Methods of helping patients with behaviour change.

Helping patients to change behaviour concemed with eating, drinking, smoking, exercise, or taking medication is a common task in medical consultations. In both hospital and primary care the care of chronically ill people often entails encouraging them to change behaviour. With the emphasis now placed on health promotion in primary care this activity has been given high priority.' 2 Yet health care practitioners are given little or no training in how to promote behaviour change. We examine the limitations of using the approach of giving advice and identify new concepts and methods which offer the promise of improving the quality and effectiveness of consultations about behaviour change.