Health Psychology, 2nd Edition

SUMMARY

Planning behaviour change interventions requires precise identification of change
objectives and theorizing of regulatory mechanisms. This allows selection of well-
specified change techniques targeting relevant change processes. Elicitation research
and co-development with intervention recipients and those who will deliver the
intervention is critical to the design process. Behaviour change interventions may target
both reflective and impulsive processes or both. Interventions may be simple (e.g.
teaching specific action planning using if-then formats) or complex including many
techniques and delivery methods. Evaluation is critical to knowing whether an
intervention is or is not effective. Outcome, process and economic evaluations are
important to identification of interventions capable to improving public health.
Meta-analytic reviews can help intervention designers select change techniques and
delivery methods but the results of such studies must be interpreted with caution. Those
delivering the intervention are important to effectiveness both in their relation to
recipients and their competence to deliver with fidelity.

SAMPLE GROUP EXERCISES (E.G. OVER TWO CLASS SESSIONS)

• Choose a health behaviour pattern (e.g. increasing physical activity) and design
  an evidence-based intervention to promote this behaviour among a specific target
  group.


• Draft a plan on how to intervene to enhance fitness among employees in a desk-
  based organization. Identify the defining features of your intervention (see Table
  9.1) and draw upon intervention mapping procedures.


• Select a set of (e.g. 10) published intervention evaluations and try to identify the
  change techniques and delivery methods they employ.


• Select a set of (e.g. 10) published intervention evaluations and assess them in terms
  of the quality of evaluation and RE-AIM criteria (reach, effectiveness, adoption,
  implementation, maintenance). On the basis of your analysis, how useful do you
  think each is in terms of improving health or health care practice?

SAMPLE ESSAY TITLES

• How can health psychology inform the design of health promotion campaigns?


• What works in health behaviour change interventions? Discuss with reference to
  empirical research.

224 MOTIVATION AND BEHAVIOUR

• Targeted change
  mechanisms or
  processes
  
  
  • Taxonomies of
    intervention content
    characteristics
    
    
    • Thought suppression
    
    
    • Time management