Application of the Health Promotion Model in Motivational Interviewing Sessions to Promote Physical Activity Among Adolescent Girls

Health professionals regularly encounter individuals whose health and well-being can be improved by making positive changes in behaviors, yet many professionals report lacking sufficient confidence or skills to promote positive behavioral changes due to limited training and experience. Not having enough time to thoroughly address the problem is also identified as a barrier. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss how nursing’s Health Promotion Model can be used to provide a theoretical foundation to guide motivational interviewing sessions directed toward increasing physical activity. A brief overview of the motivational interviewing communication style and strategies associated with the technique will be presented. Constructs of the Health Promotion Model that can be targeted in motivational interviewing sessions will be addressed. A roadmap used by counselors conducting 15-20-minute face-to-face, theory-based motivational interviewing sessions with 5^th – 7^th grade girls participating in a large-scale, NIH-funded randomized controlled trial of a school-based intervention designed to increase their physical activity will be presented. The trial is being conducted in a total of 24 low socioeconomic, urban schools in the Midwestern U.S. The majority of the participants are African-American. Although the roadmap focuses on increasing physical activity, participants will recognize that the Health Promotion Model can be applied in motivational interviewing sessions directed toward promoting positive changes in other behaviors. The strategies used in the trial to help interested girls identify small steps toward behavior change will also be discussed. Participants will be given ample opportunities to ask questions about this novel approach.