Interventions for Health Behaviour Change

Many major health issues are influenced by human behaviours. For instance, many chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cancers are influenced by a person’s diet and physical activity, and the quality of social relations. But also behaviours of other actors may influence health outcomes. Think of the use of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine, which influences public health through antimicrobial resistance. Consequently, behaviour change is an important target for interventions to address these issues. In this course you learn how to systematically develop interventions to create behaviour change, using the Intervention Mapping framework. By doing so, you will learn to identify the factors that and shape behaviour in terms of behavioural and environmental determinants; to formulate intervention outcomes and objectives; to match thee objectives to theory-based intervention methods; and translate them into practical applications. You will also learn about the importance of planning the implementation of interventions, and how to evaluate the effectiveness of health interventions.

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:

• Use behavioural theory to explain the nature of Health-related behaviours of different actors
• Carry out an analysis of the behavioural origins of Health issues
• State intervention outcomes and objectives
• Identify the most suitable theory-based intervention methods and practical applications for specific intervention targets
• Make a plan for the adoption, implementation and sustainability of interventions
• Make an evaluation plan

Assumed Knowledge:
CPT12306 Introduction Communication Science and MCB10806 Social Psychology.