I believe that one of the fastest growing areas in health promotion is health behavior. Researchers are searching for answers as to what motivates some people to engage in a healthy lifestyle while other people continue to lead an unhealthy lifestyle. In a recent editorial in the American Journal of Health Behavior, health behavior was defined as the core of why people behave as they do and ultimately attempts to explain the multifaceted phenomena of human behavior.

A general health behavior curriculum should include topics related to stress management, smoking cessation, and coping strategies. Other areas could include substance abuse reduction, proper medication usage, spirituality, proper sleep habits, and good hygiene. These components should focus on disability-related issues. For example, many stroke survivors continue to smoke and, therefore, need a strong unit on smoking cessation strategies. People with Down syndrome have a very low incidence of smoking but may have other pressing needs such as proper dental hygiene. People with spina bifida and spinal cord injury may need instruction in the prevention of pressure sores. Many people with disabilities need a better understanding of medication management.

Teaching coping strategies is an important area of health behavior. Many survivors of stroke, for example, struggle with depression, which is often related to the loss of their job, spouse, or mobility. Rimmer and Hedman have noted that many survivors of stroke are overly sensitive about their paralysis and slow gait, which they often perceive as an annoyance to their friends, family, and society. Moving slowly through a mall or supermarket appears in their minds to be a burden to the people around them. A health behavior unit should address these issues because a poor mental health status could undermine the success of a health promotion program.