ASSIGNMENT 2: Essay
Written Assessment: You are required to write a formal academic essay. The essay will require an
introduction, body, conclusion and reference list. All in-text citations must have a corresponding entry
in the reference list. You are required to use APA (7th ed.) referencing for your essay, citing evidence
in your essay and constructing your reference list.
Weighting: 40%
Length and/or format: 1500 +/- 10%
Purpose: The aim of this essay is to enable students to demonstrate an
understanding of and ability to apply the Transtheoretical Model of
Change (Stages of Change Model) within an evidence-based
framework.
In addition to this, students will identify components of
Motivational Interviewing and therapeutic communication which
could be utilised to assist with enabling a patient to change their
health behaviours.
Learning outcomes assessed: This assessment task assesses LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
How to submit: Students will submit their assessment to LEO via Turnitin. You
should submit your final draft to Turnitin well in advance of the
due date (ideally, several days before) to ensure that you get your
Turnitin originality report and have time to work on any issues
identified by Turnitin
Return of assignment: The assignment will be returned via Turnitin on LEO with a grade
and feedback summary.
Assessment criteria: Students will receive a score out of 100% - see rubric Appendix A
Task: Claudia is a 20-year-old female in her second year of an exercise physiology degree at
university. Claudia has an appointment at the campus medical centre as she is wanting to reduce her
alcohol intake as she has just found out she is pregnant. Claudia states she has been drinking ‘way
too much alcohol and blacking out’ and she often cannot remember what happened the night before.
She has a long-term boyfriend and now that she is aware that she is pregnant, she is concerned about
her drinking habits. The health care professional (HCP) decides that Claudia is in the preparation
stage (Stage 3) of the transtheoretical model of change. The HCP will need to build a relationship
through therapeutic communication and utilise Motivational Interviewing to progress Claudia through
the stages of change towards stage 5, Maintenance.
You will need to;
a) Identify which stage of Erikson’s psychosocial stage of development Claudia is in (with
rationale for your choice) and describe why she may be behaving in this way.
b) Identify one key element of the Spirit of MI and describe how the HCP will use this to
elicit Claudia’s reasons for wanting to change
c) Describe the Motivational Interviewing techniques the HCP will use to assist and support
Claudia to the Action Stage (with reference to her alcohol use) and to work towards the
Maintenance Stage.
d) Outline what new behaviours Claudia would need to engage in to be successful in the
Action Stage and to achieve improved health outcomes long term and to reach
Maintenance.
e) Outline how resilience will play a role in Claudia’s quest to reduce her alcohol intake
You need to utilise evidenced based literature to support your discussion. For the purposes of this
paper, while seminal work (early literature) may be referenced, contemporary literature is a
requirement. At least fifteen (15) credible and relevant references are required in this essay, and
most should be research articles (reflecting the higher levels of evidence).