Two of the eight peer-reviewed papers published in the Special Section highlight Pro-Change’s programs, one on youth obesity prevention, and the other on adult stress management, weight management, and smoking cessation.

The article by Yin et al., titled “Treatment-enhanced Paired Action Contributes Substantially to Change Across Multiple Behaviors: Secondary Analyses of Five Randomized Trials,” explores different analytical methods to determine the consistency, robustness, and synergy in patterns of multiple concurrent behavior change outcomes. Data from five randomized trials of computer-tailored interventions that simultaneously treated multiple health behaviors were analyzed. Three of those five trials used Pro-Change programs. Yin et al. found that paired action (changes on both behaviors in a pair) contributed substantially more to the treatment related outcomes than changes in just one of the behaviors in a pair. These results help us to understand how Pro-Change programs can increase impacts on multiple behaviors and populations.

The Bottom Line Statement in the Policy Brief by Amy A. Eyler, PhD, of Washington University, states that Pro-Change’s Health in Motion youth program “was not only effective in initiating and maintaining energy balance behaviors, but also in reducing smoking and alcohol acquisition in early adolescents.” Eyler is highlighting Velicer’s et al’s study “Multiple Behavior Interventions to Prevent Substance Abuse and Increase Energy Balance Behaviors in Middle School Students.” Health in Motion has been used by middle and high schools, by dependents of employees, and YMCAs, and could be used by Accountable Care Organizations for families and communities.

About Translational Behavioral Medicine Journal
Translational Behavioral Medicine: Practice, Policy, and Research (TBM) is an official international peer-reviewed publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. TBM’s mission is to engage, inform, and dialogue between research, practice, and policy. TBM features original empirical studies on the effectiveness or implementation of interventions which explicitly state the impact of the findings for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. For more information, please go to
www.springer.com/medicine/journal/13142.

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The online program will be designed to encourage patients with IC to use a range of healthy strategies to manage or minimize their pain, and to cope with pain that does occur. Healthy strategies will include first-line treatments recommended in the American Urological Association’s treatment guidelines (e.g., education, stress management, pain management, self-care, and behavior modifications), and any second-line and third-line treatments prescribed by their care providers.

The intervention will be accessed via the ICA’s website, ichelp.org, and will:

1. Assess and give feedback on level of IC pain and the benefits of using healthy strategies to manage that pain;
2. Assess and give feedback on current stage of change for using healthy strategies to manage IC pain;
3. Assess and give feedback on current use of each of the healthy strategies for managing IC pain;
4. Facilitate use of up to seven stage-matched Transtheoretical Model principles and processes of change shown empirically to facilitate transition to the next stage of change for making positive behavioral changes;
5. End with a report that contains all the feedback received during the session, and links to stage-matched information and resources on the ICA website. The report can be printed or accessed online using private login information.

Lee Claassen, Executive Director of the ICA stated, “We are pleased to have the opportunity to have a strong theory-based intervention built for IC patients to help empower them in managing their condition and live the fullest life possible.”

The development of this computer-based self-management tool for IC patients is supported by the Interstitial Cystitis Association’s Cooperative Agreement number 5U58DP002936-02 from The Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About ICA
The Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA) is the only non-profit health association dedicated to improving the quality of healthcare and lives of people living with IC. The ICA provides advocacy, research funding, and education to ensure early diagnosis and optimal care with dignity for people affected by IC. For more information, please visit ichelp.org.

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The Depression Prevention Program is a Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change computer-tailored program for adults who are experiencing at least mild symptoms of depression. The goal of the program is to help individuals use healthy strategies for recognizing, managing, and reducing symptoms of depression, and for preventing the onset of major depression. The intervention was found effective in a large-scale randomized trial funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. It received high marks for the quality of the research and readiness for dissemination in the NREPP review.

To view a description of the Depression Prevention Program and reviewer ratings, please visit the NREPP website at: www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/ViewIntervention.aspx?id=275.

Deborah Levesque, PhD, Senior Vice-President at Pro-Change and the principal developer of the program stated, “We are thrilled to receive NREPP recognition for this low-cost, easily disseminated program that has the potential to reach and fill gaps in services for depressed and at-risk individuals in the work place and in primary care.”

This is not the first of Pro-Change’s Award Winning LifeStyle Programs to be recognized. In 2007, Pro-Change’s Stress Management Program was placed on SAMHSA’s NREPP site.

About NREPP
NREPP is one way that SAMHSA is working to improve access to information on tested interventions and thereby reduce the lag time between the creation of scientific knowledge and its practical application in the field. NREPP is a voluntary, self-nominating system in which intervention developers elect to participate. For more information on NREPP, please visit www.nrepp.samhsa.gov.

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According to Susan Dentzer, Health Affairs editor-in-chief, “wherever engagement takes place, the emerging evidence is that patients who are actively involved in their health and health care achieve better health outcomes, and have lower health costs, than those who aren’t… The challenge is to encourage patients and providers alike to embrace engagement and achieve its full potential to improve health and health care.” Pro-Change has designed two solutions to do just that.

