A simple framework to describe what works best: improving awareness, enhancing motivation, building skills, and providing opportunity.

Wellness and Health Promotion, Cleveland Clinic Health System, Ohio, USA.

Behavior change is often complex, conceptually challenging, and open to dispute as to the effectiveness of specific interventions. Defining "what works best" in health behavior change discussions is often problematic and can be contentious. In this issue of The Art of Health Promotion the author offers a simple framework to determine what is likely to work best in producing long-term behavior change. The article identifies four components that are highly associated with successful behavior change. These include improving awareness, enhancing motivation, building skills, and providing opportunity for practicing the new skills. This simple framework is likely to be a very useful tool in communicating the essentials of successful behavioral intervention to all major stakeholders in health promotion.

PMID: 16171162 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]