This month Pro-Change launched a randomized clinical trial of Healthy Pregnancy: Step by Step at six federally qualified health center sites offering prenatal care to underserved women in Rhode Island, New York, and Connecticut. With funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Pro-Change developed a multiple behavior computer tailored intervention (CTI) offering individualized guidance based on stage of readiness for smoking cessation and maintenance, stress management, and healthy eating. A color-printed feedback report and a printed multiple behavior change manual serve as adjuncts to the CTI. A total of 368 women are expected to participate in the study, and all components of the intervention are offered in English and Spanish. With this project, Pro-Change has expanded its core web application capabilities by including extensive interactivity within the tailored feedback screens of the CTI, adding multiple languages, and the optimizing of the entire intervention for iPad delivery.

During the next six months, study participants will be recruited from the three prenatal care sites of the Community Health Center, Inc. of Connecticut (Meriden, Middletown, and Clinton), the two sites of Open Door Family Medical Centers in Ossining and Port Chester, NY, and the Woonsocket, RI site of Thundermist Health Center. Women will be invited to participate in the program three times during their pregnancy. At each session, women in the treatment group will receive stage-matched and tailored guidance on two behavioral risks with attention placed on making and sustaining behavioral changes into the postpartum period. Follow-up assessments will be completed at one and four months post childbirth.

At all health center sites women will interact with the program on iPads in a self-directed manner. Usability testing with the target population demonstrated strong feasibility and enthusiasm for using iPads. Pamela Ferrari, RN, Director of Performance Improvement at Open Door commented, “The flexible and mobile delivery platform of iPads will enable us to test this program and integrate it into our standard prenatal care more easily. Women can carry the iPad with them through our prenatal care flow and engage in science-based behavioral health counseling while they wait to see their provider. This is a welcomed enhancement that we are pleased to offer our English and Spanish speaking prenatal patients.”

Outcomes of the trial are anticipated to be available early in 2013. A demonstration of the program can be viewed at www.prochange.com/pregnancydemo. For more information about the CTI or printed behavior change manuals, please contact Dr. Leanne Mauriello, Principal Investigator and Vice President at Pro-Change at lmauriello@prochange.com.

About Open Door

Founded in 1972 in the basement of the First Baptist Church in Ossining, NY, Open Door was first operated as a free clinic, staffed by nearly 100 local volunteers. Today Open Door is a nationally recognized, federally qualified community health center serving as the health care home to more than 40,000 individuals in Westchester. Open Door’s facilities are located in designated underserved communities, serving those who are hardest to reach. Patients make over 170,000 visits annually to its sites in Ossining, Port Chester, Mt. Kisco, Sleepy Hollow, and its five school-based health centers in Port Chester. Accredited by The Joint Commission, Open Door ensures quality through its board-certified and board-eligible physicians, staff, exceptional quality improvement program, and a robust electronic medical record platform. For more information about Open Door, please visit www.opendoormedical.org.

About Thundermist

Thundermist Health Center is a private, nonprofit community health center serving three communities in Rhode Island and serving 28,000 patients statewide. It is the second largest community health center in Rhode Island and has been part of the federal community health center program for over two decades. Thundermist continually strives for continuous quality improvement and innovation and is a proven leader in community health in Rhode Island. For over forty years, Thundermist has been fulfilling its mission to provide affordable, culturally competent, comprehensive primary care when and where it is needed most, with dignity and respect. For more information about Thundermist Health Center, please visit www.thundermisthealth.org.

About Community Health Center, Inc.

Community Health Center (CHC) is a statewide, independent private nonprofit organization. CHC provides high-quality medical, dental and behavioral health services to over 130,000 active patients living in nearly every Connecticut city and town. For more information about Community Health Center, Inc., please visit chc1.com.

