Dietary self-efficacy in a community-based intervention: implications for effective dietary counselling
1991
Beurden, E. van | James, R. | Christian, J. | Church, D.
Participant self-efficacy is an essential prerequisite for behaviour change in nutrition education interventions. Until recently, self-efficacy has been examined in a wide range of clinical and small-scale field trials but its value in large-scale nutrition education campaigns has received little attention. This paper discusses important practical applications of the self-efficacy concept to nutrition education and counselling. It examines how self-efficacy relates to recall of dietary advice, outcome efficacy and behavioural change in a community-based nutrition education intervention. We tested participant self-efficacy as a predictor of changes in health status in the North Coast Cholesterol Check Campaign. Outcome measures were blood cholesterol level and body mass index (BMI). Self-efficacy at initial screening was high and served as a good predictor of cholesterol change while BMI change was predicted more accurately by self-efficacy at retest. Results emphasise the need for nutrition counselling to focus on the two-way interaction between self-efficacy and behaviour change. This is achieved by promoting positive outcome expectations, providing unambiguous dietary messages and encouraging participants to attempt small steps which they believe have a high likelihood of success. Monitoring self-efficacy can also provide insight into the appropriateness and potential effectiveness of a planned intervention.
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