Motivating patients to make diet and lifestyle changes
While the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, including diet modifications, stopping smoking, weight management and regular exercise for maintaining optimal LDL-cholesterol levels and reducing CVD risk are clear it can still be hard to motivate patients to undertake these changes. The ESC guidelines on CVD disease prevention in clinical practice highlight a few key steps that are crucial to influence any behaviour change1. These include:
Spending enough time with the individual to create a therapeutic relationship even just a few more minutes can make a difference
Acknowledging the individual’s personal view
Encouraging the expression of worries and anxieties, concerns and self-evaluation of motivation for behavior change and chances of success
Speaking to the individual in his/her own language and being supportive of every improvement in lifestyle
Asking questions to check that the individual has understood the advice and has any support they require to follow it
Acknowledging that it is challenging to change life-long habits and sustained gradual change is often more permanent than rapid change
Accepting that individuals may need support for a long time and that repeated efforts to encourage and maintain lifestyle change may be necessary in many individuals
Making sure that all healthcare professionals involved provide consistent information
Gradual change that is sustained is often more permanent than a rapid change
Using the JBS “HeartAge” risk calculator could be helpful to make your patient aware of his/her current estimated heart age and especially to motivate him/her, showing the benefits that may be achieved by sustained, long-term reduction of CVD risk factors through diet and lifestyle changes.
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- Spending enough time with an individual to create a therapeutic relationship
- Acknowledging an individual's personal view
- Being supportive of every improvement in lifestyle
- Acknowledging that it is challenging to change life-long habits and that sustained gradual change is often more permanent than rapid change.
- Accepting that repeated efforts to encourage and maintain lifestyle changes may be necessary
- Making sure all healthcare professionals involved provide consistent information to an individual