The iChange4Health Program has been designed to assist healthcare providers to integrate brief behaviour change counselling into their routine practice. The program trains healthcare providers in a generic approach that is based on the 5 A's principle (Ask, Alert, Assess, Assist, Arrange) and offered in a guiding style, derived from motivational interviewing. The approach can be useful in a wide variety of chronic care settings, such as HIV/AIDS, TB, intimate partner violence, antenatal care, as well as non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
This manual forms part of a resource package for health care providers, which includes educational/motivational materials for distribution to patients, on the topics of smoking, diet, physical activity and alcohol use. The package has been designed to assist health care providers in private and public health sector settings in South Africa to integrate brief behavioural change counselling into routine practice to prevent and control NCDs and to promote health and well-being. It aims to enhance the practitioner’s knowledge and skills to enable them to effectively motivate and assist patients make healthier lifestyle choices. The protocol and tools can be easily incorporated into usual clinical care and do not necessarily require any prohibitive or significant, additional investment of time and resources.
The iChange4Health programme is a joint initiative between the Chronic Disease Initiative for Africa (CDIA) and Pharma Dynamics. Please visit the iChange4Health website for additional information.