Objectives would be to prevent tobacco use between young people and adults, protect from contact to environmental tobacco smoke, promote cessation between smokers, and reduce tobacco influence on adults and young people. One pressing challenge towards smoking cessation and control programs is that smokers find it hard to quit smoking, and they wonder why quitting smoking may seem so hard, the reason being not farfetched. Another potential challenge is opposition from cigarette-producing corporations where cigarette manufacturers use their resources to lobby the legislators to protect them from improved taxes and other involvements that may help reduce smoking rates.
Transtheoretical Theory in Action
Application of Transtheoretical Theory in nursing provides strategies to guide individuals to change behavior through the stages of motivational will (Han, Gabriel & Kohl 2017). Through this theory, healthcare providers also identify their patients’ stages, which helps them apply suitable strategies to impact behavior towards the anticipated health outcomes.
Diversity and Multiple Perspectives Before Smoking Intervention
Diversity and considering several perspectives are significant before beginning smoking cessation. For instance, before starting, a specific public health intervention considering such views allows for excellent care to be provided to diverse populations. A diverse public health team may help encourage numerous ideas during interventions following the presence of individuals in the public health intervention teams who, with particular target populations, can identify and understand the healthcare needs of diverse people and better strategies that may help address healthcare needs. Diversity in these health intervention teams help in promoting numerous views and the provision of improved services for diverse populations (Francis et al.,2022). Also, it’s essential to consider multiple perspectives before starting a public health intervention since such a move endorses high morale in the application team. Having a diverse public health intervention team and consideration of input of all team members forms a strong feeling of the community and enclosure amongst the public health workers make them appreciate and feel safer in the workplace, providing more efficient interventions. It’s similarly significant considering multiple views before beginning a public health intervention as this can improve problem-solving in public health intervention teams, increasing the odds for better results.
The goals and objectives of diverse or multicultural populations can be challenging to apply. They cannot be approved consistently in diverse populations and societies. To make goals and objectives more culturally sensitive and comprehensive, every goal will require applied after considering the target population’s culture. The ideal approach to implementing culturally sensitive methods in public health intervention could be relying on a diverse team that can draw up such policies.
References
Francis, C. L., Cabrera-Muffly, C., Shuman, A. G., & Brown, D. J. (2022). The Value of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Otolaryngology. Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America, 55(1), 193-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.otc.2021.07.017
Han, H., Pettee Gabriel, K., & Kohl III, H. W. (2017). Application of the transtheoretical model to sedentary behaviors and its association with physical activity status. PloS one, 12(4), e0176330. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0176330
Hemenway, A. N., Meyer‐Junco, L., Zobeck, B., & Pop, M. (2022). Utilizing social and behavioral change methods in clinical pharmacy initiatives. Journal of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. https://doi.org/10.1002/jac5.1593
Levy, D. T., Tam, J., Kuo, C., Fong, G. T., & Chaloupka, F. (2018). Research full report: the impact of implementing tobacco control policies: the 2017 tobacco control policy scorecard. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 24(5), 448. Doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000780
Liu, K. T., Kueh, Y. C., Arifin, W. N., Kim, Y., & Kuan, G. (2018). Application of transtheoretical model on behavioral changes and amount of physical activity among university students. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 2402. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02402
Murphy-Hoefer, R., Davis, K. C., Beistle, D., King, B. A., Duke, J., Rodes, R., & Graffunder, C. (2018). Peer-Reviewed: Impact of the Tips from Former Smokers Campaign on Population-Level Smoking Cessation, 2012–2015. Preventing chronic disease, 15. Doi: 10.5888/pcd15.180051
