Effects of a brief tailored intervention on the process and predictors of lifestyle behaviour change in patients with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

The process and predictors of lifestyle behaviour change for dietary and physical activity behaviours in response to a brief, tailored, lifestyle self-management intervention for patients with type 2 diabetes was examined in a randomized controlled trial (n = 100). Participants (aged 40 - 70 years) completed stage of change, barriers to change and self-efficacy for change measures at three time points: baseline, 3 months and 1 year. Participants were allocated to either an intervention group who received the brief tailored intervention including follow-up telephone calls, or a usual care control group. Results indicate that participants in the intervention group but not the control group perceived themselves to have changed from contemplation to action for dietary fat reduction and lifestyle physical activity levels. This was associated with a trend towards decreased barriers to change but not with increased self-efficacy. No single predictor variable was consistently associated with outcome for intervention participants. These results provide further evidence of the effectiveness of tailored interventions for lifestyle change. An increased understanding of the change process over time for multiple behaviours will allow behavioural and preventive medicine to have a more significant impact when targeting behaviour change in individuals with multiple risk behaviours such as high fat diets and sedentary lifestyles.