Pro-Change’s Founder James O. Prochaska Highlighted in The American Journal of Health Promotion

West Kingstown, RI – May 17, 2012 – James O. Prochaska, PhD described as “one of the most prolific luminaries in the profession” was interviewed by Paul E. Terry, PhD the new editor of The Art of Health Promotion in the May/June 2012 edition of The American Journal of Health Promotion.

Dr. Terry focused on asking Dr. Prochaska on how best to apply what he has learned about behavior change against some of the most perplexing challenges we are presently tackling as practitioners. Terry explores with Jim the scientific implication of the generalized use of the Transtheoretical Model; the criticisms from West & Sutton; the use of financial incentives; and the importance of multiple behavior change.

Terry concluded that Jim is “deeply grounded in doing the right thing and allowing scientific evidence to be the basis for continued debate, disagreements, and discovery.”

William R. Miller, PhD provided a prologue to the interview in which he states that “it is now widely accepted that facilitating motivation for change is OUR job, and I can think of no one more responsible for that sea of change than Jim Prochaska.”

Join Dr. Paul Terry the new editor of The Art of Health Promotion, on Tuesday, May 29 at 1 p.m. (EST) for a discussion with Dr. James Prochaska and Dr. William Miller. Gain insight into practical application of their extensive research and hear their views on future direction for the field. Please visit: www.healthpromotionjournal.com.

Pro-Change Behavior Change Programs That Focused on Exercise and Stress Management Also Dramatically Improved Overall Well-Being

West Kingstown, RI – April 4, 2012 – Pro-Change’s computer-tailored intervention (CTI) programs applying the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (TTM) to exercise and stress management simultaneously reduced participants’ health risks while improving multiple areas of well-being. Areas of well-being that were significantly impacted included: physical health, emotional health, life evaluation, and healthy behaviors, according to a new study presented by Healthways, Inc. at the Population Health and Care Coordination Colloquium in Philadelphia in February and now released in the Population Health Management Journal 2012 online at
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/pop.2011.0060.

Participants in a telephonic coaching program group, with exercise as the primary target behavior and stress management as a secondary target, improved healthy behaviors pertaining to exercise (57.3%) and stress management (74.9%). Those in a web-based program group, with stress management as the primary target behavior and exercise as a secondary target, also reported healthy behavior change pertaining to exercise (46.6%) and stress management (64.7%). Both of those groups were significantly more likely to achieve treatment success than the control group, which did not receive telephonic or online interventions for exercise or stress management.

“We know that well-being measures how we feel and experience our daily lives in addition to being predictive of future health care cost,” said James Pope, Vice President and Chief Science Officer, Healthways, Inc. “This study done in collaboration with Pro-Change adds to that knowledge by showing that cost-effective programs, conducted via telephone or online, adequately provide the support required to help populations improve health and well-being, resulting in lower health care costs across the board.”

Although a variety of behaviors relate to well-being (such as physical health, happiness, quality of life, and health care costs), exercise and effective stress management were chosen as the two health behaviors having the greatest potential for changing multiple domains of well-being. Exercise and stress management interventions were chosen since those behaviors were anticipated to have effects on multiple aspects of well-being and would be important components of a well-being improvement system, if proven effective. Results from the trial demonstrated that multiple areas of well-being did show improvement. Those areas of well-being not showing significant change, such as an individual’s access to health care or work environment, were not expected to show changes.

About the Study
The study was conducted on 3,391 individuals using Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. programs and Healthways, Inc. health coaches. Both treatment groups included Pro-Change CTIs with tailoring based on an individual’s stage of change for a given behavior. The secondary behaviors in each intervention received stage-matched targeting, which only provides guidance on stage of change by giving strategies on the one or two best steps that could lead to the next stage. This type of protocol can simultaneously treat multiple behaviors while reducing the treatment demands on participants and providers.

