Tacit working models of human behavioural change II: Farmers' folk theories of conservation programme design.
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SUBMITTER: Root-Bernstein M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7413968 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Transgender rights and discrimination against transgender people are growing public policy issues. Theorizing from social, cognitive, and evolutionary psychology suggests that beyond attitudes, discrimination against transgender people may derive from folk theories about what gender is and where it comes from. Transgender identity is met with hostility, in part, because it poses a challenge to the lay view that gender is determined at birth, and based on observable physical and behavioral characteristics. Here, in two pre-registered studies (N = 1323), we asked American adults to indicate the gender of a transgender target who either altered their biology through surgical interventions or altered their outward appearance: to what extent is it their birth-assigned gender or their self-identified gender? Responses correlate strongly with affect toward transgender people, measured by feeling thermometers, yet predict views on transgender people's right to use their preferred bathrooms above and beyond feelings. Compared to male participants, female participants judge the person's gender more in line with the self-identified gender than the birth-assigned gender. This is consistent with social and psychological theories that posit high status (e.g., men) and low status (e.g., women) members of social classification systems view group hierarchies in more and less essentialist ways respectively. Gender differences in gender category beliefs decrease with religiosity and conservatism, and are smaller in higher age groups. These results suggest that folk theories of gender, or beliefs about what gender is and how it is determined have a unique role in how transgender people are viewed and treated. Moreover, as evident by the demographic variability of gender category beliefs, folk theories are shaped by social and cultural forces and are amenable to interventions. They offer an alternative pathway to measure policy support and possibly change attitude toward transgender people.
| S-EPMC6936834 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Nasal microbiota composition dynamics after occupational change in animal farmers suggest major shifts
| PRJEB39411 | ENA
Project description:Risky alcohol use is a major public health problem globally and in Sri Lanka. While a reduction in alcohol consumption can result in physical, mental, and social benefits, behaviour change is difficult to achieve. Effective, context-adapted interventions are required to minimise alcohol-related harm at a community level. THEATRE is a complex, community-based intervention evaluating whether a promising Sri Lankan pilot study that utilised arts-based research to moderate alcohol use can be scaled up. While the scaled-up pilot study protocol is presented elsewhere, the aim of this protocol paper is to describe the intervention programme theory and evaluation design, and modifications made to the study resulting from COVID-19 and the financial crisis. Drawing on the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) and Theoretical Domains Framework, behaviour change theories are presented with potential pathways to guide implementation and evaluation. Alcohol consumption patterns and context of drinking is detailed. The multifaceted intervention targets individuals and communities using arts-based interventions. Four of nine BCW functions are employed in the design of the intervention: education, persuasion, modelling and enablement, and training. Modifications made to the study due to COVID-19 and the financial crisis are described. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka (ERC/2018/21-July 2018 and Feb 2022) and the University of Sydney (2019/006). Findings will be disseminated locally to community members and key stakeholders and via international peer-reviewed publications.
| S-EPMC10795635 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundDigital health interventions are increasingly being designed to support health behaviors. Although digital health interventions informed by behavioral science theories, models, and frameworks (TMFs) are more likely to be effective than those designed without them, design teams often struggle to use these evidence-informed tools. Until now, little work has been done to clarify the ways in which behavioral science TMFs can add value to digital health design.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to better understand how digital health design leaders select and use TMFs in design practice. The questions that were addressed included how do design leaders perceive the value of TMFs in digital health design, what considerations do design leaders make when selecting and applying TMFs, and what do design leaders think is needed in the future to advance the utility of TMFs in digital health design?MethodsThis study used a qualitative description design to understand the experiences and perspectives of digital health design leaders. The participants were identified through purposive and snowball sampling. Semistructured interviews were conducted via Zoom software. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed using Otter.ai software. Furthermore, 3 researchers coded a sample of interview transcripts and confirmed the coding strategy. One researcher completed the qualitative analysis using a codebook thematic analysis approach.ResultsDesign leaders had mixed opinions on the value of behavioral science TMFs in digital health design. Leaders suggested that TMFs added the most value when viewed as a starting point rather than the final destination for evidence-informed design. Specifically, these tools added value when they acted as a gateway drug to behavioral science, supported health behavior conceptualization, were balanced with expert knowledge and user-centered design principles, were complementary to existing design methods, and supported both individual- and systems-level thinking. Design leaders also felt that there was a considerable nuance in selecting the most value-adding TMFs. Considerations should be made regarding their source, appropriateness, complexity, accessibility, adaptability, evidence base, purpose, influence, audience, fit with team expertise, fit with team culture, and fit with external pressures. Design leaders suggested multiple opportunities to advance the use of TMFs. These included improving TMF reporting, design, and accessibility, as well as improving design teams' capacity to use TMFs appropriately in practice.ConclusionsWhen designing a digital health behavior change intervention, using TMFs can help design teams to systematically integrate behavioral insights. The future of digital health behavior change design demands an easier way for designers to integrate evidence-based TMFs into practice.
