Pro-Change Offers a Basic Transtheoretical Model e-Learning Course

To meet the demands of distance learning, Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. now offers an e-Learning course titled, Basic Transtheoretical Model Training. This online course teaches coaches and other health care professionals the basic concepts and strategies needed to effectively use the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (TTM) when working with clients.

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 close captioning, recorded narration, and a resource library.

By the end of this interactive four-hour course, which can be completed in one or multiple sittings, the learner will 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. Know 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.

Cost: $100/user. To order or inquire about this course, please contact Pro-Change at elearning@prochange.com or 401-874-9284.

Visit http://www.prochange.com/e-learning for more information.

New Book “Winning Health Promotion Strategies” Highlights Pro-Change Programs

In Winning Health Promotion Strategies, author Anne Marie Ludovici-Connolly shares tips, techniques, and success stories based on her experiences implementing the governor’s award-winning Get Fit Rhode Island Program, which was instrumental in Rhode Island being named the first Well State in the nation by the Wellness Councils of America. The author has gathered examples from model initiatives and evidence-based programs, such as Pro-Change’s URAC Award Winning LifeStyle Programs and advice from experts in the wellness industry, such as James O. Prochaska, lead developer of the Transtheoretical Model. The book provides information on how to succeed, whether the goal is to start a new program or to increase the visibility of existing programs:

• Information on the benefits of health and wellness programming in various settings
• A step-by-step approach to program design and implementation
• Tips and techniques for maximizing participation
• Strategies for assessing and evaluating initiatives.

For more information on Winning Health Promotion Strategies, visit www.HumanKinetics.com or call 1-800-747-4457.

About the author
Anne Marie Ludovici-Connolly has over 30 years of experience in the health and wellness industry. From 2005 to 2008, Ludovici-Connolly served as director of the Governor’s Get Fit Rhode Island program, a statewide wellness initiative. She conducted a wide range of research projects and also developed and taught various health and wellness courses for the University of Rhode Island. She was owner and operator of Wakefield Health and Fitness for eight years. She is currently a national senior consultant and subject matter expert in health and productivity for Hewitt Associates, a global HR consulting and outsourcing company, and also serves as a scholar in residence at the University of Rhode Island’s Cancer Prevention Research Center, home of the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change.

LifeStyle Management Suite of Programs offered to YMCA members in Kent County, Rhode Island

Starting in September, members of the Kent County YMCA, Warwick, Rhode Island will be offered access to Pro-Change’s award-winning suite of LifeStyle Health Behavior Change programs. As part of this pilot program, titled MyHealth at the YMCA, members will be invited to take Pro-Change’s online Health Risk Intervention (HRI) either at computer kiosks located at the YMCA or at any Internet-enabled computer. The HRI will start the change process by pinpointing the member’s stage of readiness to change for various health risks and offering targeted guidance on the most important steps that can be taken to progress to the next stage of change.

YMCA members will be invited to meet with Member Navigators, who are YMCA staff, trained to discuss the HRI feedback and to assist in setting wellness goals based on readiness. Members will have access to seven behavior change programs including, smoking cessation, stress management, depression prevention, weight management, exercising regularly, and adherence to prescribed antihypertensive and/or cholesterol lowering medication. “This pilot is a great opportunity to expand the reach of our programs to more people in Rhode Island and to test the feasibility of delivering such programs at a state-of-the-art wellness center,” said Leanne Mauriello, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Product Development for Pro-Change.

Pro-Change’s LifeStyle Management Suite of programs won the 2009 URAC Gold Award in Health Management at the Best Practices in a Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Conference. Each time a YMCA member returns to a program (no more than once a month) they receive tailored feedback on how they are doing, what change strategies they are using well, which they may be under utilizing, and what steps they can take to continue progressing. The programs are built to help those not ready, getting ready, and ready to make a behavior change.

Each LifeStyle program is complemented by an engaging interactive e-Workbook filled with activities that promote the use of recommended strategies. Easily accessed from the user’s homepage, the e-Workbooks can be used at anytime.

Cindy McDermott, Vice President, YMCA of Greater Providence, is thrilled to offer Kent County members access to evidence-based behavior change programs through this pilot program. “The access to Pro-Change programs will allow our members, with the support of a Member Navigator, the opportunity to optimize a health and wellness plan that matches their individual health and wellness goals,” said McDermott. Opportunities for expanding MyHealth at the YMCA to members of other branches will be considered upon completion of the pilot in December of 2010.