The upgrade includes:

• iPad and smart phone optimization
• a Spanish version of the Health Risk Intervention which assesses health and behavior risks, the user’s readiness to change them, and then provides stage-targeted feedback
  productivity and functionality measures included in the Health Risk Intervention
• new Interactive Personal Activity Centers which contain tools, games, quizzes, testimonials, electronic flip books, and activities designed to compliment the guidance received in the computerized tailored behavior change programs
  a fully integrated Weight Management program that includes tailored messages on healthy eating, exercise, and emotional eating with stage-matched goals
• capability, when requested, to now add to the Suite the Proactive Health Consumer program which is designed to guide the user to engage in shared decision making with their health care providers, make informed decisions about tests and treatments, and to use health care services in a financially responsible way
• capabilities for tailored text messaging by Transtheoretical Model constructs that drive the most change.

“We are now pleased to be able to offer a fuller user experience that is optimized for ease of use,” stated Janice M. Prochaska, PhD, President and CEO of Pro-Change. “We would be glad to work with anyone wanting a demo of our new features.”

Experience Life is an award-winning health and fitness publication that puts forth the concept that being healthy is a revolutionary act. Experience Life is recognized for being one of the best researched, most reliable, and most forward-thinking magazines of its time.

“We are pleased that Experience Life took the time to interview us at Pro-Change and to write a very thorough and helpful article for the general public,” stated Janice M. Prochaska, PhD, President and CEO of Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc.

About Experience Life

The mission of Experience Life is to empower our readers to become their best, most authentic selves and to support their enjoyment of a healthy, balanced, deeply satisfying way of life. Experience Life seeks to provide road maps toward real and lasting self-improvement. For more information, please visit www.experiencelife.com.

Dr. Prochaska pioneered the Transtheoretical Model, which outlines stages of change and matches strategies for health behavior change. Now more than three decades old, the model is arguably one of the most widely applied in health education research and practice.

“Dr. Prochaska’s teaching, research, and writings around the Transtheoretical Model pioneered a new and innovative paradigm for shaping health education interventions, particularly in cancer prevention and control,” notes SOPHE Chief Executive Officer Elaine Auld, MPH, MCHES. “SOPHE is proud to honor Dr. Prochaska and his remarkable legacy to improving the public’s health.”

Since 2010, Mrs. Obama has led a national campaign to improve the health and fitness of America’s children. The “Let’s Move” campaign has galvanized health, human service, transportation, civic, business, media, and other sectors both within and outside of government to tackle the problem of childhood obesity through improved nutrition and physical activity opportunities.

With the First Lady’s leadership, the nation has catalyzed national attention and action on one of our most pressing public health problems today – childhood obesity, ” says Dan Perales, DrPh, SOPHE President. “The ‘Let’s Move’ campaign helps address the critical social, educational, environmental, and other determinants that affect the health of our nation’s youngest citizens and future workforce.”

Both Dr. Prochaska and Mrs. Obama are invited to speak at SOPHE’s 62nd Annual Meeting, October 28-29 in Arlington, VA. The honorary Fellow Awards will be presented as SOPHE convenes the nation’s largest independent gathering of behavioral scientists, and health education researchers, practitioners, and students. For more information about the SOPHE Annual Meeting and/or a list of past Honorary Fellows, please visit www.sophe.org.

About SOPHE

Founded in 1950, The Society for Public Health Education’s mission is to provide global leadership to the profession of health education and to promote the health of society. SOPHE promotes healthy behaviors, healthy communities, and healthy environments through its membership, its network of 19 regional/state chapters, and its numerous partnerships with other organizations. For more information about SOPHE, please visit www.sophe.org.

About Pro-Change

Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc., a certified Women’s Business Enterprise, is the leading research and development company for 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’s 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. For more information about Pro-Change, please visit www.prochange.com.

Findings from a new study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine suggest that organizations may want to review their approaches to managing presenteeism – productivity loss from employees who are physically present at work, yet perform sub-optimally due to health problems or other barriers such as personal problems or worries. Rather than focusing exclusively on physical health, employers can more effectively influence productivity by holistically measuring presenteeism and providing actionable information focused on physical, social, and emotional health and well-being.