| S-EPMC10131681 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeTo describe the approach used by a physiotherapist who led a rehabilitation programme for injured members of the military with chronic low back pain designed to enhance self-efficacy and self-management skills.MethodThis in-depth qualitative study used audio- and video-recorded data from interviews and field observations. Using an inductive analysis process, discussion of emerging themes led to a description of the physiotherapist's approach.ResultsThe approach has three elements: developing a trusting relationship through building rapport, establishing a need in patients' minds to be actively engaged in their rehabilitation, and finding workable rehabilitation solutions that are most likely to be adopted by individual patients. This approach fits into current theories about health behaviour change (e.g., Transtheoretical Model of Change, Motivational Interviewing, Motivational Model of Patient Self-Management and Patient Self-Management) and elements of the therapeutic alliance. Using the therapeutic alliance (rapport) and behaviour change techniques, the physiotherapist focused on the perceived importance of a behaviour change (need) and then shifted to the patient's self-efficacy in the solutions phase.ConclusionsIf we recognize that rehabilitation requires patients to adopt new behaviours, becoming aware of psychological techniques that enhance behaviour change could improve treatment outcomes.
| S-EPMC3941138 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundHealthcare-associated infections affect 10% of patients in Canadian acute-care hospitals and are significant and preventable causes of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients. Hand hygiene is among the simplest and most effective preventive measures to reduce these infections. However, compliance with hand hygiene among healthcare workers, specifically among physicians, is consistently suboptimal. We aim to first identify the barriers and enablers to physician hand hygiene compliance, and then to develop and pilot a theory-based knowledge translation intervention to increase physicians' compliance with best hand hygiene practice.DesignThe study consists of three phases. In Phase 1, we will identify barriers and enablers to hand hygiene compliance by physicians. This will include: key informant interviews with physicians and residents using a structured interview guide, informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework; nonparticipant observation of physician/resident hand hygiene audit sessions; and focus groups with hand hygiene experts. In Phase 2, we will conduct intervention mapping to develop a theory-based knowledge translation intervention to improve physician hand hygiene compliance. Finally, in Phase 3, we will pilot the knowledge translation intervention in four patient care units.DiscussionIn this study, we will use a behavioural theory approach to obtain a better understanding of the barriers and enablers to physician hand hygiene compliance. This will provide a comprehensive framework on which to develop knowledge translation interventions that may be more successful in improving hand hygiene practice. Upon completion of this study, we will refine the piloted knowledge translation intervention so it can be tested in a multi-site cluster randomized controlled trial.
| S-EPMC3571966 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo determine if the characteristics of behavioural weight loss programmes influence the rate of change in weight after the end of the programme.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.Data sourcesTrial registries, 11 electronic databases, and forward citation searching (from database inception; latest search December 2019). Randomised trials of behavioural weight loss programmes in adults with overweight or obesity, reporting outcomes at ≥12 months, including at the end of the programme and after the end of the programme.Review methodsStudies were screened by two independent reviewers with discrepancies resolved by discussion. 5% of the studies identified in the searches met the inclusion criteria. One reviewer extracted the data and a second reviewer checked the data. Risk of bias was assessed with Cochrane's risk of bias tool (version 1). The rate of change in weight was calculated (kg/month; converted to kg/year for interpretability) after the end of the programme in the intervention versus control groups by a mixed model with a random intercept. Associations between the rate of change in weight and prespecified variables were tested.ResultsData were analysed from 249 trials (n=59 081) with a mean length of follow-up of two years (longest 30 years). 56% of studies (n=140) had an unclear risk of bias, 21% (n=52) a low risk, and 23% (n=57) a high risk of bias. Regain in weight was faster in the intervention versus the no intervention control groups (0.12-0.32 kg/year) but the difference between groups was maintained for at least five years. Each kilogram of weight lost at the end of the programme was associated with faster regain in weight at a rate of 0.13-0.19 kg/year. Financial incentives for weight loss were associated with faster regain in weight at a rate of 1-1.5 kg/year. Compared with programmes with no meal replacements, interventions involving partial meal replacements were associated with faster regain in weight but not after adjustment for weight loss during the programme. Access to the programme outside of the study was associated with slower regain in weight. Programmes where the intensity of the interaction reduced gradually were also associated with slower regain in weight in the multivariable analysis, although the point estimate suggested that the association was small. Other characteristics did not explain the heterogeneity in regain in weight.ConclusionFaster regain in weight after weight loss was associated with greater initial weight loss, but greater initial weight loss was still associated with reduced weight for at least five years after the end of the programme, after which data were limited. Continued availability of the programme to participants outside of the study predicted a slower regain in weight, and provision of financial incentives predicted faster regain in weight; no other clear associations were found.Study registrationPROSPERO CRD42018105744.
