Improving Health Habits: Self-Care Priorities

OBJECTIVES:

• To evaluate the feasibility and impact of a clinic-based intervention protocol in Los Angeles county, California, for improving the dietary choices and physical activity levels of low-income clinic populations in Los Angeles County, California.

OUTLINE: The two participating clinics are randomly assigned to provide care as outlined below to participants who routinely visit that clinic.

• Arm I (clinic 1, intervention program): Physicians provide health advice to the participants for 1-2 minutes using a motivational interviewing technique during a regularly scheduled appointment. Health messages to motivate changes in diet and physical activity levels are tailored to the participant based on information from the Patient Health Behavior Priority Assessment (PHBPA). Physicians also create a mutually agreed upon self-directed lifestyle change plan (the Health Priority Plan) for the participant using information from the PHBPA. Participants undergo a 10-minute interview to indicate whether the doctor discussed the plan and their satisfaction with the visit. After the first clinic encounter, participants are contacted by a health educator via telephone 4 times over a 2-month period. The telephone sessions are designed to identify obstacles and challenges in adhering to the Health Priority Plan and help participants to persevere with the plan. Participants are followed at baseline, 2 months, and 6 or 12 months. Participants have blood pressure and weight measured and blood collected to determine levels of nutrients and fat and sugar content during these follow-up visits.
• Arm II (clinic 2, control program): Physicians provide usual care during a regularly scheduled appointment. Participants are followed at baseline, 2 months, and 12 months. Participants have blood pressure and weight measured and a subset of participants also have blood collected to determine levels of nutrients and fat and sugar content during these follow-up visits.

In both arms, participants also undergo a 30-minute interview about diet and physical activity and take a step test to measure heart rate and oxygen level during the follow-up visits. All participants undergo an exit interview at the end of the study about their perceptions of the program and what can be improved in the study. Participants' medical record information is examined for the period of 12 months prior to enrollment in the study, during the 12-month study period, and for 12 months after the exit interview date.