Proactive Health Consumer (PHC) is a mobile-optimized, individually tailored behavior change program designed to increase patient engagement in health and health care by encouraging informed decision making; shared decision making; financially responsible use of health services; and engagement in ongoing wellness activities among patients. Like all Transtheoretical Model-based programs, PHC is for all patients – those who are not ready, those who are getting ready, and those who are already proactive consumers. The program includes a dynamic web portal containing interactive activities that build patients’ skills and confidence to be an active participant in their care. To read more about the PHC program, please read this article from Art and Science of Health Promotion.

Pro-Change’s new health care Provider Dashboard helps primary care providers to be experts in behavior change without extensive training. The dashboard is populated with a patient’s data from our Health Risk Intervention (HRI). Once a patient has completed the HRI, clinicians can see a graphic representation of the patient’s self-reported health status, as well as behavior change challenges and priorities on a single screen. The dashboard provides brief, evidence-based, tailored behavior change messages the clinician can deliver to engage the patient in the behavior change process. The inclusion of a patient’s behavior change priorities can promote shared decision making and improve outcomes. The dashboard also allows clinicians to prescribe Pro-Change’s award-winning behavior change programs and follow their patients’ progress over time.

About Health Affairs
Health Affairs is the leading journal of health policy, thought, and research. The peer-reviewed journal was founded in 1981 under the aegis of Project HOPE, a nonprofit international health education organization. Health Affairs explores health policy issues of current concern in both domestic and international spheres. To learn more about Health Affairs, visit their website at www.healthaffairs.org.

About Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc.
Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc., a certified Women’s Business Enterprise, is a research and development company providing wellness partners with computer- and coaching-based programs for changing health risk behaviors. Based on the Transtheoretical Model developed by founder Dr. James O. Prochaska, Pro-Change programs are for entire populations and are uniquely tailored to each individual. Pro-Change programs have produced unprecedented impacts on multiple behaviors to enhance health and reduce health care costs. In 2009, Pro-Change LifeStyle Management Programs for Stress Management, Depression Prevention, Weight Management, Exercising Regularly, Smoking Cessation, and Medication Adherence won the URAC Gold Award for Best Practices in Health Management. In 2012, the LifeStyle programs were featured on AHRQ’s Innovation Exchange website. For more information, please visit www.innovations.ahrq.gov. For more information about Pro-Change, please visit www.prochange.com.

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South Kingstown, RI – February 13, 2013. Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. and Krames Staywell (KSW) have reached an agreement to incorporate a special version of the Pro-Change LifeStyle Management Suite into Krames Staywell’s comprehensive communication and engagement package created for accountable care organizations, ACO 360°. ACO 360° meets the outreach, acute patient education, and health management needs of an accountable care organization and is designed to foster patient engagement in the care coordination activities of an ACO by promoting health self-management.

“ACO 360° is a powerful program that includes print and digital newsletters, a patient resource guidebook, multimedia website libraries, and a comprehensive database of over 5,500 patient education articles in English and Spanish that can be integrated into virtually any Health IT system and delivered through the EHR and Patient Portal via the Infobutton Standard,” explained John George, Executive Vice President Krames StayWell. “However, we felt there was a gap in providing solutions to enable ACOs to better manage the overall health of their patient population. The LifeStyle Management Suite, created by the Pro-Change team using a leading behavior change methodology, is uniquely designed to serve the needs of an ACO model.”

Pro-Change was founded by James O. Prochaska, PhD who developed the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (TTM) more commonly referred to as the Stages of Change Model. The LifeStyle Management Suite incorporates the TTM into a Health Risk Intervention that not only assesses risk but also addresses a person’s readiness to make a behavior change and guides the user with stage matched strategies. The Suite includes nine online coaching programs such as smoking cessation, weight management, exercise, nutrition, and stress management that dynamically reassess where a person is on the continuum of making a behavior change and provides tailored guidance strategies to best help the user reduce their health risks. The version of the LifeStyle Management Suite incorporated into ACO 360° also includes an innovative provider dashboard designed to better coordinate and encourage health management interventions and promote communication between the patient and the care team.

“We are excited to be partnering with Krames Staywell,” added Janice M. Prochaska, PhD, President and CEO, Pro-Change. “The combination of our scientifically validated behavior change programs and KSW’s proven patient and consumer engagement tools coming together in ACO 360° creates a powerful lever for any accountable care organization looking to drive success of their efforts via effective patient engagement and accountability in personal health management.”

To find out more about this new program for accountable care organizations please visit www.kramesstaywell.com/aco-360.

