Stages of Change Model
The Stage of Change Model, also known as the Transtheoretical Model, was developed in 1984 by Prochaska and Di Clemente. Their work was based on the fact that people are not all at the same stage of readiness when it comes to changing lifestyle factors. While some are ready to begin the change itself, others may not even be aware why it might be important to do so. This approach begins with individual assessment of “readiness to change” and customizes health promotion strategies based on their stage. The goal in this model is to move a person to the next stage rather than to have a group goal for each person to lose weight, for example. Studies show that only about 20% of people are actually ready to take action and change their behavior, most are not really thinking about it or are beginning to think about it. The Stages of Change Model has been used very successfully for a variety of health behaviors and has been particularly effective with adolescents. We will briefly discuss each of the stages.
It is important to match the intervention programs to the stage. Most interventions are aimed at the action stage. Older people are more likely to quit smoking and abusing alcohol, while younger people are more likely to lose weight and exercise.