The self-care motivation model: theory and practice in healthy human development.

Effective health education and behavior motivation programs are needed to promote the compliance of children and young adults with preventive health care practices. Health promotion and primary prevention programs must consider the entire individual as well as his or her environment if positive behavior changes are to be maintained. This paper introduces an innovative model for self-care motivation curriculum development. The model prescribes the use of value clarification, enhanced physical/cognitive/affective awareness, positive lifestyle choices, and self-reinforcement skills training whereby individuals learn to become self-motivated and reinforcing agents for their own primary preventive health practices. It is theorized that by developing self-care and self-regulation skills, students will achieve and maintain higher levels of wellness, thus improving the quality of their lives and ensuring healthy human development.