About Krames StayWell
Krames StayWell is the largest provider of patient education, consumer health information, and population health management communications in the country. Combining extensive technology and content assets with vast consumer insights and a strategic approach, Krames StayWell is uniquely qualified to engage consumers across the entire spectrum of their health care experience. Our best-in-class health communication solutions integrate print, interactive, and mobile formats at multiple touch points to attract and retain consumers, improve health outcomes, and lower costs. We deliver measurable results for hospitals, health care professionals, health plans, employers, retail pharmacies, government agencies, and association clients with world-class design, commitment to health literacy principles, and a focus on custom development. For more information, please visit www.kramesstaywell.com.

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Steve Potje, RN, CCP, and BS/BA, Executive Director of NADMWP stated: “I wish I would have had this course when I started in the field. The e-Learning program is very easy to follow, provides the core content needed to understand both TTM coaching and MI strategies and how to apply them in guiding a member to behavior changes.”

The National Association of Disease Management & Wellness Professionals®
The National Association of Disease Management & Wellness Professionals® (NADMWP) is a nonprofit professional association for Doctors, Registered Nurses, Registered Dieticians, Pharmacists, Social Services, and Behavioral Health professionals working in the Disease Management & Wellness industry. These professionals are tasked with helping the millions of persons with chronic medical conditions learn to self-manage these conditions and to help the non-diseased population to make lifestyle changes to avoid the development conditions such as Diabetes, Coronary Heart Disease, Hypertension and COPD. To learn more about the NADMWP, please visit their website at www.nadmwp.org.

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Karen Chapman-Novakofski, PhD, RD, Editor-in-Chief, stated that “Dr. Johnson’s contributions are invaluable to the success of the Journal. Her expertise and professional critiques have helped improve numerous manuscripts during her tenure.”

Dr. Johnson’s award will be highlighted in the January/February issue of the Journal.

About the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
JNEB is the official journal of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. It is a refereed, scientific periodical that serves as a resource for all professionals with an interest in nutrition education and dietary/physical activity behaviors. The purpose of JNEB is to document and disseminate original research, emerging issues and practices relevant to nutrition education and behavior worldwide. For more information please visit www.jneb.org.

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• An overview of the Transtheoretical (Stages of Change) Model, a leading model of behavior change
• Questions that can be used to assess client’s readiness to set aside money to pay off debt, follow a budget, save regularly, or change other financial behaviors
• Detailed guidance about specific behavior change strategies that are most appropriate for clients in each stage of change
• Activities and worksheets that can be completed by the client, as well as referrals to best in class online financial tools and information

The guide, written by a team at Pro-Change including Sara Johnson, Ph.D., Carol Cummins, M.Ed., M.L.I.S., and Lynne Broderick, M.P.H., is concise and easy to follow. It includes practice client scenarios that allow coaches or financial planners to test their ability to correctly determine stage of change and recommend appropriate behavior change strategies.

The post Pro-Change Releases “The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change for Financial Coaching” appeared first on prochange.com.

To watch the segment, please click the image below.

MyHealth at the Y is a personalized health and wellness coaching program that combines Pro-Change’s MyHealth program, our LifeStyle Management Suite of behavior change programs, with consultation and support from trained Y staff called Navigators. The Y staff participated in Pro-Change’s online e-Learning course on the Transtheoretical Model and participated in trainings provided by Dr. Mauriello. The Y professionals guide members through a review of their Health Risk Intervention Report and assist with setting behavior change goals. They refer members to the behavior change programs included in MyHealth and provide members with additional support as needed. MyHealth at the Y is being offered at all 7 branches of the Greater Providence Association.

Co-hosts of the Rhode Show, Will Gilbert, Michaela Johnson and Meaghan Mooney, completed the Health Risk Intervention and their consultation with a Y Navigator will be aired at a future date on the Rhode Show.

Learn more about MyHealth at the Y or check out other services that the YMCA of Greater Providence is offering to help members stick with their goals in the New Year!

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In Changeology, John C. Norcross lists his pet peeves of traditional self-help resources: “They tend to fail in four ways: they are not based on research (95% are not); they don’t provide specific strategies; they focus on only one stage of the solution; and they don’t tailor advice to the individual.”

Pro-Change’s health behavior change programs, based on the Transtheoretical Model, are just the opposite. They are based on over 35 years of continuing research; they provide specific, concrete change strategies; they target all of the stages of change; and they are tailored to the individual on all four constructs of the change process – stage, pros and cons, self-confidence, and processes of change.

In his book, Norcross recognizes the research and development work of Deborah Levesque, PhD, for depression prevention, and Sara Johnson, PhD, for multiple behavior change and co-variation. Unfortunately he mistakenly lists their affiliation as the University of Rhode Island. Both are Senior Vice Presidents and leaders in the scientific development of new applications of the Transtheoretical Model at Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc.

Norcross’ new book can help many more people appreciate the science of the stages of change, which can produce greater success in efforts to lead healthier and happier lives.

About Changeology
To learn more about John C. Norcross’ book, Changeology, go to www.changeologybook.com.

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