South Kingstown, RI – September 18, 2013. Pro-Change Behavior Systems, Inc. is now licensing its liveWell program to McGraw-Hill Higher Education for distribution to college and university students as an adjunct to their textbooks. liveWell: A Healthy Foundation for Life is an innovative online multimedia program designed to help college students improve their well-being by exercising regularly, eating healthy, and effectively managing stress.
The evidence-based liveWell program is based on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) (or Stages of Change model) and was developed with Small Business Innovative Research funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The development of the program involved extensive end-user and expert input including formative research conducted with student focus groups, usability tests, expert interviews, and input from an interdisciplinary team of college students from various U.S. colleges and universities.
A unique aspect of liveWell is that it leverages state-of-the-science best practices for tailoring of behavior change messages. Students receive a unique combination of fully tailored (exercise) and optimally tailored (fruit and vegetable intake and stress management) messages to maximize outcomes while minimizing response burden.
Consistent with Blooms’ taxonomy (i.e., Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation), liveWell will foster knowledge gain and comprehension. The interactive online program will also offer students the unique opportunity to directly apply their knowledge; analyze multiple dimensions of the behavior change process and aspects of the health behaviors addressed; synthesize the content by creating their own behavior change plan and goals; and evaluate their progress. Robust reporting features enable instructors to track their students’ program usage, progress, and outcomes.
“College students, in particular, are in need of prevention and intervention programs because the transition from high school to college is associated with a precipitous decline in healthy behaviors,” says Sara Johnson, PhD., Senior Vice President of Pro-Change. “Recent estimates indicate approximately one half of college men and one quarter of college women are overweight or obese. We also know that physical activity declines as young adults age and more than a quarter of college students report stress severe enough to adversely affect grades or course enrollment. Thus, the need for effective, individually tailored health promotion interventions among this group is clear. We are pleased to provide an evidence-based solution to meet that need.”
Gina Boedeker, Managing Director of Products & Markets, said “McGraw-Hill is thrilled to have this innovative product offering available for students across the country. liveWell is a wonderful addition to our expanding suite of e-books and hybrid learning solutions.”
About McGraw-Hill Higher Education
McGraw-Hill Higher Education, a unit of McGraw-Hill Education, is a leading innovator in the development of 21st century teaching and learning digital solutions for post-secondary and higher education markets worldwide. Through a comprehensive range of traditional and digital education content and tools focused on improving student learning outcomes, McGraw-Hill Higher Education empowers and prepares professionals and students to connect, learn, and succeed in the global economy. For more information, please visit www.mheducation.