Flocke SA, Gordon LE and Pomiecko GL
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 30(3): 243-251, March 2006
Health behavior change related to smoking cessation, nutrition and physical activity could be facilitated by primary care physicians connecting patients to existing community resources. This study evaluates an intervention to encourage the use of a Web-based health behavior change resource and a health behavior prescription pad. Participants for the 2004 pre-post-test study included seven primary care practices and 784 patients in northeast Ohio. The evaluation measured rates of discussion of diet, exercise, weight management, smoking cessation and patient change in motivation to modify behaviors at eight weeks after the clinical visit.
Key Findings:
- Participants in the post-intervention cohort demonstrated higher rates of discussion of diet, exercise and weight management, and were more frequently referred to patient education materials and community programs for health behavior change.
- There was no observable difference in participants’ motivation to modify behaviors.
- The qualitative data indicated that six out of seven practices had significant difficulties in implementing the intervention.
Associated Grant ID: 49058
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