The pilot program of MyHealth at the YMCA coincides with a multi-million dollar expansion of the Kent County facility that includes reconstruction of the current location, increased space, and new and improved facilities and program offerings.

Partnerships with SmartCredit.com and DebtGoal Bring Powerful New Tools to Help Consumers Take Control of Their Credit and Pay Down Debt

Nationally-recognized personal finance expert Jean Chatzky unveiled two new programs at the FinovateSpring 2010 conference in San Francisco.

The JeanChatzky Score Builder, an application developed exclusively with SmartCredit.com™ gives consumers a simple and secure way to understand their credit score and take action to improve that score in just 120 days.

The Pay It Down!™ application, powered by DebtGoal, is an extension of Chatzky’s The Debt Diet™ program. The app simplifies and automates the development and tracking of a customized debt repayment plan. The Debt Diet program, developed with Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc., blends behavioral science, online exercises and Jean Chatzky’s time-tested advice to help people make long-lasting, positive change and pay down debt.

Score Builder, along with The Debt Diet and its Pay It Down! app will help Americans overhaul their relationship with money, improve their credit scores and reduce debt. “As our nation continues to emerge from a powerful and damaging recession, millions are struggling with debt and its impact on their credit scores,” said Chatzky. “We know that people are happier and less stressed when they have control of their finances. I’m pleased to offer these innovative, online solutions to help people regain that control by giving them a clearer look at their credit and debt issues, then helping them work logically toward improved credit scores and a life free of needless debt.”

Taking control of credit scores

In recent years, Americans have become increasingly aware of their credit scores and the important role these seemingly esoteric numbers play in their lives. Chatzky wants consumers to take responsibility for controlling and improving their credit scores and has introduced the JeanChatzky Score Builder app, developed exclusively with SmartCredit.com, to help them on this quest. Said Chatzky, “Consumers understand that their credit scores matter whether they’re applying for a mortgage, renting an apartment, buying auto insurance or looking for a job. Yet, they’re not sure how to improve them – and dealing directly with their creditors is often very difficult.”

Score Builder starts by helping consumers make sense of credit scores. With Jean as the ever-present guide, users are given an explanation of the positives and negatives driving their individual scores, and advice on how to improve the negative items one-by-one. Score Builder then facilitates Smart Actions™-explicit steps users can take to remove or counteract the negatives-and tracks the status of these actions by interfacing directly with creditors. This direct contact with creditors makes Score Builder particularly effective in updating incorrect consumer information, since creditors typically quickly inform the credit bureaus of changes they make to consumers’ records. By following the action steps Score Builder provides, the average user will see his credit score improve in just 120 days.

The JeanChatzky Score Builder app is now available to all SmartCredit.com members for no additional fee; non-members may initiate a 5-day free trial of SmartCredit.com, which includes Score Builder, before committing to membership. Score Builder will soon be available as a stand-alone program that gives purchasers full access to the SmartCredit.com capabilities for a fixed 120 day membership.

Bridging the gap between advice and tools

Based on the tenets in her best-selling book, Pay it Down!: Debt Free on $10 a Day, The Debt Diet incorporates behavioral science techniques developed by Pro-Change to help people deal with the core of their debt and spending issues. Chatzky appears in online videos as a helpful co-pilot and mentor, inspiring and encouraging users as they make their way through the program’s easy-to-use, interactive activities.

“With The Debt Diet, I’m helping people make systemic changes in their behavior around money, to deal with debt at its roots,” said Chatzky. “It’s really different because it identifies the individual’s readiness for change and then provides customized tools and exercises. Some people need to learn how to pay down debt, while others may have little debt, but need to learn how to build an emergency fund and save for tomorrow.”

A new enhancement to The Debt Diet is the Pay It Down! app, powered by DebtGoal. This app looks at the debt each user is carrying and then creates a customized repayment plan that shows users the fastest way to get out of debt while paying the least amount of interest. The plan is based on DebtGoal’s proprietary algorithm and removes an enormous paperwork burden from users. It can also save users thousands of dollars in interest and shave years off of their debt.

The basic version of the Pay It Down! app is available at no additional fee to Debt Diet members. The standard version, which automatically updates the user’s repayment plan when interest rates and balances change, is available for an additional fee.