Presenteeism is currently estimated to cost the United States more than $150 billion annually, accounting for 71% of the total costs of lost productivity.¹ This collaborative study, conducted by Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. and Healthways, developed and evaluated the Well-Being Assessment for Productivity (WBA-P) as an assessment of job performance loss due to well-being related barriers.

By surveying 1,827 employed individuals, the study confirms that the WBA-P is a valid and reliable measure of presenteeism, showing productivity loss increased significantly as the number of chronic conditions and risk factors increased and as overall physical and emotional health decreased. In addition, it shows lower productivity for those that expressed they are struggling and suffering in their life evaluation.

“While previous research has supported the negative impact absenteeism has on organizations, the Well-Being Assessment for Productivity is the first measure of presenteeism that captures a range of performance barriers related to work and ‘personal’ life, said James O. Prochaska, PhD, Founder, Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. “This study marks a critical turning point in solving the presenteeism problem, as employers are now capable of identifying, customizing treatments for, and tracking specific sources of productivity loss across business, business units, and teams.”

The WBA-P is a component of Healthways Well-Being Assessment, a measurement instrument which provides organizations information on the overall well-being of their employees as well as the impact well-being is having on the productivity of the workforce. The Well-Being Assessment allows organizations to deliver a single measure that will provide the information needed to guide well-being and performance enhancement programs and to measure their impact on employee productivity.

“These findings clearly show it is critical to consider a broader view of presenteeism and specific sources of productivity loss as part of a well-being improvement strategy,” said James E. Pope, Chief Science Officer at Healthways. “Business leaders must provide solutions that support employees in their homes, communities, and work environments in order to improve overall well-being, which in turn improves productivity and reduces costs.”

Article: “The Well-Being Assessment for Productivity; A Well-Being Approach to Presenteeism.” James O. Prochaska, PhD, Kerry E. Evers, PhD, Janet L. Johnson, PhD, Patricia H. Castle, MA, Janice M. Prochaska, PhD, Lindsay E. Sears, PhD, Elizabeth Y. Rula, PhD, and James E. Pope, MD; Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Published July 2011.

Full Study Available: The Well-Being Assessment for Productivity; A Well-Being Approach to Presenteeism.

About Healthways
For more about Healthways, please visit www.healthways.com.

1. Stewart WF, Ricca JA, Chee E, Morganstein D. Lost productive work time costs from health conditions in the United States: results from the American Productivity Audit. J Occup Environ Med. 2003; 45: 1227-1234.

Kerry started her work at Pro-Change by obtaining Pro-Change’s first Small Business Innovative Research funding in 1998, and has continued to work with some of Pro-Change’s largest and longest term partnerships. She has lead and played an integral part in research and product development for behaviors ranging from stress management and bullying prevention; the use of the Internet in affecting health behavior change, proactive health consumerism, and well-being; to text messaging for smoking cessation and programs for veterans with mild to moderate PTSD. “Kerry’s strong leadership and willingness to take risks has brought new technologies and cutting edge innovations to Pro-Change” stated Janice M. Prochaska, President & CEO. “Kerry is one of the original founders who helped launch Pro-Change in 1997 and continues to help Pro-Change thrive.”

Kerry’s reputation has grown throughout the behavioral-science field. She has written roughly 40 published works and has had speaking engagements at nearly 100 conferences in more than 10 countries. She is an Associate Editor for the American Journal of Health Promotion, and adjunct faculty at the University of Rhode Island. In 2009, she was one of 20 experts to participate in the “Forum on the Future Impact of Neuroscience and Behavior Change.” She is often asked to review for grant funding agencies and journals, and serves as the Chair of the Multiple Behavior Change Special Interest Group for the Society of Behavioral Medicine as well as a track chair for a variety of conferences.

