Techniques of Behaviour Change

Question 1

What is health behaviour?

Answer 1

“Any activity undertaken by an individual believing himself to be healthy, for the purpose of preventing disease or detecting it at an asymptomatic stage” - Kasl and Cobb

Question 2

What are behaviour change techniques?

Answer 2

a systematic strategy used in an attempt to change behaviour

e. g
- Providing information on consequences
- Prompting specific goal setting
- Prompting barrier identification
- Modelling the behaviour
- Planning social support

Question 3

What are behavioural change taxonomy clusters?

Answer 3

1. goals and planning
2. feedback and monitoring
3. social support
4. shaping knowledge
5. natural consequences
6. comparison behaviour
7. associations
8. repetition and substitutions
9. comparison of outcomes
10. reward and threat
11. regulation
12. antecedents
13. identity
14. scheduled consequences
15. self-belief
16. covert learning

Question 4

How doe we chose a BCT?

Answer 4

1. Behavioural target specification
2. Behavioural diagnosis
3. Intervention strategy selection
4. Implementation strategy selection
5. Selection of specific BCTs

Question 5

What are the features of self-monitoring?

Answer 5

• An individual keeping a record of target behaviours
• Additional information recorded can help to identify barriers e.g. mood, weather
• Time-consuming over the long term

Question 6

What is motivational interviewing?

Answer 6

a person-centred counselling style for addressing the common problem of ambivalence about change

Question 7

What are implementation intentions?

Answer 7

action plans - request an individual to think about critical situations to act and appropriate responses within those situations

Question 8

What are the features of incentives?

Answer 8

• Cost-effective
• Raise awareness
• Bring individuals into contact with health services allowing earlier screening and treatment of illness
• Can be effective in changing health and clinical behaviours, thus preventing disease and reducing costs associated with disease

Question 9

What are the limitations of reinforcement programmes?

Answer 9

• Lack of generalization (only affects behaviour regarding the specific trait that is being rewarded).
• Poor maintenance (rapid extinction of the desired behaviour once the reinforcer disappears)
• Impractical and expensive

Question 10

Is it better to change multiple behaviours at one time?

Answer 10

Targeting multiple behaviours at the same time may lead to greater overall change but sub-additivity is an issue

Question 11

Does tailoring educational materials to individual result in larger changes?

Answer 11

Yes – small benefit on effectiveness of behavioural interventions (review of 57 studies)