Essay on Promoting Physical Activity Among Women: A Transtheoretical Model of Change.

Pirzadeh, Mostafavi, Ghofranipour and Feizi (2015) utilized the transtheoretical model of change for promotion of physical activities among women. This model has four constructs; stages of change, change processes, self-efficacy, and decisional balance (Pirzadeh et al., 2015). In the transtheoretical model of change, behavioral change is gradually accomplished through five stages. The first stage is referred to as pre-contemplation. In this stage, an individual does not aim to take an appropriate action aimed at changing a specific behavior in the near future. In this case, a person seeks to take action in not more than six months (Friman, Huck, & Olsson, 2017; Lacey & Street, 2017). In this stage, a person is usually unaware that his or her behavior could lead to problems or adverse effects. Consequently, a person in pre-contemplation has been found to underestimate the benefits of changing behavior and focuses more on the drawbacks of changing behavior.

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The second stage of the transtheoretical model of change is known as contemplation. In this stage, an individual intends to initiate a healthy behavior in the near future or within six months (Owusu, Quinn, Wang, Aibangbee, & Mamudu, 2017). In this stage, an individual has recognized that his or her behavior could lead to adverse health consequences and has an in-depth examination and practical consideration of the benefits and limitations of behavioral change, with equal emphasis on both (LaMorte, 2019). The transtheoretical model of change explains that in the contemplation stage, a person may still show ambivalence regarding the need to change his or her behavior (LaMorte, 2019).

The third stage of the transtheoretical model of change is called preparation- a stage in which an individual is ready to take appropriate action is not more than the next thirty days (Oinas-Kukkonen, Win, Karapanos, Karppinen, & Kyza, 2019; Ramirez, 2017; Xiao, 2016). Specifically, an individual begins to take small steps aimed at changing his or her behavior because they believe that a behavioral change leads to a healthier life. The fourth stage is known as action- a stage in which a person has recently changed his or her behavior and hopes to maintain his or her recently acquired behavior (Ovadje, 2014). An individual in this stage modifies his or her problem behavior and attains a new healthy behavior.

The fifth and last stage of the transtheoretical model of change is known as maintenance. In this stage, a person has maintained his or her newly acquired behavior for more than six months and intends to sustain their new behavior going forward (Fertman, Allensworth, & Society for Public HealthEducation (SOPHE), 2016). A person in this stage tries his or her best to avoid relapse to previous stages (Fertman et al., 2016).

The second construct of the transtheoretical model of change is known as processes of change- comprised of behavioral and cognitive processes used to implement changes in behavior. The third construct, self-efficacy, refers to a person's belief in his or her capacity to execute behaviors or accomplish a specific goal, e.g., to sustain the desired behavior change. The fourth construct, decision-making balance, refers to the process assessing the benefits and limitations of behavior change. If the advantages attributable to behavior change outweigh the demerits, a person implements the change (Pirzadeh et al., 2015).

How the Transtheoretical Model of Change Was Applied in Pirzadeh et al.'s (2015) Study

International Physical Activities Questionnaire was used to rate participants' physical activity behavior in the past seven days as either walking, moderate, or vigorous. Next, participants were placed in one of the stages of Transtheoretical Model of Change (pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance) using Stages of Exercise Change Questionnaire- a five-point Likert scale questionnaire. Individuals who displayed progress from one level of Transtheoretical Model of Change to another were categorized as "progressive" while those who did not change or remained in their level were categorized as "stable" and those who dropped to a lower level being categorized as the "regressive" group.

Processes of change- comprised of behavioral and cognitive processes used to implement changes in behavior- was determined using a five-point scale that ranged from never (0) to always (4). Next, participants' decision-making balance was determined using a four-point scale which assessed the benefits and deterrents of physical activity. Lastly, a four-point scale self-efficacy questionnaire was used to determine participants' self-efficacy for physical activity. The participants were randomly placed into a control group and a case group and an intervention- comprising of educational sessions for physical activities- administered.

How the Transtheoretical Model of Change contributed to Success of the Intervention in Pirzadeh et al.'s (2015) Study

Pirzadeh et al.'s (2015) study were carried out to evaluate the application of the transtheoretical model in the promotion of physical activities behavior among women. Findings of this study revealed that following the interventions, the process of behavior change (increased participation in physical activities) was observable after three and six months compared to the preintervention period. Increased participation in physical exercises was attributed to training interventions using different processes of change.

References

Fertman, C. I., Allensworth, D. D., & Society for Public HealthEducation (SOPHE). (2016). Health promotion programs: From theory to practice. Burlington, MA: John Wiley & Sons.

Friman, M., Huck, J., & Olsson, L. E. (2017). Transtheoretical model of change during travel behavior interventions: An integrative review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14060581

Lacey, S. J., & Street, T. D. (2017). Measuring healthy behaviours using the stages of change model: An investigation into the physical activity and nutrition behaviours of Australian miners. Biopsychosocial Medicine, 11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13030-017-0115-7

LaMorte, W. W. (2019). The transtheoretical model (Stages of change). Retrieved from http://sphweb.bumc.bu.edu/otlt/MPH-Modules/SB/BehavioralChangeTheories/BehavioralChangeTheories6.html

Oinas-Kukkonen, H., Win, K. T., Karapanos, E., Karppinen, P., & Kyza, E. (2019). Persuasive technology: Development of persuasive and behavior change support systems: 14th international conference, persuasive 2019, limassol, cyprus, april 9-11, 2019, proceedings. New York, NY: Springer.

Ovadje, F. (2014). Change leadership in developing countries. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Owusu, D., Quinn, M., Wang, K.-S., Aibangbee, J., & Mamudu, H. M. (2017). Intentions to quit tobacco smoking in 14 low- and middle-income countries based on the transtheoretical model*. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 178, 425-429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.05.033

Pirzadeh, A., Mostafavi, F., Ghofranipour, F., & Feizi, A. (2015). Applying transtheoretical model to promote physical activities among women. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.17795/ijpbs-1580

Ramirez, S., Christina. (2017). Exploring the pressures of medical education from a mental health and wellness perspective. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Xiao, J. J. (2016). Handbook of consumer finance research. New York, NY: Springer.