Beyond individual cognitions: time for intervention science to focus on health context and audience
Intervention science faces a hazardous paradox: on the one hand, vulnerable populations (eg, patients, people from low socioeconomic background, older adults) are those for whom adoption of healthy behaviors is most urgent; on the other hand, behavior change models are less predictive, and intervent...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Jun 2023
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| In: |
Journal of physical activity and health
Year: 2023, Volume: 20, Issue: 6, Pages: 465-470 |
| ISSN: | 1543-5474 |
| DOI: | 10.1123/jpah.2023-0072 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2023-0072 Verlag, lizenzpflichtig, Volltext: https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jpah/20/6/article-p465.xml 
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| Author Notes: | Aïna Chalabaev, Boris Cheval, Silvio Maltagliati, Ilyes Saoudi, and Falko F. Sniehotta |
| Summary: | Intervention science faces a hazardous paradox: on the one hand, vulnerable populations (eg, patients, people from low socioeconomic background, older adults) are those for whom adoption of healthy behaviors is most urgent; on the other hand, behavior change models are less predictive, and interventions less successful, in these populations. This commentary presents 4 reasons that may explain this issue: (1) research mostly focuses on what causes behavior and how to change it, at the expense of investigating among whom and under what conditions models are valid; (2) models put an undue emphasis on individual cognitions; (3) most studies are not conducted on vulnerable populations; and (4) most researchers are from high-income countries. Several avenues are proposed to address this issue: (1) providing a central place to the context and audience in health behavior change modelization, through collaborations with researchers from other disciplines and countries, and with members of the targeted audience; (2) better reporting samples’ sociodemographic characteristics and increasing samples’ diversity; and (3) using more rigorous and innovative designs (eg, powered randomized controlled trials, N-of-1 trials, intensive longitudinal studies). In conclusion, it becomes urgent to change the way we do research: the social utility and credibility of intervention science depend on it. |
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| Item Description: | Online veröffentlich: 19. April 2023 Gesehen am 25.06.2024 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1543-5474 |
| DOI: | 10.1123/jpah.2023-0072 |