Says Chatzky, “Through my partnerships with Pro-Change Behavior Systems, SmartCredit.com, and DebtGoal, I’m making it easier for people to overhaul their relationship with debt and improve their credit scores, starting at the core of the problem and progressing toward long-lasting, positive change.”

To learn more about JeanChatzky Score Builder, visit www.SmartCredit.com.
The Debt Diet with the Pay It Down! app is available at www.JeanChatzky.com/debtdiet/.

Pro-Change Granted Women’s Business Enterpise Certification

After an intensive evaluation and an onsite visit, Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. is pleased to announce it was officially granted a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). The WBE is a nationally-accepted certification recognized by numerous private sector companies and governmental agencies.

WBE Membership criteria demand that members provide documented evidence that at least 51% or more of a company is owned, managed, and controlled by women. Membership facilitates beneficial procurement opportunities for WBEs and corporations on a local and national level. By including women-owned businesses among their partners, corporations and government agencies demonstrate their commitment to fostering diversity and the continued development of their supplier diversity programs.

“We are pleased to be able to offer this Certification to our partners and customers to help them in their efforts to receive contracts and grants,” stated Pro-Change’s President & CEO, Dr. Janice M. Prochaska.

About Women’s Business Enterprise National Council

The Center for Women & Enterprise is the New England certifying organization for the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

WBENC is the nation’s largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. WBENC is a resource for the more than 700 U.S. companies and government agencies that rely on WBENC’s certification as an integral part of their supplier diversity programs. For more information about The Center for Women & Enterprise or Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, please visit www.cweonline.org or www.wbenc.org.

Japan to Use Pro-Change’s Smoking Cessation Program

On Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 the Nossmo Health Care Association (site in Japanese) will provide a kick-off seminar to introduce Pro-Change’s Smoking Cessation program in Japan. Speakers at the event will include Dr. Shaw Watanabe, President of Nossmo Health Care Association; Dr. Mori from the Japanese Health and Welfare Ministry, and Dr. Miyazaki from the Japanese Non-Smoking Organization.

Nossmo Health Care Association will provide onsite smoking cessation groups for employees throughout Tokyo. Pro-Change’s stage-matched smoking cessation print manuals will be the core curriculum provided. Dr. Watanabe and his staff visited Pro-Change in December 2009 to plan out strategies for licensing and using the smoking cessation program.

Eri Kubota, of the Nossmo Health Care Association, stated “that the companies in their membership association will now have the Pro-Change program available for the 30-40% of employees who are smokers. Healthcare professionals will be onsite once a month to lead the groups.”

Dr. Johnson Presents Multiple Behavior Change Research at the Society for Behavioral Medicine Conference

Sara Johnson, Senior Vice President of Research and Product Development at Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. recently presented important findings regarding multiple behavior change at the 31st annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) meeting in Seattle, Washington.

As part of a symposium on multiple behavior change interventions, Dr. Johnson shared results of three NIH-funded Small Business Innovative Research grants that suggest that behavior change co-varies. In other words, changing one behavior increases the likelihood of changing another behavior.

In the effectiveness trial of a Transtheoretical Model (TTM)-based computer-tailored intervention for medication adherence (n=404), participants in the treatment group were significantly more likely to exercise regularly and change dietary fat intake 12 months post treatment.

In a randomized trial of a TTM-based multiple behavior weight management intervention, participants were up to five times as likely to change a second behavior if they had changed one behavior. This finding was not true for the comparison condition, suggesting that the co-variation of behavior change was due in part to having received tailored interventions for the behaviors.

Finally, a randomized trial of a multiple behavior change program for obesity prevention in eight high schools revealed that students assigned to the treatment group who took action on one behavior, such as regular exercise, were more likely to take action on another behavior (e.g., fruit and vegetable intake). The same was not true for those randomized to the comparison condition.

Pro-Change is currently examining the effectiveness of novel approaches to maximizing the impact of tailored multiple behavior change interventions to leverage this co-variation effect.

Dr. Johnson stated, “Leveraging the co-variation of behavior change will allow us to enhance the effectiveness of multiple behavior change interventions while minimizing response burden and the disseminability of tailored interventions.”

The citation and abstract of this presentation appears below.