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Project description:To be suitable for informing digital behavior change interventions, theories and models of behavior change need to capture individual variation and changes over time. The aim of this paper is to provide recommendations for development of models and theories that are informed by, and can inform, digital behavior change interventions based on discussions by international experts, including behavioral, computer, and health scientists and engineers. The proposed framework stipulates the use of a state-space representation to define when, where, for whom, and in what state for that person, an intervention will produce a targeted effect. The "state" is that of the individual based on multiple variables that define the "space" when a mechanism of action may produce the effect. A state-space representation can be used to help guide theorizing and identify crossdisciplinary methodologic strategies for improving measurement, experimental design, and analysis that can feasibly match the complexity of real-world behavior change via digital behavior change interventions.
| S-EPMC5506832 | biostudies-literature
Project description:What theories or concepts are most useful at explaining socio technical change? How can - or cannot - these be integrated? To provide an answer, this study presents the results from 35 semi-structured research interviews with social science experts who also shared more than two hundred articles, reports and books on the topic of the acceptance, adoption, use, or diffusion of technology. This material led to the identification of 96 theories and conceptual approaches spanning 22 identified disciplines. The article begins by explaining its research terms and methods before honing in on a combination of fourteen theories deemed most relevant and useful by the material. These are: Sociotechnical Transitions, Social Practice Theory, Discourse Theory, Domestication Theory, Large Technical Systems, Social Construction of Technology, Sociotechnical Imaginaries, Actor-Network Theory, Social Justice Theory, Sociology of Expectations, Sustainable Development, Values Beliefs Norms Theory, Lifestyle Theory, and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. It then positions these theories in terms of two distinct typologies. Theories can be placed into five general categories of being centered on agency, structure, meaning, relations or norms. They can also be classified based on their assumptions and goals rooted in functionalism, interpretivism, humanism or conflict. The article lays out tips for research methodology before concluding with insights about technology itself, analytical processes associated with technology, and the framing and communication of results. An interdisciplinary theoretical and conceptual inventory has much to offer students, analysts and scholars wanting to study technological change and society.
| S-EPMC5648049 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In a paper titled "Responsive feedback: Towards a new paradigm to enhance intervention effectiveness", Viswanath et al. argue that dominant models of intervention design do not account for the complexity and unpredictability of implementation challenges. Particularly in the behavioural sciences, intervention designs need to consider many factors that will be uncertain, or unknown, at the beginning of a new project. This letter describes how we were able to respond to feedback during the design phase of a proof-of-concept project to create a digital service business for Nigerian patent and proprietary medicine vendors (PPMVs). Our approach was to create an initial 'Theory of Change' (ToC) based on a similar project with Kenyan shopkeepers. This ToC was revised following user feedback and a landscape analysis with key stakeholders. The new ToC required us to access additional funding to create a 'digital ordering' facility for the PPMVs. Digital ordering provides a mechanism whereby we can reduce the prevalence of counterfeit medicines, offer the PPMVs credit and group-buying facilities, and reduce supply chain costs through co-distribution with fast-moving consumer goods. An important learning point was that while our focus was on designing a platform to meet users' needs, changes in regulation meant that we spent considerably more time than anticipated meeting the needs of multiple stakeholders. However, the importance of ensuring stakeholders' continued buy-in cannot be underestimated and has likely increased the sustainability of the project in the longer term. As Viswanath et al. suggest, for responsive approaches to be widely adopted needs more flexibility than exists in current funding models and project plans. Both funding bodies and grantees will need to be more responsive to feedback coming from the field.
| S-EPMC6993493 | biostudies-literature