Purpose: To provide the nurse practitioner (NP) with a practical prescription for acquiring expertise in health behavior change using integrated principles from the transtheoretical model of change and motivational interviewing.
Data sources: Extensive literature review of current theory and research on health behavior change.
Conclusion: Expertise in motivating health behavior change is essential to effective health promotion and to the NP role.
Implications for practice: Lifestyle choices are principal contributors to the leading causes of death and most chronic diseases in the United States. Traditional health behavior interventions are often ineffective in motivating and sustaining lifestyle change.