WESAP Program Theory

The Health Belief Model

Stress will not affect me.

Perceived SusceptibilityAn individual's assessment of their risk of getting the

condition.

• We prompted the participants to discover, through affective learning, that they have stressors in their daily lives that can compound to cause high levels of stress.

Oh no! Now I see that I am at risk to living a high stress lifestyle.

I am skeptical.

Perceived SeverityAn individual's assessment of the seriousness of the

condition, and its potential consequences.

• Through Audio/Visual learning and the KWL Sticky Note activity we prompted the participants to see that the health risks associated with a high stress lifestyle are detrimental to their personal health.

There must be something I can do!

I do not have time to workout!

Identify and Reduce BarriersAn individual's assessment of the influences that facilitate or discourage adoption of the promoted

behavior.

• Through the use of personal and group discussion and journals WESAP discovered the participant’s barriers to the program and attempted to reduce or eliminate them.

Look at all of these provided workout times!

I am starting to see the benefits of working out to reduce stress.

I am interested to hear more…

Identify BenefitsAn individual's assessment of the positive

consequences of adopting the behavior.

• Through the use of Audio Visual learning, group discussion, self-appraisal and journaling WESAP identified the benefits to the program and had the participants identify their personal benefits.

There are so many benefits!

What do we do now?

Cues to ActionExternal influences promoting the desired behavior, may include

information provided or sought, reminders by powerful others, persuasive communications, and personal

experiences.

• WESAP used exercise classes, personal worksite exercise instructors and multiple convenient workout sessions provided daily to cue the participants to take the action of working out to reduce stress.

We are empowered!

Practice makes perfect!

Self-Efficacy

An individual's self-assessment of ability to successfully adopt the desired behavior.

• Through self-appraisals, exercise assessments, personal practice and workout design WESAP promoted self-efficacy among the participants.

I am capable of working

out to reduce stress!

Resources

Edberg, M. (2010). Essential readings in health behavior-theory and practice. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlet Publishers.