How to Facilitate Lifestyle Change Applying Group Education in Healthcare

Group work and patient education are vital aspects of improving health outcomes in all settings, by supporting patients and clients to manage their conditions, as well as to promote and support behaviour change for improved health.

Concise, accessible, and easy-to-read, this new title in the popular How To series is designed to support nutritionists, dietitians, nurses and other healthcare professionals to facilitate healthy lifestyle change through group education.  How to Facilitate Lifestyle Change covers the entire group education process, from initial planning, to delivery and evaluation.  Topics include agreeing aims and objectives and structuring a session, to considering practical aspects such as setting, managing challenging group members and participant expectations, as well as evaluating and refining a session plan for future use.  It also provides an overview of the key evidence base for group learning, relevant theories and models, peer support, and e-learning opportunities.

Including case studies to illustrate the real-life application of each topic, practice points, helpful checklists, and a range of practical tips, How to Facilitate Lifestyle Change is the ideal resource to support anyone involved in group patient education and facilitation of health behaviour change.

Amanda Avery, RD, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Assistant Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, Division of Nutritional Sciences, The University of Nottingham, UK

Vanessa Halliday, PhD, RD, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Lecturer in Public Health, School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), The University of Sheffield, UK

Kirsten Whitehead, PhD, RD, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Associate Professor in Dietetics, School of Biosciences, Division of Nutritional Sciences, The University of Nottingham, UK

Foreword viii

Preface x

Acknowledgements xii

Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Amanda Avery

1.1 Overview 1

1.2 The need for lifestyle change 1

1.3 Why group education? 8

1.4 What is the evidence for group education? 10

References 17

Chapter 2: Behaviour change 21
Kirsten Whitehead

2.1 Introduction 21

2.2 What is behaviour change? 21

2.3 Why is behaviour change so important for lifestyle change? 22

2.4 Behaviour change theory and models 22

2.5 Behaviour change interventions 25

2.6 Behaviour change techniques 26

References 41

Further reading 42

Chapter 3: What makes a good facilitator? 43
Amanda Avery

3.1 The good facilitator 44

3.2 Communication skills for a group facilitator 46

3.3 How do effective groups form? 54

3.4 How do different people behave in groups? 57

3.5 And finally… 61

References 61

Chapter 4: Planning and organization 62
Kirsten Whitehead

4.1 Introduction 62

4.2 What are the priorities for group education? 63

4.3 Needs assessment 64

4.4 Subject areas for group education 64

4.5 Target participants 65

4.6 Recruitment 65

4.7 Preparing for a group education session 67

4.8 How to deliver a training session 74

References 80

Further reading 81

Chapter 5: Delivering the session 82
Vanessa Halliday

5.1 Introduction 82

5.2 Starting the session 82

5.3 Educational activities 87

5.4 Ending a session 107

References 108

Further reading 108

Useful websites 108

Chapter 6: Resources 109
Vanessa Halliday

6.1 Introduction 109

6.2 Resources for inclusive education 110

6.3 Practical considerations when selecting which resources to use 110

6.4 Types of resources 112

6.5 General considerations when using resources 115

6.6 Case studies 119

References 123

Useful websites 123

Chapter 7: Evaluation 125
Kirsten Whitehead

7.1 Introduction 125

7.2 What is evaluation? 125

7.3 Why evaluate? 126

7.4 What to evaluate? 126

7.5 Who should evaluate? 134

7.6 How to evaluate: tools and methods 134

References 148

Further reading 149

Useful websites 149

Chapter 8: Managing group interaction and how to overcome challenges 150
Vanessa Halliday

8.1 Introduction 150

8.2 Facilitating group interaction 150

8.3 Cultural sensitivity in group education 152

8.4 How to manage discussion of sensitive subjects 153

8.5 Avoiding challenging situations 154

8.6 Working with group members that exhibit behaviours that you find challenging to manage 154

8.7 Answering questions and maintaining your credibility when challenged 157

8.8 Managing the use of mobile devices 159

8.9 Timekeeping 160

8.10 Getting people to attend 161

8.11 Group dynamics 162

8.12 Working with co‐facilitators 163

References 165

Further reading 165

Chapter 9: Personal development in group facilitation skills 166
Amanda Avery

9.1 Introduction 166

9.2 Reflection 167

9.3 Peer observation 167

9.3 Additional training needs 172

References 174

Index 175

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