The Uses of Stages of Change and Language within a Forestry Context

Advising landowners can be difficult for foresters. Landowners’ motivations towards behavior change should be considered prior to giving advice. The Stages of Change Model, also known as the Transtheoretical Model, assesses whether individuals are ready to perform new behaviors. This model was used to understand how landowner’s motivations towards behavior change affect future reforestation efforts, which could help foresters better advise landowners. Landowners from Wisconsin were recruited, reported current behaviors, and separated into either predecisional or postdecisional stages, based on self-reported stage of behavior. They received advice, reported future reforestation intentions, and provided comments. Using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and language analyses, predecisional stage perceived more barriers towards reforestation efforts and used more negative emotion words, whereas postdecisional stage reported more past habits of reforestation efforts and used more positive emotion words. Foresters should provide advice that reduces barriers for the predecisional stage and build on positive aspects of reforestation for the postdecisional stage. Study Implications: Reforestation is crucial for land management and ecosystem maintenance. Private landowners are encouraged by professional foresters to plant more trees for reforestation. However, landowners vary in reforestation efforts, and foresters must understand individual differences when advising. Results show that it is important to separate landowners into groups, using the Stages of Change Model, to determine previous behaviors affecting future reforestation and understand how language-use provides insights into what stage they are in and perceived barriers. Foresters should provide advice that reduces barriers for those with less reforestation experience and build on positive aspects of reforestation for those with more experience. These recommendations can empower more effective outreach.

Applying the Stages of Change Model in a Nutrition Education Programme for the Promotion of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption among People with Severe Mental Disorders (DIETMENT)

Despite growing evidence of the benefits of adequate intake of fruit and vegetables (F&V) and the recommendation to consume five servings daily, the adoption of these habits is poor among people with severe mental disorder (SMD). The main aim of the present study is to determine changes in the intake of F&V and motivation to do so among people with SMDs after participating in a food education programme. A community-based randomized controlled trial was conducted in Spain, with the intervention group (IG) participating in a food education programme based on the stages of change model to promote consumption of F&V and the control group (CG) receiving three informative sessions on basic healthy eating. The main outcomes were related to the intake of F&V and stages of change. Data collection was performed at baseline, post intervention, and 12-month follow-up. Seventy-four participants enrolled in the study and sixty completed the 12-month follow-up. An increase in motivation towards the intake of F&V was observed in the IG but not in the CG (McNemar’s test p = 0.016, p = 0.625). No significant difference was observed for the intake of fruit, vegetables, or F&V. Basing food education strategies on the stages of change model shows positive results, increasing the awareness and disposition of people with SMD towards the intake of F&V. More research is needed to identify the most appropriate eating intervention to increase the intake of F&V.

Implementation and effectiveness of continuous kangaroo mother care: a participatory action research protocol

Background The efficacy of continuous kangaroo mother care (C-KMC) in reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity among low birthweight and premature infants has been confirmed. Despite the recommendations of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Ministry of Health of Iran to use C-KMC for eligible hospitalized neonates, this type of care is not performed due to implementation problems. This protocol aims to describe the design, implementation, and assessment of C-KMC in one tertiary hospital by means of participatory action research. Methods The objective of this study is to design and implement a C-KMC program for neonates that will be performed in two phases using a stages-of-change model. The first phase will be conducted in three consecutive activities of designing, implementing, and assessing the introduction of C-KMC. The second phase of the study has a before-and-after design to assess the effectiveness of C-KMC by comparing the length of preterm neonates’ stay in hospital and exclusive breastfeeding at discharge before and after implementing C-KMC. Discussion KMC is an important component of neonatal developmental care as part of family-centered care. Applying this type of care requires creating appropriate strategies, budget allocation, and clear and coordinated planning at different levels of the health system. The stages-of-change model is one of the appropriate approaches to the implementation of C-KMC.

