Health Coaching, Motivational Interviewing, and Behavior Change in Women's Health

168The healthcare provider has an important and unique role in helping patients toward medication adherence, when lifestyle is the medicine, and the provider–patient interaction is a key starting point. Through the lens of self-regulation, this chapter provides a foundation and framework for a growing toolbox of behavior change strategies in women’s health for the healthcare provider to assist patients in the adoption of lifestyle prescriptions. This chapter is organized around three major sections: basic, specific, and advanced behavioral strategies. Basic behavioral strategies are those concepts that have an established evidence base for behavior change in the general patient population, and should be in every healthcare provider’s behavioral strategy toolbox. Specific behavioral strategies are those approaches that are more specific to the individualized barriers and opportunities within women’s health, highlighted across pregnancy, menopause, and cancer survivorship. Advanced behavioral strategies are those strategies that bring a behaviorally focused healthcare approach to another level, including motivational interviewing, health coaching, group visits, and team-based approaches.