'You need a support. When you don't have that . . . chocolate looks real good'. Barriers to and facilitators of behavioural changes among participants of a Healthy Living Program

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Health behavioural change is complex, especially for underserved patients who have higher rates of obesity and physical inactivity. Behavioural change interventions that show high efficacy in clinical trials may be difficult to disseminate and may not be effective in the office. OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify factors that facilitate or hinder behavioural change among past participants of a healthy lifestyle intervention in an urban underserved health centre. METHODS: Between March and October 2011, we conducted five focus group sessions with a total of 23 past participants. The focus group transcripts were analysed with a framework approach using the Social Ecological Model as a coding structure. RESULTS: We found four interconnected levels of social contexts: individual, interpersonal, programmatic and community levels. Themes of social support and the importance of relationships for making and maintaining behavioural changes were found at all levels. CONCLUSION: Social support and relatedness were key facilitators of healthy lifestyle changes and influenced individual motivation and perseverance. Harnessing the power of social support and motivation may be a way for future behavioural change interventions to bridge the gap between efficacy and effectiveness.

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