Behavioural counselling in primary care leads to improvements in health behaviour

Behavioural counselling in primary care leads to greater improvements in health behaviour than standard health education and advice in patients at increased risk of coronary heart disease. Previous studies of health promotion and lifestyle counselling in primary care have produced disappointing results. Steptoe et al (p 943) found in a randomised trial that brief behavioural counselling on the basis of the "stage of change" model stimulated greater reductions in dietary fat intake and number of cigarettes smoked, and greater increases in physical activity than did usual care. The results suggest that behavioural counselling in primary care may be a useful strategy in the prevention of coronary heart disease.

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Behavioural counselling in general practice for the promotion of healthy behaviour among adults at increased risk of coronary heart disease: randomised trial • Commentary: Treatment allocation by the method of minimisation

Andrew Steptoe, Sheelagh Doherty, Elizabeth Rink, Sally Kerry, Tony Kendrick, Sean Hilton, and Simon Day
BMJ 1999 319: 943-948. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]