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Running head: RISK REDUCTION

Risk Reduction
Amanda McKellar
Ferris State University

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Risk Reduction
Many factors go into the level of ones health. With all of the unpleasant opportunities in
the world, many people struggle with staying on track to being healthy. Some of these
distractions are smoking, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, stress and anxiety. All of these
practices affect the health negatively. Things that positively affect ones health are a balanced
diet, regular exercise, staying away from harmful chemicals and stress management. To
determine AJs level of health, she completed The RealAge test. This test includes all kinds of
question to give an estimate of ones real age based off their health practices. After the test is
completed, the results are given in terms of health, diet, feelings and fitness (Roizen & Oz,
2014). Throughout the rest of this paper, I will discuss AJs RealAge results using the ADPIE
(assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation) format.
Assessment & Diagnosis
AJ completed her real age test on June 17th. Her actual age is 26.4 years old but the test
estimated her age at 31.7 years old. AJ is doing well with her sleeping schedule, appreciating her
mate, staying in touch with friends, keeping on top of stress, keeping finances in order, staying
positive, maintaining her sense of purpose, eating fish, and completing cardio and walking
exercises. In terms of the RealAge test, these practices will continue to make AJ younger and
healthier.
AJ also answered questions that indicate she is right on track in her life. These answers
are neither good nor bad. Ideally, these answers should be worked on to turn them into answers
that are improving her health. Some of these things were: get cholesterol checked, keep passing
on aspirin, keep avoiding sunburns, and hugging her dog.

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On the other end of the spectrum, AJ had many answers that are or will become health
concerns in her life. These negative aspects were: shed extra weight, become a former smoker,
have more satisfying sex, have a healthy morning meal, eat more grains, have some fruit, vary
your veggies, eat more nuts, go easy on the junk food, go easy on red meat, start taking vitamin
D, and tighten and toning. As you can notice, there are many more categories on the negative
side than the positive side. This is an indication that AJ has a lot of area for improvement to work
on to make her younger according to the real age test.
The biggest risks to AJs health are her weight and smoking habits. According to the
RealAge test (2014), not only do you age yourself with your smoke, but you also age those
around you. AJ has a child, so this smoke is without a doubt affecting others around her.
Smoking causes serious damage to much more than just your lungs and blood vessels, so the
sooner you can kick the habit, the better. And get this: Even on the very first day you stop, your
body will start reversing the smoke-related aging that's making your RealAge older (RealAge,
2014). AJ must get on top of handling this problem. Below, I will share my plan proposed with
AJ with intentions of her smoking cessation.
Smoking carries huge risks to ones health. According to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, smoking causes asthma, Buergers disease, cancer, chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, diabetes, heart disease and stroke (2013).
Wellness Diagnoses
Health seeking behavior is defined as the state in which a patient in stable health is
actively seeking ways to alter personal health habits and/or the environment in order to move
toward a higher level of health (Martucci & Gulanick). AJ is seeking health behavior because

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she has realized that some of her decisions are negatively affecting her life and those around her.
After realizing this, she made the decision to make improvements in her health.

AJ is ready for smoking cessation because I explained to her, in depth, all of the possible
consequences of what smoking can do to her body. She was appalled at all of the negativity
associated with her decisions.
Planning & Intervention
Several interventions are available for smoking cessation such as: advise smokers to quit,
refer to a specialist, nicotine replacement therapy, and cessation support groups. I formulated two
SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, and realistically-time-bound) goals to assist AJ in
quitting. The best ways for AJ to quit are to use nicotine replacement therapy and attend a
support group participating in her same struggle.
My first and foremost intervention is going to be education. I need to teach AJ about all
of the detrimental consequences for her, her husband, and their young child. I can talk about the
changing of cells in her body and the great increased risk of lung cancer. I will also tell her about
how second hand smoke is affecting her small child. In this education section, I will explain how
to use nicotine replacement therapy to aid in her quitting. And I will offer the possibility of
attending support groups to have assistance and relatable peers.
For therapeutic goals, I will explain to AJ the benefits of stress management and coping
skills. I can help her to find another way to better understand why she is smoking and teach her
safe alternatives. Some of these things could be deep breathing or vigorous exercise.

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In order to keep track of AJs progress, I will tell her to keep a log of her smoking and the
alternatives used. Our goal will be to wean her off of smoking by one cigarette a day until she
has ceased completely. With this goal in mind, we hope to have her weaned off of them by the
end of two weeks. This leaves a small amount of room for error in the event that she begins to
struggle.
Transtheoretical Model
The Transtheoretical Model is an integrative, biopsychosocial model to conceptualize the
process of intentional behavioral change (The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change). In
other words, the model shows where the person is at with their intention to change. AJ is in the
contemplation stage of change because she is now aware that her behaviors very negatively
affect her health and also those around her. In the contemplation stage, the person realizes that
they need to change and move on toward planning how this change will take effect. The next
step in the process is preparation. After preparation, the actions begin. When the actions are
complete, the person must maintain their progress.
Evaluation
Throughout the struggle, AJ managed to come out on top. She had a lot of trouble with
the struggle because cigarettes are so addicting. She kept her eyes on the goal and continued to
work as hard as she possibly could to maintain her progress. She was able to quit smoking within
the two week allotted time period. Now the hard part will be to maintain the accomplishment by
staying away from tobacco and nicotine. It would be most helpful for her to keep away from any
friends that have the bad habits like smoking that could cause her to relapse. She seems to

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maintain a positive attitude and has a very supportive family to encourage her to stay on the
straight and narrow path to improving her health.

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References
Martucci, S., & Gulanick, M. (n.d.). Health-Seeking Behaviors: Health Promotion; Lifestyle
Management; Health Education; Patient Education. In Elsevier. Retrieved from
http://www1.us.elsevierhealth.com/MERLIN/Gulanick/archive/Constructor/gulanick27.ht
ml
Raw, M., McNiell, A., & West, R. (1998). Smoking Cessation Guidelines for Health
Professionals-A guide to effective smoking cessation interventions for the health care
system. BMJ, 53, 183-190.
Roizen, M. and Oz, M. (2014). RealAge. Retrieved from http://www.realage.com.
The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change. (n.d.). In The Habits Lab at UMBC. Retrieved
from http://www.umbc.edu/psyc/habits/content/the_model/
Tips From Former Smokers. (2013, March 27). In Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/diseases/

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Appendix A

AJ,
Based off of your answers related to the RealAge assessment, it appeared as though you had a
smoking problem. Through our efforts together, I am pleased to see that you came out on the
good end of things before your life was seriously affected. Using deep breathing exercises and
cleaning the house when stressed appeared to have been successful in your struggle. The only
advice I have for you is to keep your distance from people that may bring you down and
incidentally cause you to start smoking again. I hope that you continue to maintain your progress
throughout life for the health of you and your family.

Best wishes,
Amanda

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Appendix B
AJ also showed dietary insufficiencies. After thinking about it, I decided to include healthy
snacking in relation to her smoking cessation to fulfill the hand to mouth phenomena that
many smokers that are struggling to quit speak of. AJ kept a record of one weeks worth of
healthy snacking.

Day 1: Carrot sticks

Day 2: Strawberries
Day 3: Celery and peanut butter
Day 4: Apple slices
Day 5: Cauliflower and dip
Day 6: Watermelon
Day 7: Grapes

If AJ continues to practice these behaviors, not only will she maintain her smoking cessation, but
she will begin to shed the extra pounds that she is carrying around too.