For anyone with wellness or health promotion responsibility, this health behavior change white paper makes a compelling case for starting with big goals that stretch ability and why small goals can be counterproductive.
PRLog - July 9, 2015 - MIDLAND, Mich. -- Health Enhancement Systems, world leader in workplace wellness campaigns, has just released the definitive paper on how health behavior change really happens. Citing dozens of studies as well as the firm’s experience with thousands of worksite wellness implementations, Small Steps or Giant Leaps: What Works Best for Health Behavior Change should be required reading for anyone with wellness or health promotion responsibility for individuals or populations.
“Our success the last 20+ years helping individuals and organizations improve health is based on advice that differs significantly from what’s given out by our colleagues or government agencies,” notes Dean Witherspoon, CEO and founder of Health Enhancement Systems. “The ‘little changes here and there add up’ mantra used by many just doesn’t produce results. In fact, it’s often counterproductive, because when people become frustrated with their lack of overall progress, they simply give up.”
The paper makes a compelling case for starting with big goals that stretch the individual’s ability, giving them a substantial target. “Unlike a purchase decision, or how someone navigates a website, changing ingrained health behaviors is a complex, highly individualized task. It doesn’t happen in a straight line; the course is dotted with hills, valleys, plateaus, u-turns, and roundabouts,” explains Witherspoon. “Absent something big to shoot for, individuals almost always stray — and stay — off course.”
To deal with this complexity, the new paper outlines an approach that distills the best of current evidence in behavioral psychology and well-being. Called mighty goals/dynamic steps, it’s a 5-part process any organization can use in designing or purchasing health behavior change services. “We know population health improvement is hard,” confirms Witherspoon, “so we want to give practitioners a useful framework for any intervention. The mighty goals/dynamic steps does exactly that, taking the guesswork out of program design and delivery.”
You can download a free copy of Small Steps or Giant Leaps: What Works Best for Health Behavior Change? at https://www.hesonline.com/giantleaps.
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Health Enhancement Systems creates employee wellness programs for organizations in North America and throughout the world. More than 20 effective, engaging wellness campaigns have been adopted by thousands of organizations — serving millions of participants.
For more information, visit (https://www.hesonline.com) or call 800.326.2317.
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New White Paper Answers Question: Small Steps or Giant Leaps: What Works Best for Health Behavior
July 09, 2015 at 17:25 PM EDT
