16. Social & Community Network Approach to Tobacco Cessation - Dr. Myra Muramoto (Univ. of Arizona)

USING COMMUNITY HELPERS IN SMOKING CESSATIONDr. Myra Muramoto's focus at the University of Arizona's Department of Family & Community Medicine is to build on the inherent influence that friends, families and neighbors can have on our health behavior. "There is a very powerful effect of social networks on decreasing the probability that someone is going to smoke [for instance]," explained Muramoto, "as well as the idea of cascades of quitting, that someone will initiate quitting and then others in the network will do the same." Muramoto looks to empower these health influencers through the Helpers Program, which trains and supports lay people in helping people they know quit smoking. These volunteers learn how to have 'helping conversations' by employing a supportive and non-confrontational approach, not dissimilar to the kind of approach espoused by Motivational Interviewing for professional coaches. "Brief interventions are an important part of the whole continuum [of behavior change], noted Muramoto, "and because they are brief, they are low impact, but they have potentially very high reach." This is not to say that intensive services such as quitline programs or worksite-based interventions, as examples, are not important. But the value of Helpers, Muramoto explained, is ability to reach people who face linguistic and cultural barriers, messages are coming from someone a would-be quitter already trusts or relates to, and the ability for provide just in time help. "Behavior change is a journey," advised Muramoto, "and Helpers encourage the first step, the last step, a step along the way, and to not give up in the face of unsuccessful attempts to change."Muramoto says that altruism, an interest in helping others, is what drives regular people to want to become change agents. While already a highly motivated group of individuals, the program's training helps to combine enthusiasm with knowledge and confidence building so they can reach out effectively. In order to build on and sustain individual helpers' motivation, it will be important, stated Muramoto, "to foster communities of practice that tap into the mutual interests of across groups of volunteers."Muramoto's talk was given at Consumer-Centric Health: MODELS FOR CHANGE '11, a conference that featured more than 20 presentations on all facets of health behavior change. The presenters represented diverse fields of medicine, employer health, mobile technology, health insurance, gaming, public health, research, and anthropology. The 1½ day conference, held at Seattle University in Seattle, Washington, began with an opening keynote on Oct 12, with the main sessions on Oct 13, divided into three sections (1) WHAT'S WORKING IN BEHAVIOR CHANGE; (2) HOW TO SCALE BEHAVIOR CHANGE; and (3) WHAT ELSE IS NEEDED TO MAKE BEHAVIOR CHANGE MORE EFFECTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE. Models for Change '11 was convened by Health Innoventions with support from Bastyr University's Center for Health Policy & Leadership and Seattle University's Organization Systems Renewal Program.Health Innoventions ( http://www.healthinnoventions.... is a non profit that serves the public good by promoting the translation and dissemination of actionable consumer-centric information to support health-enhancing programs, technology and policy.

Channel: Science & Technology
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: HealthInnoventions

Length: 26:47
Rating: N/A
Views: 58

Tags: behavior change  health  mhealth  mobile health  ehealth  patient activation  mobile app  behavioral economics  healthcare  health coaches  patient-centric  consumer health  gamification  cognitive therapy  stress  health care  obesity  chronic disease  motivational interviewing  patient activation measure  medical home  flourishing  health games  quantified self  consumer centric health  models for change '11  empowerment  positive psychology  caregivers  mfc'11  health networks  

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