MHSC8116 Client-Centred Health Behaviour Change

This topic offers students an advanced understanding of the principles and skills involved in the development and implementation of evidence-based client-centred behaviour change strategies and models in diverse practice settings. Successful completion of this topic will enable health professionals to adopt practices that will enhance their ability to support people with chronic conditions to prepare for and take action on behaviour change, and to develop knowledge, capacity, skills and attitudes needed to work more effectively with this client group. This topic fits with the Chronic Condition Management graduate courses by meeting the extended professional development needs of graduates involved in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of policy and program initatives, targeting the delivery of services to people with chronic physical or mental health conditions.

This topic aims to provide each participant with the opportunity to develop knowledge, skills and confidence to:

• Apply skills in critically evaluating a variety of internationally recognised client-centred health behaviour change models and theories and their underpinning principles and processes
• Translate these models into effective and sustainable clinical practice, improving individual and public health outcomes related to chronic conditions

1. Analyse and compare health behavioural change theories and models suitable for people with chronic conditions
2. Apply the internal and external contexts (enablers and barriers) of why people with chronic conditions do or do not change their behaviour in favour of their health (e.g., resilience, culture, economics, physical, biomedical, emotional, social)
3. Examine the underlying principles and processes of three health behaviour change theories and models
4. Develop an action plan to demonstrate the application of a health behaviour change theory and model to practice