Application of persuasion and health behavior theories for behavior change counseling: Design of the ADAPT (Avoiding Diabetes Thru Action Plan Targeting) program

ObjectiveDiabetes incidence is increasing worldwide and providers often do not feel they can effectively counsel about preventive lifestyle changes. The goal of this paper is to describe the development and initial feasibility testing of the Avoiding Diabetes Thru Action Plan Targeting (ADAPT) program to enhance counseling about behavior change for patients with pre-diabetes.MethodsPrimary care providers and patients were interviewed about their perspectives on lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes. A multidisciplinary design team incorporated this data to translate elements from behavior change theories to create the ADAPT program. The ADAPT program was pilot tested to evaluate feasibility.ResultsLeveraging elements from health behavior theories and persuasion literature, the ADAPT program comprises a shared goal-setting module, implementation intentions exercise, and tailored reminders to encourage behavior change. Feasibility data demonstrate that patients were able to use the program to achieve their behavior change goals.ConclusionInitial findings show that the ADAPT program is feasible for helping improve primary care providers’ counseling for behavior change in patients with pre-diabetes.Practice implicationsIf successful, the ADAPT program may represent an adaptable and scalable behavior change tool for providers to encourage lifestyle changes to prevent diabetes.