Co-Variation: A Promising Approach to Multiple Behavior Change Interventions
Authors: Sara Johnson, PhD, James Prochaska, PhD, Karen Sherman, MA Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc.
ABSTRACT
Transtheoretical Model (TTM)-based computer-tailored interventions for multiple behavior change (MBC) are effective. However, fully tailored interventions (FTI) for multiple behaviors increase response burden and delivery costs, limiting feasibility and dissemination potential. Leveraging co-variation of behavior change (i.e., when taking action on one treated behavior increases the odds of taking action on a second) represents an innovative approach to MBC interventions. Data from three randomized trials will be presented to demonstrate the potential of interventions utilizing co-variation. Among 404 adults (50.4% male; 83% White) in a medication adherence study, random effects modeling indicated that those receiving a FTI for adherence and minimal messaging for related behaviors were significantly more likely to reach Action (A) or Maintenance (M) for exercise (43.5% vs. 24.7%, Odds ratio (OR)=2.39, z=2.37, p<.05) and dietary fat reduction ((24.7% vs.12.5%; OR=1.57, z=2.06, p<.05). Logistic regression performed on data from 1206 adults (50.8% male; 78% White) in a weight management intervention indicated that on each pair of the three treated behaviors (exercise, healthy diet, and emotional eating), the ORs for taking action on one behavior if a participant took action on another ranged from 2.52 to 5.18 in the treatment group vs. 1.24 to 2.63 in control. Among 1800 high school students (mean age=15.97, 49.2% male; 71.5% White) who received FTIs for exercise paired with stage-matched interventions for fruit and vegetable and reducing TV time, logistic regression indicates that the OR for likelihood of reaching A/M for a behavior if A was reached on another behavior ranged from 1.99-2.36 among the treatment group at the end of treatment (6 months) as compared to 0.5-1.0 in the control group. Across all studies, progress on one behavior led to progress on another among treatment but not control participants. Suggestions for a planned co-variation approach that has the potential to produce the greatest impact with the least demands on participants will be presented.

State of Maine Employees Losing Pounds with Pro-Change Weight Management Program

Since September 2008 over 300 Maine State employees have lost 6100 pounds through a comprehensive multi-disciplinary team approach.

In researching programs, the Workers Compensation Division of the State of Maine discovered the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change. The Model resonated with what they knew−all individuals would not be ready to make the changes necessary to lead healthier lives and that those individuals would need time to make change possible. “The Transtheoretical Model became the philosophy that our ‘ME First’ obesity program was built around”, stated Rachel Maier, Program Manager of the Eastside Wellness Center in Augusta, Maine. ME First stands for Maine fighting increase risk starting today. Pro-Change’s Weight Management stage-based manuals are given to each participant and are the focus of the monthly facilitation groups held throughout the State. Pro-Change’s Weight Management manual titled “Roadways to Healthy Living” takes participants through the stages of change for healthy eating, exercising regularly, and managing emotional eating. The manual was first used in 2002 in an effective randomized clinical trial as part of a National Institutes of Health’s Small Business Research Innovation grant. Wellness coaches trained in the Transtheoretical Model and Weight Watchers’ memberships are also part of the services offered.

In 2009 another 440 employees joined the ME First program. The total for all groups to date is nearing a loss of 14,000 pounds. As a result of this program, the State of Maine has seen a reduction in medication use and now is researching decreases in worker compensation costs.

Pro-Change Provides a Direct to Consumer Option for LifeStyle Programs

Pro-Change now offers individual access to our evidence-based, award winning behavior change programs within our adult LifeStyle Management Suite. The program, called MyHealth, is available from any Internet-enabled computer and includes programs for smoking, stress management, depression prevention, weight management, exercising regularly, and adherence to prescribed antihypertensive and/or cholesterol lowering medication.

Users first take the Health Risk Intervention (HRI) which starts the change process by pinpointing the user’s stage of change for health risks and by giving targeted guidance on the most important steps that can be taken to progress to the next stage of change. The HRI is then followed by full tailored LifeStyle Management programs for the user’s risk behaviors−e.g, smoking, sedentary behavior, depression, nonadherence to medication, obesity, and unhealthy stress management.

These LifeStyle Management programs won the 2009 URAC Gold Award in Health Management at the Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Conference. Each time a user returns to the program (no more than once a month) they receive tailored feedback on how they are doing, what change strategies they are using well, which they may be under utilizing, and what steps they can take to continue progressing.