Kerry’s work has also been recognized by military leaders. In 2008, Evers was selected by the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense as one of 50 leaders from across the nation to participate in the 76th Joint Civilian Orientation Conference. In 2009 she was invited to attend the 56th Annual National Security Forum at the Air War College.

Kerry is equally as dedicated to influencing change in the community. She is on the Board of Directors for South Kingstown CARES, a nonprofit volunteer organization that supports the town’s school district. She has also worked with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the American Cancer Society, and several other local nonprofit organizations. Evers, a 3rd degree Black Belt in Okinawan Karate, also assists with teaching and programs at her karate studio.

About Providence Business News

Providence Business News, nicknamed PBN, is a weekly business newspaper focusing on the economy in Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts. For information about PBN, please visit www.pbn.com.

The course incorporates activities such as role-plays, knowledge checks, and a 25-item multiple-choice certificate test to further strengthen the concepts learned. It includes additional features such as closed captioning, recorded narration, and a resource library.

By the end of the interactive four-hour course, which can be completed in one or multiple sittings, the learner should be able to:

1. Understand and describe the characteristics of people in each Stage of Change – Precontemplation, Contemplation, Preparation, Action, Maintenance, and Termination.
2. Describe the four main constructs of the TTM - stage of change, decisional balance, self- efficacy, and processes of change.
3. Identify which TTM principles and processes to employ at each Stage of Change (e.g., in Precontemplation to raise the Pros, in Maintenance to focus on preventing relapse).
4. List and define techniques of Motivational Interviewing (MI), a way of working with clients that complements the TTM to support behavior change.

Initial course users have said:

“My experience with e-Learning training left me with a thorough understanding of the stages of behavior change as they are applied in assisting members/participants in changing lifestyle behaviors. There were excellent examples of how to incorporate strategies and kind encouragement in meeting a participant member where they currently are in their journey of making changes toward a healthier way of living.” (Coach)

“My first gut reaction is it is great, easy to follow, very organized, very professional and loaded with information. It is great to review in such a well thought out format.” (Health Professional)

“…the virtual teacher was great-not too robotic, which some can be. And I thought the way the role-playing was handled was also great – you visually got the idea, without needing a video. The course explained many things about the TTM that were nebulous to me before.” (Researcher)

Cost: $100/user.

To order or inquire about this course, please contact Pro-Change at e-Learning@prochange.com or call 401-874-9284.

The 4-year contract awarded to Healthways, in partnership with Altran (Euronext: ALT), was made following an extensive evaluation process which reviewed proposals from approximately 20 potential service providers including two global technology firms, a multinational health insurance firm, a multinational pharmacy benefits manager, and the incumbent service supplier.

Pro-Change accompanied Healthways to Paris to be part of the evaluation process. The national health care system in France is rated as the best in the world by the World Health Organization. Janice M. Prochaska, President & CEO of Pro-Change stated, “Given how competitive this process was and given the high esteem of France’s health care system, it is an honor for Pro-Change to contribute to this contract.” For a full press release of this contract in PDF, click here.

About CNAMTS
La Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Maladie des Travailleurs Salariés (CNAMTS), the national health insurance fund for salaried workers in France, is under the supervision of both the Health Ministry and Finance and Economy Ministry. CNAMTS is the primary health insurer for 56 million lives, almost 86% of the French population. It is also responsible for optimization of the healthcare system as well as implementing coordinated treatment pathways throughout the country, with the primary care doctor at the centre of this system. As the key player in the healthcare system for which it ensures medical control, CNAMTS ensures that expenditures are balanced with allocated public resources. For more information, please visit www.ameli.fr.

