Using the ASSIST Model to Improve Health and Wellness Adherence and Outcomes

There appears to be an assumption that when a medical professional tells patients they need to exercise, eat right, reduce stress, improve sleep, stop smoking, or somehow generally improve their health habits, these patients have the knowledge and skills to adhere to this instruction. In fact, most people do not have the knowledge, skills, and experience to carry out such a complex behavioral change [1, 2]. Proper guidance from a multidisciplinary team of health and wellness professionals, however, can create a bridge that leads to the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve behavior change. In addition, this type of change can be even more difficult in lower-income, underserved populations [3]. People who fall into this category typically do not have the resources (professional guidance, medication, physical therapy, counseling, etc.) to make healthy changes [3]. It is this gap between information and behavior change that may prevent many people from starting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Recently, Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas has implemented a university-housed wellness program that uses the basic humanistic principles of guidance, support, compassion, and perseverance to successfully help individuals with a lower income make important health changes in their lives. The model used for this program is called ASSIST (Affordable, Social Support, Structure, Integration, Screening, and Time), and has been quite successful in helping people adhere to their programs and improve their health and quality of life.