Practice Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change by

¶ … practice Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change by applying it to a situation presented in a YouTube video. The constructs of the model are highlighted as well as their explanation. The second part of the paper looks at the increasing rate of HIV infection in African-American women. The paper provides statistics on the health of African-American women in regard to HIV. Decisional Balance The construct of decisional balance, demands individual attention to an issue before one takes action.

In the YouTube video, it may appear as though the man who infected the women with the HIV virus is the villain; it was his responsibility to disclose his health status to his sexual partners. However, the women had not made the right decisions regarding the relationship with the man. They seem not to have considered the pros and cons before indulging in the affair.

HIV is a critical world health issue and the women in the video appear to be well educated and enlightened they should have considered the decision they were making concerning their health. The core of the construct of decisional balance involves consideration of potential loss or cost and gains or benefits. Had any of the women thought carefully and made the right decision based on this construct at the precontemplation stage, the outcome would have been different.

Transtheoretical Model Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of Behavior Change would be most appropriate for addressing the concern of rising HIV rates among African-American women, because it is the dominant model of health behavior change. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2007), the HIV issue affecting the African-American women is related to lifestyle choices. African-American women are more than 10 times more likely to be infected with the HIV virus. Data suggest that the leading cause of infection is unprotected sexual intercourse. The Transtheoretical Model invoves a change process through stages.

The first one is precontemplation, where one is not willing to take action and is not aware of the problems associated with the behavior. Then contemplation, where one recognizes the problems with their behavior, weighing the pros and the cons. Preparation stage is where one is ready to take action. Then action, where one aquires new behavior, then maintenance, where one sustains the behavior and finally termination, where one cannot be tempted or a no return stage. HIV / AIDS among African-American women.

According to a survey conducted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC 2007), of all the races in the United States of America, African-Americans have the highest number of HIV and Aids related infections. The African-Americans account for almost 50% of the newly detected cases in the country. The African-American women are the most vulnerable as their infection rate is 19 times that of their counterparts from other races. HIV transmission and infection rate among African-American women is rising steadily.

According to Samuel (2009) failure to use protection during sexual intercourse has been singled out as a major risk factor in the transmision of the virus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009), reports that 85% of African-American women with HIV were infected through heterosexual sex. Lack of awareness has been cited as the major reason for this trend, it is approximated that 1 out 5 adults in the United States are not aware of their HIV status (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009). Late diagnosis is another issue of.