The ABC of Behavior Change: A Guide to Successful Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Our health is strongly determined by what we do or don't do, what we eat, what we drink, how we live and work, and how our society is structured. Changing behavior is not a simple matter. Most people have problems giving up the things they enjoy or are accustomed to. They may not be in control of their behavior, or society may not support their healthier lifestyle. This is the challenge of behavior change: providing the right framework - mental, physical, or social - in which an individual can change.

The ABC of Behavior Change addresses the basics of behavior change: what to change and how. It has been written by a multi-disciplinary team of international experts to provide a broad summary of the factors involved and give concrete recommendations on how to manipulate the most important ones. Particular attention is given to:

Personal and psychological factors

Social & environmental factors

Communication, and

The problems faced in changing behavior

A unique feature of this book is the Vademecum - a detachable guide that acts as a proactive index asking questions that challenge you to think more about your intervention. Chapter references follow pertinent questions to help alert you to topics you may have overlooked and should consider.

This book is an indispensable tool for students, researchers, practitioners, and policy makers involved in preventing disease, promoting health, and changing behavior.

The unique feature of this book is the 'Vademecum' making it easier to get the most from the book and helping readers to shape their interventions

The breadth and practical focus of the text distinguish it from the competition

The multinational and interdisciplinary approach will broaden its appeal to many groups

Jacqueline Kerr, BA, MSc, PhD, Research Assistant, Munich Tumour Registry, Munich, Germany; Rolf Weitkunat, Privatdozent, Dr. Rer. Soc., Dipl. Psych., Research Assistant, Lecturer, Institute fur Medizinische Informationsverarbeitung, Biometrie und Epidemiologie (IBE), Ludwig Maximilians Universitat, Munich, Germany; and Manuel Moretti, Dipl. Psych., Research Assistant, Bayerischer Forschungsverbund Public Health, Munich, Germany