Each LifeStyle program is complemented by engaging interactive e-Workbooks filled with exercises that promote the use of the recommended strategies. Easily accessed from the user’s homepage, these e-Workbooks also provide links to a variety of external resources that can help the user move through the stages of change. The e-Workbooks can be accessed as often as the user wants.

A one-year, renewable license for our Health Risk Intervention and the full suite of behaviors costs $35 (US dollars). This new offering permits individuals to access Pro-Change’s high impact, award winning programs that previously were only available to larger populations. To learn more and to sign up, go to www.prochange.com/myhealth.

Innovative Pro-Change Product Addresses Needs of Uninsured and Underinsured Americans

“Maximize Your Benefits: Maximize Your Health” is the theme of Pro-Change Behavior System, Inc.’s innovative Proactive Health Consumer (PHC) Program, which is uniquely positioned to address the needs of uninsured or underinsured Americans (who may soon have additional health coverage). The PHC program is designed to help all individuals—ready or not—to make informed decisions about health and health care, share in decision making with their health care providers, use health services wisely, avoid unnecessary and potentially costly care, and engage in ongoing health and wellness. Given the complexity of people’s interactions with the health care system, the PHC program addresses each user’s role as purchaser, provider, and patient.

The stakeholders in recent health care reform (e.g., AMA, AHA, Pharma, Health Plans, Employers, and Government) agreed on one thing: If the U.S. is to afford health care for all Americans, then prevention will need to be the foundation for health care. The ongoing health and wellness component of the PHC program is comprised of seven behavior change modules that won the 2009 Gold Award from URAC for Best Practices for Health Management. These evidence-based, high impact interventions treat the behaviors that have the highest disease burden, the highest health care cost burden, and the highest lost productivity burden—including smoking, obesity, nonadherence, stress, and depression. These behavior change programs will also be crucial for the newly insured who have already developed chronic conditions. The combination of these behavior change programs for multiple behaviors with the program components designed to enhance personal responsibility for health offers a truly comprehensive solution.

Central to the success of the PHC program is its ability to tailor the user’s feedback to responses provided to evidence-based assessments of up to 14 of the most important behavior change variables, beginning with readiness to change. Using proprietary technology and statistical decision-making rules, the program generates feedback customized to each user’s answers. Each time the user returns to the program, the features available are updated based on past interactions and the progress made since the last visit. Sophisticated back-end tracking supports organization specific and aggregate reporting capabilities.

To ensure access to the timely and accurate health information, the PHC program incorporates the award-winning Healthwise® Knowledgebase. Dr. Janice Prochaska, President and CEO of Pro-Change, said, “We believe strongly that offering the PHC program to the newly insured has the potential to have dramatic impacts on their health and health care. It is time for comprehensive, evidence-based solutions of this kind to facilitate true changes in how health care is delivered in the U.S.”

Preventive Medicine Cites Pro-Change’s Weight Management Article as Top Ten Download

The journal Preventive Medicine recently announced that the paper describing the effectiveness of Pro-Change Behavior System, Inc.’s multiple behavior LifeStyle Management Program for weight management ranked third on the list of top ten most frequently downloaded articles in 2009. The article entitled, “Transtheoretical Model-Based Multiple Behavior Intervention for Weight Management: Effectiveness on a Population Basis” was written by Sara Johnson, Andrea Paiva, Carol Cummins, and other colleagues at Pro-Change and originally appeared in the March 2008 issue of the journal. The paper summarizes how individualized, Transtheoretical Model-based interventions significantly impacted healthy eating, exercise, managing emotional distress, and weight at one year post-intervention and enhanced co-variation of behavior change in over 1200 overweight and obese participants. This weight management program is part of the LifeStyle Program Suite that received the Gold Award for Best Practices in Health Management from URAC in 2009.

Dr. Sara Johnson, Senior Vice President of Research and Product Development at Pro-Change, and the lead developer of the weight management program stated that, “Given the current epidemic of overweight and obesity, we’re pleased that the article is informing the field. Our goal is to widely disseminate evidence-based programs that can address the behaviors that can lead to effective weight management.”

