Stages of Change

The Stages of Change model describes five stages of readiness (Figure 5) - pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance - and provides a framework for understanding behavior change (DiClemente and Prochaska, 1998). A patient can experience relapse in behaviors at any point in the stages of change, this is a normal part of making behavior changes. This is important for RDs to keep in mind, and remember that we may need to change strategies again when a patient relapses or revisit a strategy we used before.