Discussion
Healthcare professionals influence patients’ behaviors if they apply certain motivational axioms and health behavior models. Being able to explain patients’ behaviors and motivation with reference to these axioms and theories, educators can choose the most appropriate strategies to stimulate patients’ learning and behavioral change. The purpose of this paper is to discuss motivational axioms and health behavior theories that are applicable to the Health Promotion Project with reference to their advantages and limitations.
The Motivational Axiom and Health Behavior Model
Learner readiness is one of the actively selected axioms associated with patients’ motivation. It explains a patient’s readiness to learn and change behavior as the key to his or her motivation. Healthcare professionals can influence learners’ readiness through proposing certain incentives or stimuli that are appropriate for individual cases (Bastable, Gramet, Jacobs, & Sopczyk, 2011). An educator’s task is to influence a learner’s readiness and motivation with the help of providing relevant information, showing perspectives, using appropriate strategies and rewards, and encouraging.
The protection motivation theory (PMT) is selected for this project because it explains changes in patients’ behaviors with reference to their perception of threats to health. When evaluating risks to their health, patients can develop protection motivation and take certain steps to cope with the problem (Bastable et al., 2011). Individuals assess the severity of a threat, the probability of occurrence, the effectiveness of interventions, and their self-efficacy. After assessing probable threats and proposed coping strategies, patients are usually ready to take actions.
Implementation of the Axiom and Theory to Influence Learning Outcomes
In the selected Health Promotion Project oriented to overcoming treatment non-adherence tendencies in patients with emphysema, it is possible to refer to the selected axiom and theory. To ensure learner readiness and stimulate protection motivation, a healthcare professional is expected to conduct individual educational sessions with patients, during which incentives and threats to health are discussed in a manner appropriate for a person (Bastable et al., 2011). For example, those patients who cannot give up smoking are provided with audio, video materials and arguments associated with their particular case to demonstrate physical, emotional, social, and economic consequences of smoking. The focus is on accentuating threats and negative outcomes and stimulating learner readiness.
Barriers and Advantages Related to Using the Theory
Advantages of applying the PMT to working with patients with emphysema are in possibilities to affect these persons emotionally, demonstrate potential threats of the absence of treatment, and provoke their actions (Bastable et al., 2011). Furthermore, there is evidence that this theory is effective to stimulate coping with smoking and other negative habits, making patients change their behaviors (Yan et al., 2014). However, there are also barriers to using this theory because effectiveness depends on a patient’s individual assessment of the severity and probability of the health problem (Bastable et al., 2011). If a healthcare provider fails to stimulate a patient’s assessment and focus on pros and cons of treatment plans or to demonstrate threats, protection motivation cannot be developed effectively.
Utilizing Strengths and Reducing Weaknesses
It is possible to use strengths of the PMT while preparing educational materials for patients and applying an individual approach to teaching. If materials used by healthcare professionals and their training are patient-oriented, persons can effectively concentrate on assessing threats to their health, make relevant conclusions, and adhere to treatment plans. Motivation should be affected using internal and external factors. To reduce weaknesses, healthcare providers need to control patients’ appraisals of their conditions and provide relevant information regarding their diseases to guarantee that a patient is aware of the severity of his or her problem.
Conclusion
While referring to motivational axioms and health behavior theories, educators can effectively organize their teaching process and training for patients. They can stimulate patients’ motivation and readiness to be treated. In spite of some barriers to affecting patients’ motivation, it is possible to achieve high results when using an individual approach because provided stimuli and motivators need to be significant for patients to affect their opinions and decisions.
References
Bastable, S., Gramet, P., Jacobs, K., & Sopczyk, D. L. (2011). Health professional as educator: Principles of teaching and learning. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Yan, Y., Jacques-Tiura, A. J., Chen, X., Xie, N., Chen, J., Yang, N.,… MacDonell, K. K. (2014). Application of the protection motivation theory in predicting cigarette smoking among adolescents in China. Addictive Behaviors, 39(1), 181-188.