Zeon Chemicals First to Participate in Pro-Change’s Wellness Program Access for Small Businesses

Zeon Chemicals—a small business headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky—is the first to take advantage of Pro-Change’s new small business option for access to its LifeStyle Management Programs. Zeon has purchased a small number of individual slots for its employees to use the Pro-Change Smoking program. Employees will have access to the program from any Internet-enabled computer for up to a year.

Zeon announced to their employees that they were going to be a tobacco-free worksite starting Sunday, July 4, 2010. Zeon stated that “we see eliminating the high-risk behavior of tobacco use at work as preventative and necessary to maintain the health of our employees and our health care benefits.”

Pro-Change’s program was especially appealing to Zeon since it met their employees wherever they are at in their readiness to quit smoking—not ready, getting ready, or ready. Small companies or groups can now take advantage of evidence based behavior change programs by licensing small numbers of slots for employees/members for any one program or the entire LifeStyle Management Suite of programs that includes the Health Risk Intervention along with the Smoking, Stress Management, Weight Management, Exercise, Depression Prevention, and Medication Adherence programs. Depending on the number of participants, aggregate reporting features may be available to track usage and progress through the behavior change process. This new option allows the LifeStyle programs to reach employees of small businesses, which make up the majority of our workforce, at an affordable price.

Karen Hicks, Human Resource Manager at Zeon stated, “I appreciate this opportunity to offer my employees a URAC Gold Award Program at a low cost.”

Small businesses interested in similar access for their employees should contact info@prochange.com.

URAC Podcast Highlights Pro-Change’s LifeStyle Management Program

URAC, the nation’s leading health care accreditation and education organization, has launched the latest podcast in its “Highlights in Health” series. This episode looks at Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. and their LifeStyle Management Program which is helping people make positive, often lifesaving changes in the way they live.

The “Highlights in Health” podcast series recognizes innovative programs that health care organizations have developed to protect and empower consumers. Pro-Change Behavior Systems’ leadership in this area was recognized in 2009 when the company received a Gold Award at URAC’s “Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards” ceremony. The podcast tells more about how this cutting-edge approach works.

“Most people know which of their behaviors are not healthy, or know they need to care for a chronic condition. However, being able to truly change a lifestyle is difficult,” said URAC President and CEO Alan P. Spielman. “There is a clear need for programs that offer guidance and counsel to those who are trying to adopt healthier behaviors. The programs that have been developed by Pro-Change fill that need.”

Chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. To manage, or sometimes even prevent, those conditions, consumers often need to make major changes in their behavior and lifestyles. The Pro-Change LifeStyle Management Program offers a suite of health behavior change programs in seven areas: smoking, weight management, stress management, depression prevention, managing cholesterol, managing high blood pressure, and exercising regularly. All of these programs are available to participants in print, on the web, and through coaches.

These comprehensive, multistage programs are based on the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (TTM), which was developed more than 30 years ago by Dr. James O. Prochaska, Ph.D., a professor and director for the Cancer Prevention Research Center at the University of Rhode Island and the founder of Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc.

“The Transtheoretical Model allows us to help people no matter where they are in their path to change,” said Dr. Janice Prochaska, President and CEO of Pro-Change. “It’s very important for us to be able to reach out to those who are demoralized, who are not ready, or who have a lot of doubt about whether it all is worth it. Participants have told us that ‘this program really respects where I’m at. It gives me feedback that helps me understand what I need to do next.’”

The podcast also features commentary from both Dr. Janice Prochaska and Dr. Kerry Evers, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research and Product Development with Pro-Change Behavior Systems.

Dr. Evers describes the Model’s five stages, which are used to determine where people are in their readiness to change. “These five stages help us determine where the person’s mindset is, and what type of information will be most helpful to move them forward. We really tailor the tools to help participants be the most successful they can be.”

The majority of the LifeStyle Management Programs have been built and evaluated through rigorous research programs and clinical trials funded through the National Institutes of Health, and all of the programs have shown significant positive outcomes. For example, the Pro-Change Smoking program has shown success rates of 22 and 26 percent for people quitting smoking long-term. With the Stress Management program Pro-Change found, of those enrolled, approximately 60 to 70 percent start managing their stress effectively within six months, and continue effective management 18 months into the program and even beyond.

To learn more about Pro-Change’s programs and to listen to the podcast, visit www.urac.org/podcast/ and listen to the 12/21/09 episode. The podcast is also available via iTunes under “Highlights in Healthcare” (iTunes link).