New Report Reveals Behavioral Factors to Treatment Adherence

Key insights and strategies to support practitioners and help patients maintain long-lasting health

PHOENIX, Aug. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Fullscript, the leading care delivery platform for personalized treatment planning, ongoing wellness support and education, and high-quality supplements, released a report about behavioral change in integrative medicine as part of its mission to change how health is prescribed and help people get better. The findings indicated that while behavior or lifestyle change is challenging, there are clear benefits to adopting new health behaviors and evidence-based strategies that practitioners can use to support their patients.

The comprehensive report, which was produced internally by a team of Fullscript medical researchers, writers, and health professionals, and peer-reviewed by the Institute for Natural Medicine, included a literature review and a large patient survey. The purpose was to support integrative practitioners in making treatment recommendations by identifying barriers and strategies that influence change and helping patients adhere to health-promoting behaviors.

"Integrative medicine is well poised to address these challenges through regular engagement, by increasing motivation, and by incorporating lifestyle-based support," said Dr. Christopher Knee, ND, MSc, medical education and research manager, integrative medical advisory team at Fullscript. "Those lifestyle-based behaviors include nutrition, exercise, mindfulness, and sleep."

The study revealed that 93 percent of the 605 patients surveyed felt that at least some change was needed to improve their health, and as they continued to work with their practitioners, they became more ready to change. In addition, patients felt most successful with changing their supplement intake and dietary or nutrition behaviors, but reported that lifestyle treatments such as stress management, physical activity, or improving sleep habits were harder to follow.

The most common barriers to adherence and behavioral change for patients working with integrative practitioners were cost, time, and motivation.

"Practitioners can use techniques such as motivational interviewing, and other measurement tools such as patient questionnaires, to determine which barriers are most impactful to a patient or the areas where they may need extra support," Knee added. "The goal is to identify whether patients are ready to change, and what type of support they need to feel empowered."

Strategies such as providing education and simplifying treatment plans; receiving monitoring and feedback from practitioners; and setting up goals, plans, and commitments, were all impactful. Additionally, the use of evidence-based technologies were found to be a cost-effective means for practitioners to deliver successful behavioral change support.

The ultimate goal of the study was to better equip practitioners to support long-term change and improve health outcomes for their patients.

You can view and download the entire behavioral change report here. To learn more about Fullscript, go to Fullscript.com.

Fullscript is a powerful care delivery platform for integrative medicine practitioners offering access to personalized treatment planning, ongoing wellness education, and healthcare's best supplements and wellness products. With over a decade of development and used by more than 70,000 healthcare professionals serving over 5 million patients, Fullscript delivers the scale, technology, and expertise to support the growth of integrative medicine and delivery of high-quality care. For more information, visit Fullscript.com or follow Fullscript on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

SOURCE Fullscript