The exercise coaching group received up to three proactive telephone sessions at 0, 3, and 6 months via outreach by a trained health coach. Coaches used the CTIs to guide all sessions with optimal TTM tailoring for exercise and stage-matched tailoring for stress management, the secondary target. The CTI led the coaches through a series of assessment questions and bulleted tailored feedback, based on stage of change and TTM variables, to guide their participants to the next stage of change. Each telephone session lasted about 20 minutes. The stress management online group received a self-directed Pro-Change web-based intervention with full TTM tailoring for stress management and stage-matched tailoring for exercise.

Those two treatment modalities were used, in part, because telephonic coaching and online CTIs represent the two most commonly applied modalities of scalable wellness interventions. This study was not designed, however, to compare whether telephone coaching produces greater impact than online CTIs or whether exercise, as the primary behavior, is more effective than stress management.

About Participants
Participants were recruited via the Internet through a survey sampling company that has a national pool of about 1,500,000 potential participants. To be eligible, participants had to report risk in the areas of both exercise (not engaging in moderate or vigorous exercise to national guidelines) and stress (reporting stress that was not being managed effectively) during the screening process.

About Healthways
Healthways (NASDAQ:HWAY) is the leading provider of specialized, comprehensive solutions to help millions of people maintain or improve their health and well-being, and as a result, reduce overall costs. Healthways’ solutions are designed to help healthy individuals stay healthy, mitigate or eliminate lifestyle risk factors that can lead to disease, and optimize care for those with chronic illness. Our proven, evidence-based programs provide highly specific and personalized interventions for each individual in a population, irrespective of age or health status, and are delivered to consumers by phone, mail, Internet, and face-to-face interactions, both domestically and internationally. Healthways also provides a national, fully accredited complementary and alternative Health Provider Network and a national Fitness Center Network, offering convenient access to individuals who seek health services outside of, and in conjunction with, the traditional healthcare system. For more information, please visit www.healthways.com.

Pro-Change to Present at the Health Promotion Conference in San Diego April 11 & 13, 2012

West Kingston, RI – March 13, 2012 – The Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference is the premier event in health promotion presenting the very best in the field. The 22nd annual conference titled “Making Healthy Choices the Easiest Choices: Increasing Awareness, Enhancing Motivation, Building Skills, and Creating Supportive Environments” will be held in San Diego on April 11-13.

On Wednesday April 11, 2012, Pro-Change’s James O. Prochaska, PhD and Janet L. Johnson, PhD, along with Sonja L. DeWees, MPH of Quality Health Solutions will present a panel discussion on “Data on the Debate on Participation-Based vs. Outcome-Based Incentives.” Outcomes from a real world implementation using participation-based incentives will be compared to results from randomized clinical trials applying participation-based and outcome-based incentives.

On Friday, April 13, 2012 from 1:45 pm to 3 pm, Pro-Change’s Sara Johnson, PhD, will present a Research Report on “Leveraging Gaming for Health Behavior Change: How Can We Maximize Its Potential?” Best practices that have emerged from studies to date and a series of expert interviews on serious gaming will be summarized and synthesized into recommendations for leveraging the power of serious gaming for health promotion and health behavior change initiatives.

About the Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference
This conference brings together more than 600 like-minded professionals across disciplines and settings with a passion for health promotion. For 22 years leaders in health promotion, who represent some of the largest and most successful workplace, clinical, educational, and community programs in the nation, come together to learn and share their work. For more information, please visit www.HealthPromotionConference.com.

Pro-Change Highlighted a Second Time by AHRQ Innovations Exchange

West Kingston, RI – March 1, 2012 – The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recognized Pro-Change’s LifeStyle Programs for a second time in its Innovations Exchange.

Pro-Change’s LifeStyle Programs, licensed by Quality Health Solutions, are part of Quality Health Solutions’ comprehensive wellness programs.

The profile focused on Quality Health Solutions implementation and associated impact of its wellness services at a large employer group for the previous six years.

Results include:

Broad Participation
• Participation ranged from 88 to 95 percent.

Improved Behaviors

• Over one-third of smokers (35 percent) quit smoking; more than two-thirds (68 percent) changed behaviors to manage stress more effectively; the vast majority (79 percent) of those at risk for depression exhibited improvements in symptoms; average cholesterol fell by 9.7 points.

Fewer Risk Factors

• The percentage with no risk factors roughly doubled with concomitant declines in those with two or more risks.