About Altran
As European leader in Innovation and High-Tech Consulting, Altran has been providing services for almost thirty years to key players in the Automotive, Aeronautics, Telecoms, Energy, Healthcare and Finance sectors. Thanks to its expertise in the fields of advanced technology and innovation, the Group is able to advise and accompany its clients in the creation and development of their products and services. Present at every stage of project development from strategic planning through to manufacturing, Altran provides new technology services in the fields of Innovation Management, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering and Embedded Systems, IT Systems and Performance Management. For more information, please visit www.altran.com.

About Healthways
For more information about Healthways, please visit www.healthways.com.

Over the course of three days, a series of keynote lectures, breakout sessions, and poster sessions addressed the conference theme, “Capturing the Wisdom of Practice and the Rigor of Research: Discovering the Best Health Promotion Strategies.” Two sessions were delivered by Prochaska on “Breakthroughs in the Science of Health Behavior Change” and “Breakthroughs in the Practice of Health Behavior Change”; two sessions by Evers on “The Science of Well-Being: Impact on Productivity” and “The Science of Well-Being: Implications for Program Development”; and a research report by Johnson on “Options for Tailoring Multiple Behavior Change Interventions: How Can We Maximize Co-Variation?”

Poster sessions were also presented on three of Pro-Change’s programs: “Randomized Trial of a Computer-Tailored Intervention for Patients with Depression” (Deborah A. Levesque, Ph.D., et al.); Development and Usability Testing of a Financial Well-Being Intervention Combining the Wisdom of Practice and the Rigor of Science” (Sara S. Johnson, et al.), and “Proactive Health Consumer: Research and Development of an Innovative Program” (Carol Cummins, et al.).

About Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference
The Annual Conference, organized by the American Journal of Health Promotion, has a long standing tradition of bringing together practitioners, scientists, and educators from across disciplines to learn and share their experience with health promoters. For more informaton, please visit http://www.healthpromotionconference.org/.

Organizers of the Pre-Conference Day Workshop, Kerry Evers, Ph.D. and Claudio Nigg, Ph.D., will showcase the latest advances in research and innovations in the multiple behavior change area and will provide opportunities for collaboration and networking among attendees. James O. Prochaska, Ph.D., founder of Pro-Change, will provide the lead-in lecture, giving an update on the field, reviewing recent research, and speaking to the future. A series of multiple behavior change investigators will follow, including Brian Oldenburg, Ph.D., Sara Johnson, Ph.D., and Judith Prochaska, Ph.D., as well as Jonathan King, Ph.D. from the National Institute on Aging. The afternoon will involve breakout sessions on four specific areas, including special populations and intervention designs. To register for the course or conference, contact http://www.sbm.org/meetings.

Also at the conference on Friday afternoon April 29, 2011, Pro-Change staff, Drs. Leanne Mauriello and Kerry Evers, will lead a symposium titled “Successful Dissemination from Start to Finish: Innovative Strategies for Achieving Success in Recruitment, Delivery, and Retention of Behavior Change Programs.” Presenters will include Chris Carter from MeYouHealth on “Lessons learned in Engaging Participants”; Deborah Van Marter from Pro-Change on “Designing and Implementing Behavior Change Programs for Dissemination Across a Variety of Delivery Channels”, and Drs. Yun Lee and Murat Kalayoglu from Health Honors on “Behavioral Sustainment through Behavioral Economics.”

Finally, Simay Gokbayrak, B.A. will lead a poster session on Pro-Change’s recent successful pilot titled “Responsible Drinking for Employees: Preliminary Outcomes of an Internet-Delivered Tailored Intervention.”

“We are very pleased to have such a strong presence at the Society of Behavioral Medicine this year, especially for our Multiple Behavior Change efforts,” stated Janice M. Prochaska, Ph.D., President and CEO of Pro-Change.

About the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM)
The Society of Behavioral Medicine is a multidisciplinary organization of clinicians, educators, and scientists dedicated to promoting the study of the interactions of behavior with biology and the environment, and the application of that knowledge to improve the health and well-being of individuals, families, communities, and populations. For more information about SBM, please visit www.sbm.org.