Publication
Indicators for health education in Scotland; summary of findings from the 1996 Health Education Population Survey (HEPS)
Stages of behaviour change
The process by which individuals go about changing often long-establishedbehaviours is a complex one and is the focus of a number of psychologicaltheories. There is accumulating evidence to support the stages of changemodel developed by Prochaska and DiClemente (1982) as a means of targeting andevaluating health promotion initiatives. The five stages proposed by this model(pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance) are usedin HEPS as the basis for questions about changing the following health damagingbehaviours: smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity and heavy drinking.
For the purposes of this report, the population of interest consists ofrespondents who perceive themselves as having an unhealthy lifestyle inrelation to the above behaviours. The stages of change therefore relate tothose who describe themselves as smokers, having an unhealthy diet, being unfitor being heavy drinkers.
Indicator: The proportion of people aged 16-74 who describe themselvesas having a health damaging behaviour, and who
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Figure 5 shows the proportions of respondents at thedifferent stages of change for each behaviour.
Figure 5: Percentage of respondents in each stage of change by behaviour
Percentage of people who |
smokers |
having an unhealthy diet |
unfit |
heavy drinkers |
who are in the following stages: |
||||
pre-contemplation |
21 |
44 |
41 |
49 |
contemplation |
16 |
13 |
9 |
5 |
preparation |
14 |
8 |
16 |
11 |
action |
32 |
20 |
20 |
22 |
maintenance |
16 |
14 |
13 |
13 |