The Steps Program recognizes that health is the product of multiple levels of influence.  Steps uses the Socio-Ecological Model in its programming; the model looks at all factors that influence an individual’s behavior including the individual, interpersonal relationships such as family and friends, organizational elements such as social institutions, the community, and public policy.

Individuals are ultimately responsible for the lifestyles choices they make related to health.  However, the systems that surround the individual impact and determine his or her behavior choices. 

For this reason, the Steps Program works with community, school, workplace and healthcare settings.  By focusing on these settings, Steps programs focus on the many levels of influence on an individual’s health. 

• Health care systems are aware that chronic diseases continue to drive up health care costs and increase the number of individuals without health insurance.  For this reason, doctors and clinics are interested in helping their patients prevent chronic disease or decrease the complications of an already existing chronic disease.

• Steps works within healthcare settings to offer both patients and health care providers tools to help decrease the risk of obesity, diabetes and asthma as well as prevent complications from these diseases.