Foundational knowledge - Traditional Theories and Models of Behavior Change

Trans-Theoretical Model (TTM) focuses on the decision-making of the individual and is a model of intentional change, considering that people do not change behaviors quickly (Prochaska, 2013). The TTM states that a person moves through different stages when modifying behavior. Various intervention strategies are most effective at each stage to move the individual to the next step (Prochaska, 2013). The TTM stages are:

1. Precontemplation
   In this stage, people do not desire to take action and are often unaware that their behaviors negatively affect their health (Prochaska, 2013).
2. Contemplation
   In this stage, people recognize that their behavior may influence their health. Even with this recognition, people may still feel ambivalent toward changing their behavior and may not take action towards it (Prochaska, 2013).
3. Preparation (Determination)
   In this stage, people are determined to take action and start taking steps toward behavior change (Prochaska, 2013).
4. Action
   In this stage, people have just changed their behavior, which is considered to be within 6 months of actively pursuing the behavior (Prochaska, 2013).
5. Maintenance
   In this stage, people sustain their behavior for more than 6 months and intend to maintain the behavior change. People in this stage actively work to prevent relapse to earlier stages (Prochaska, 2013).
6. Termination
   In this stage, people will not return to their unhealthy behaviors. Since this is rarely reached, this stage is often not considered in health promotion programs (Prochaska, 2013).

Trans-Theoretical Model (Prochaska, 2013)

TTM has successful results in mHealth application on obesity prevention (Lee et al., 2017), diabetes prevention (Jennings et al., 2019), mental health (Frith & Loprinzi, 2017), eating behavior (Abdel-Fatah Ibrahim et al., 2017), and smoking cessation (Chahar et al., 2018).