Description
You have been invited by the Garber Corporation to interview for a newly created position in the company as a health education specialist. The position has been described as one that will focus on helping employees change their health behavior. As a part of the interview, the director of human resources asks you this question: “Of all the theories related to health education/promotion you studied in your college courses, which one do you think will have the greatest application to your work here at the Garber Corporation?” Defend your response.
Theories and Planning Models
Theory can be defined as a “systematic arrangement of fundamental principles that provide a basis for explaining certain happenings of life.” In health education, theory helps to explain why people participate or don’t participate in health promotion. Models can be defined as the subclasses of theories. Models come together to help us understand theory and the theory is what actually explains why things are the way they are. Theories help to guide health educators while planning, implementing, and evaluating a health education program.
Behavior Change Theories
These theories are designed to create interventions to encourage behavior change. They recognize that behavioral change does not occur in a vacuum. “Levels of influence” include intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional. Your reading assignment offers an in-depth discussion of many of these theories. Please take time to review them for understanding and don’t do it all in one day, you’ll go crazy! J
The first group is categorized as Intrapersonal (Individual) theories. They focus in factors within individuals, such as knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, self-concept, motivation, etc. Those presented include:
Health Belief Model
Protection Motivation Theory
Theory of Planned Behavior
Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion
Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model
Transtheoretical Model of Change
Precaution Adoption Process Model
Interpersonal theories assume individuals are influenced by their social environment. Three theories in this category are presented:
Social Cognitive Theory
Social Network Theory
Social Capital Theory
The last group is Community theories. These involve organizational, community, and public policy factors. Two theories in this category are presented:
Diffusion Theory
Community Readiness Model
Seven Major Planning Models
Planning models are used to plan, implement and evaluate programs. The following represent prominent models in health education planning; each is discussed in depth in your reading assignment. How dare they put theory and models in the same chapter!!!
PRECEDE-PROCEED - consists of eight phases. The first four, PRECEDE, involve assessments that provide information that will guide future decisions. The last four, PROCEED, involve putting the program into action based on what was learned from the first four phases.
MATCH - is a Multilevel Approach to Community Health. See your textbook for a detailed depiction of this Model.
Intervention Mapping - A six step model that is based on evidence and borrows principles from PRECEDE-PROCEED and MATCH models.
CDCynergy - this model was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and guides the health educator through intervention strategies that are most likely to be effective in a given situation through effective communication.
SMART - The Social Marketing Assessment and Response Tool uses marketing to reach its audience by approaching them as consumers.
MAPP - Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnership was designed to assist local health departments with planning health promotion programs. MAPP is divided into six phases detailed in your text.
GM - a Generalized Model takes the basic concepts from the leading models and takes the similar aspects and summarizes them into five tasks:
Assessing needs
Setting goals and objectives
Developing interventions
Implementing interventions
Evaluating results
Critical Thinking
Choose a health promotion program and briefly describe how it could be implemented using a Planning Model.
Do you see yourself having a preference between Planning Models and Change Process Theories? Explain.
Sample Solution