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Implementing lifestyle interventions in clinical practice: the importance of adherence.

Dulmen, S. van, Eide, H., Finset, A. Implementing lifestyle interventions in clinical practice: the importance of adherence. Patient Education and Counseling: 2023, 109, p. Art. nr. 107651. Editorial
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Introduction
Over the years, Patient Education and Counseling has published many papers on campaigns and interventions, with or without e-health technology, designed to increase patients’ intrinsic motivation to adopt a healthier lifestyle, such as quitting smoking, increasing physical activity and eating healthy.
Many studies show efficacy in controlled studies; however, very few interventions find their way into usual
clinical practice. In spite of numerous well-designed interventions, many patients keep having difficulties to break their firmly entrenched unhealthy habits. It is important to apply an implementation strategy including management support and engagement, internal and external facilitation, training, and audit and feedback when planning educational interventions, addressing organizational as well as technological implications.

An important problem in designing and implementing lifestyle interventions is the fact that adherence to lifestyle programmes tend to be rather poor. Just providing advice is not enough. In order to improve
patients’ health and lower healthcare expenditure due to preventable lifestyle-related conditions, active counseling by health professionals is needed to increase patients’ adherence and, subsequently, enhance
more healthy behavior.