The Effect among Older Persons of a General Preventive Visit on Three Health Behaviors: Smoking, Excessive Alcohol Drinking, and Sedentary Lifestyle

Abstract

This study demonstrates the difficulty of bringing about health behavior change in older patients in the course of a yearly preventive visit for 2 years with their primary care physician when the visit encompasses screening and immunizations, as well as health behavior counseling directed by the physician. Further study is required to determine whether a more intense program of counseling for health behavior change among older persons by their primary care providers would be effective.