Implementation and effectiveness of continuous kangaroo mother care: a participatory action research protocol

Background The efficacy of continuous kangaroo mother care (C-KMC) in reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity among low birth weight and premature infants has been confirmed. Despite the recommendations of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Ministry of Health of Iran to use C-KMC for eligible hospitalized neonates, this type of care is not performed due to implementation problems. This protocol aims to describe the design, implementation, and assessment of C-KMC in one tertiary hospital by means of participatory action research.Methods The objective of this study is to design and implement a C-KMC program for neonates that will be performed in two phases using a stages-of-change model. The first phase will be conducted in three consecutive activities of designing, implementing, and assessing the introduction of C-KMC. The second phase of the study has a before-and-after design to assess the effectiveness of C-KMC by comparing the length of preterm neonates’ stay in hospital and exclusive breastfeeding at discharge before and after implementing C-KMC.Discussion KMC is an important component of neonatal developmental care as part of family-centered care. Applying this type of care requires creating appropriate strategies, budget allocation, and clear and coordinated planning at different levels of the health system. The stages-of-change model is one of the appropriate approaches to the implementation of C-KMC.

Implementation and effectiveness of continuous kangaroo mother care: a participatory action research protocol

Background The efficacy of continuous kangaroo mother care (C-KMC) in reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity among low birth weight and premature infants has been confirmed. Despite the recommendations of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Ministry of Health of Iran to use C-KMC for eligible hospitalized neonates, this type of care is not performed due to implementation problems. This protocol aims to describe the design, implementation, and assessment of C-KMC in one tertiary hospital by means of participatory action research.Methods The objective of this study is to design and implement a C-KMC program for neonates that will be performed in two phases using a stages-of-change model. The first phase will be conducted in three consecutive activities of designing, implementing, and assessing the introduction of C-KMC. The second phase of the study has a before-and-after design to assess the effectiveness of C-KMC by comparing the length of preterm neonates’ stay in hospital and exclusive breastfeeding at discharge before and after implementing C-KMC.Discussion KMC is an important component of neonatal developmental care as part of family-centered care. Applying this type of care requires creating appropriate strategies, budget allocation, and clear and coordinated planning at different levels of the health system. The stages-of-change model is one of the appropriate approaches to the implementation of C-KMC.

University Students’ Readiness towards Mobile Learning: The Stages of Change Model

Information seeking modes are changing rapidly due to advancements in portable devices such as smartphones. The functionality of smartphones is helping individuals to enhance their online learning experiences. The study was conducted to assess the readiness level among students towards the adoption of mobile learning at The Islamia University of Bahawalpur. A survey method of research was used to collect data for this study. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed through convenience sampling among the enrolled students of The Islamia University of Bahawalpur. Of the 183 respondents, the majority of 118 (64.5%) were female. Overwhelming, 170 (92.9%) respondents' usage frequency was 'daily' for accessing information through mobile. Stages of change model indicated that most of the respondents were at the 'maintenance stage' indicating that they were regularly using mobile for learning. The main barriers to mobile learning included: 'mobile learning causes sore eyes', and 'mobile screen size makes it difficult to concentrate on contents. The study concluded that a high level of readiness exists among students towards adopting mobile learning as they are regularly using smartphones to access the information from online resources to fulfill the requirements of formal learning. A statistically significant difference was found in the readiness level as female students are more likely to adopt m-learning than male students. The study's findings are useful for librarians, faculty members, IT experts, and policymakers of the participating university in designing mobile-related services for students to enhance learning communications and collaborations.

Implementation and Effectiveness of Continuous Kangaroo Mother Care: A Participatory Action Research Protocol

BackgroundThe efficacy of continuous kangaroo mother care (C-KMC) in reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity among low birth weight and premature infants has been confirmed. Despite the recommendations of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the Ministry of Health of Iran to use C-KMC for eligible hospitalized neonates, this type of care is not performed due to implementation problems. This protocol aims to describe the design, implementation, and assessment of C-KMC in one tertiary hospital by means of participatory action research.MethodsThe objective of this study is to design and implement a C-KMC program for neonates that will be performed in two phases using a stages-of-change model. The first phase will be conducted in three consecutive activities of designing, implementing, and assessing the introduction of C-KMC. The second phase of the study has a before-and-after design to assess the effectiveness of C-KMC by comparing the length of preterm neonates’ stay in hospital and exclusive breastfeeding at discharge before and after implementing C-KMC.DiscussionKMC is an important component of neonatal developmental care as part of family-centered care. Applying this type of care requires creating appropriate strategies, budget allocation, and clear and coordinated planning at different levels of the health system. The stages-of-change model is one of the appropriate approaches to the implementation of C-KMC.