Reports Reveal Promise of a Healthy Monday Approach
Nov 10, 2010
Two new literature reviews recently released by the Center for a Livable Future focus on periodic prompts and their effectiveness in health behavior interventions, and explore the cultural significance of Monday and its potential use in health promotion programs. The reviews were conducted by Jillian Fry, MPH, research assistant and predoctoral fellow, and Roni Neff, PhD, MS, research and policy director.
Fry and Neff concluded that frequent periodic messages can be effective in changing a range of healthy behaviors, including diet and exercise. They also found that Monday holds significance within Western cultures and may serve as a valuable day to send periodic health messages. In the U.S., almost 70 percent of the population views Monday as the first day of the week, representing a common cultural experience with both positive and negative associations.
Health promotion interventions often lack a strategy for facilitating sustained behavior change. Fry and Neff suggest future behavior change communication campaigns employ various methods of communication, such as periodic prompts on the first day of the week, could improve the understanding of the most effective ways to foster long-term behavior change. A full version of the report is available here.