A tailored behavioral intervention to promote adherence to the DASH diet

Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the effects of a Transtheoretical model (TTM)-based tailored behavioral intervention (TBI), a non-tailored intervention (NTI) or usual care (UC) on: (1) the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) dietary pattern in 533 individuals with uncontrolled hypertension; and (2) the change from baseline to 6 months in proportion of participants in action or maintenance stages of change (SOC). Methods: This was a randomized clinical trial. Diet was evaluated using the validated Harvard DASH score calculated from Willett Food Frequency Questionnaires (range 8-40). The randomized groups were compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, with adjustment for clustering by physician and baseline DASH scores. Results: At 6 months, compared to UC, TBI had a 1.28 point increase in DASH score (p ≤ .01) while NTI was not significant. At 6- month follow-up, TBI was more effective in advancing dietary SOC when compared to UC (56% vs 43%, p < .01) and NTI was not effective (46% vs 43%, p = .64). Conclusions: A phone-delivered tailored TTM-based intervention achieved greater improvement in DASH score and dietary SOC, suggesting that TTM-based tailored interventions can increase patients’ dietary adherence.