Stable Costs

• Health care costs remained flat for the first four years, well below historical increases of 8 percent a year. Since 2008, health care costs have grown quite modestly with average increases of two to three percent.

Janice M. Prochaska, Ph.D., President and CEO of Pro-Change stated that “it is really rewarding that AHRQ recognized Pro-Change’s evidence-based programs and Quality Health Solutions comprehensive wellness services for the impact they produce on entire populations of employees.”

For a full description of the Innovation profile, please visit www.innovations.ahrq.gov.

About the AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality created the Health Care Innovations Exchange to speed the implementation of new and better ways of delivering health care. The Innovations Exchange supports the Agency’s mission to improve the quality of health care and reduce disparities. For more information, please visit www.innovations.ahrq.gov.

About Quality Health Solutions

Quality Health Solutions, Inc. was founded in 2001 with a mission to encourage personal responsibility for health and well-being. Its services are designed to help enhance health and well-being by reducing lifestyle risk factors, preventing future disease, and improving health-related quality of life. Through these services, QHS helps people discover their motivation and confidence, overcome challenges, and identify resources to achieve positive, healthy choices. QHS is the first and only wellness company offering assessments and interventions that were developed and proven effective by the scientific rigors of population level clinical trials. To learn more, please visit www.qualityhealthsolutions.com.

YMCA of Middle Tennessee Members to receive LifeStyle Management Suite

Starting in 2012, select members of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee will participate in Pro-Change’s LifeStyle suite of programs. Pro-Change’s health risk intervention (HRI) and behavior change programs will be integrated into the curriculum of two of the Y’s successful offerings:

• Hope for Health, is a relationship-focused, result driven program in which a health coach works with mothers, ages 18-45, in underserved urban and rural areas of Middle Tennessee over a 12-week period. Through lifestyle and behavior education and intervention the group seeks to positively impact the health and well-being of the women and their families.
• Restore Ministries, is a Christian-based counseling program that provides hope and healing to members looking to make lasting life changes by focusing on the whole person – spirit, mind, and body. Through a combination of small group classes and individual counseling services, members receive the support and guidance they need to overcome a variety of life-controlling issues ranging from low self-esteem to co-dependency, addictions, and more.

Participants in both programs will complete Pro-Change’s online HRI to pinpoint their stage of readiness to change for various health risks and receive targeted guidance on the most important steps that can be taken to progress to the next stage of change. Participants will be encouraged to share their printed HRI report with staff leaders of those groups. YMCA Staff have completed Pro-Change’s 4-hour e-Learning training module as well as an in-person training conducted by Kerry Evers, Ph.D., Senior Vice President at Pro-Change. Through those training opportunities, staff are prepared to coach participants on selecting certain behavioral risks to work on and identifying stage-matched goals for each. Participants will have access to up to 9 behavior change programs included in the LifeStyle suite to support their behavior change needs and goals.

“Pro-Change’s LifeStyle programs will enhance our ability to walk alongside our members as they work to make lasting lifestyle changes,” says Ted Cornelius, Executive Director, Tennessee YMCA State Alliance and Pioneering Healthier Communities. Cornelius adds, “The stage-matched, individualized and evidence-based foundation of the programs matches with our Y’s aim to meet our members where they are at and offer the best support and guidance we can to help them improve their overall health and well-being. Many of our program participants come to us because they’ve reached a point in life where they need extra help, and Pro-Change’s programs will only increase the level of support we’re able to provide.”

About the YMCA of Middle TN

The YMCA of MiddleTN Worksite Wellness program is part of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee, a nonprofit, worldwide charitable fellowship united by a common loyalty to Jesus Christ for the purpose of helping people grow in spirit, mind and body. For more than 136 years, the YMCA of Middle Tennessee has been giving people of all ages the tools they need to learn, grow and thrive. With 31 centers and 328 program locations, the YMCA reaches 329,697 lives – 1 of every 6 people in the 12-county area it serves – by nuturing the potential of children and teens, improving the nation’s health and well-being and providing opportunities to serve others and support our neighbors.