Assessing readiness to change
Assessing readiness to change is an important step in any intervention. Readiness is identified by assessing an individual’s motivation and confidence to change behaviour. The person should be asked about the importance of making a particular change (assessing motivation), using a scale of 1-10, with 1 being not at all important and 10 being very important. Confidence to change should be assessed in the same way, with 1 being not at all confident in ability to make the change and 10 being very confident. This informs the nurse of the next steps and what information the patient needs. If importance is high but confidence is low, confidence-boosting information is required such as strategies that could support the person. If both importance and confidence is high, the person is ready to change. Mid-range scores reflect ambivalence. The nurse can help the patient to resolve any uncertainty by asking what would help the person achieve a higher score, and discussing the advantages of change versus the disadvantages, as well as the disadvantages of no change. It is useful to ask how the person might reduce any disadvantages. Understanding what motivates the person is important. The healthcare professional should avoid sounding judgemental. Honest evidenced-based answers to patients’ questions are vital because these individuals often complain about receiving mixed messages and conflicting advice (Elwell et al 2013).