Behavior Change Programs Focused on Exercise, Stress ...

Behavior Change Programs Focused on Exercise, Stress Management Dramatically Improve Overall Well-Being

Feb. 29, 2012 ? Computer-tailored intervention (CTI) programs applying the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of behavior change to exercise and stress management programs simultaneously reduced participants? health risks while improving multiple areas of well-being. Areas of well-being that were particularly affected included physical health, emotional health, life evaluation and healthy behaviors, according to a study conducted by Pro-Change Behavior Systems and the Center for Health Research, Healthways Inc.

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 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 Dr. James Pope, vice president and chief science officer at Healthways Inc. "This study 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 (e.g., physical health, happiness and quality of life, 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 has been found to produce more than 60 different benefits, including reduction of depression, decreased pain, increased self-esteem, greater energy and increased productivity. Also, effective stress management has been found to decrease stress and depression, improve sleep, decrease pain and increase productivity.

Exercise and stress management interventions were chosen because these 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 not showing significant change, such as an individual's access to health-care or work environment, were not expected to show changes.

The study was conducted on 3,391 individuals. Both treatment groups included CTIs with tailoring based on an individual's state of change for a given behavior. The secondary behaviors in each intervention received stage-matched tailoring, which only tailors on stage of change by giving guidance on the one or two steps that could lead to the next stage. For participants to be eligible, they had to report risk in the areas of both exercise (not engaging in moderate or vigorous exercise to guidelines) and stress (reporting stress that was not being managed effectively) during the screening process.

Contents ? 2012 WorldatWork. For more information, contact the Copyright Department at WorldatWork.

Source: http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimLink?id=59477&rssaccess=newsline-rss

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