Using theoretical frameworks of behaviour to understand and improve health care delivery

PhD ThesisThe development of new knowledge about patient care continues to progress at an ever-increasing rate but its transfer into clinical practice can be slow and unpredictable. This doctoral statement provides a critical overview of a substantial programme of work that has explored the utility of theoretical models of behaviour for promoting the uptake of research findings into routine care. Guided by the MRC Framework for the design and evaluation of complex interventions, the supporting publications describe the development and testing of an innovative and systematic approach to intervention design. As well as providing methods for identifying and applying behavioural theory, this work has also set standards for transparency in the intervention development processes. The work demonstrates that psychological theories of behaviour do have an important function for improving healthcare delivery by supporting clinical behaviour change, but important limitations remain. In my critical reflection of this body of work I discuss these challenges, considering in particular the omission of the patient perspective and the dynamic influence of the patient-professional interaction during the clinical encounter. I go on to propose an extended dual-perspective model supported by theory and evidence from other improvement literatures, epistemologies and disciplinary perspectives. The dual perspective model functions at the very core of healthcare delivery and illustrates the interdependency of professional and patient behaviour in determining healthcare decision making and patient outcomes. By formally including the patient perspective the revised model encompasses all three dimensions of the EBM paradigm. I argue for a focus on better understanding of the interactional and relational processes that are generated during the clinical encounter as an essential step forward for implementation and improvement science. The paradigm of patient-centred care is then revisited through the lens of capabilities thinking and is proposed as a vital mechanism for supporting the uptake of appropriate, evidence-based healthcare

Statistical considerations in a systematic review of proxy measures of clinical behaviour

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Older patients’ experience of primary hypothyroidism: A qualitative study

Background - Primary hypothyroidism is a common endocrine disorder, more so in an increasing UK ageing population. There is no qualitative research examining the older patient perspective of symptoms, treatment and self‐management of hypothyroidism. Objective - In this study we explored the experience of hypothyroidism in older people and examined how this may influence their understanding and acceptance of diagnosis, treatment with Levothyroxine and the monitoring process. Design - We conducted semi‐structured interviews with 18 participants aged between 80 and 93 years. Interview transcripts were analysed using a thematic approach. Results - The themes involved older individuals’ knowledge about symptoms, confidence in diagnosis and understanding of clinical management regimen to understand hypothyroidism. Interpretation of the themes was informed by the Health Belief Model. Conclusion - Our findings can help to inform the development of interventions by treating clinicians and support staff to engage older patients in the long‐term management of this chronic condition

Theory-based predictors of multiple clinician behaviors in the management of diabetes

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Diabetes care provision in UK primary care practices

Background: Although most people with Type 2 diabetes receive their diabetes care in primary care, only a limited amount is known about the quality of diabetes care in this setting. We investigated the provision and receipt of diabetes care delivered in UK primary care. Methods: Postal surveys with all healthcare professionals and a random sample of 100 patients with Type 2 diabetes from 99 UK primary care practices. Results: 326/361 (90.3%) doctors, 163/186 (87.6%) nurses and 3591 patients (41.8%) returned a questionnaire. Clinicians reported giving advice about lifestyle behaviours (e.g. 88% would routinely advise about calorie restriction; 99.6% about increasing exercise) more often than patients reported having received it (43% and 42%) and correlations between clinician and patient report were low. Patients’ reported levels of confidence about managing their diabetes were moderately high; a median (range) of 21% (3% to 39%) of patients reporting being not confident about various areas of diabetes selfmanagement. Conclusions: Primary care practices have organisational structures in place and are, as judged by routine quality indicators, delivering high quality care. There remain evidence-practice gaps in the care provided and in the self confidence that patients have for key aspects of self management and further research is needed to address these issues. Future research should use robust designs and appropriately designed studies to investigate how best to improve this situation

Using psychological theory to understand the clinical management of type 2 diabetes in Primary Care : a comparison across two European countries

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Instrument development, data collection, and characteristics of practices, staff, and measures in the Improving Quality of Care in Diabetes (iQuaD) Study

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Developing the content of two behavioural interventions : using theory-based interventions to promote GP management of upper respiratory tract infection without prescribing antibiotics #1

Background: Evidence shows that antibiotics have limited effectiveness in the management of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) yet GPs continue to prescribe antibiotics. Implementation research does not currently provide a strong evidence base to guide the choice of interventions to promote the uptake of such evidence-based practice by health professionals. While systematic reviews demonstrate that interventions to change clinical practice can be effective, heterogeneity between studies hinders generalisation to routine practice. Psychological models of behaviour change that have been used successfully to predict variation in behaviour in the general population can also predict the clinical behaviour of healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to design two theoretically-based interventions to promote the management of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) without prescribing antibiotics. Method: Interventions were developed using a systematic, empirically informed approach in which we: selected theoretical frameworks; identified modifiable behavioural antecedents that predicted GPs intended and actual management of URTI; mapped these target antecedents on to evidence-based behaviour change techniques; and operationalised intervention components in a format suitable for delivery by postal questionnaire. Results: We identified two psychological constructs that predicted GP management of URTI: "Self-efficacy," representing belief in one's capabilities, and "Anticipated consequences," representing beliefs about the consequences of one's actions. Behavioural techniques known to be effective in changing these beliefs were used in the design of two paper-based, interactive interventions. Intervention 1 targeted self-efficacy and required GPs to consider progressively more difficult situations in a "graded task" and to develop an "action plan" of what to do when next presented with one of these situations. Intervention 2 targeted anticipated consequences and required GPs to respond to a "persuasive communication" containing a series of pictures representing the consequences of managing URTI with and without antibiotics. Conclusion: It is feasible to systematically develop theoretically-based interventions to change professional practice. Two interventions were designed that differentially target generalisable constructs predictive of GP management of URTI. Our detailed and scientific rationale for the choice and design of our interventions will provide a basis for understanding any effects identified in their evaluation. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00376142This study is funded by the European Commission Research Directorate as part of a multi-partner program: Research Based Education and Quality Improvement (ReBEQI): A Framework and tools to develop effective quality improvement programs in European healthcare. (Proposal No: QLRT-2001-00657)

Can the collective intentions of individual professionals within healthcare teams predict the team's performance : developing methods and theory

Background: Within implementation research, using theory-based approaches to understanding the behaviours of healthcare professionals and the quality of care that they reflect and designing interventions to change them is being promoted. However, such approaches lead to a new range of methodological and theoretical challenges pre-eminent among which are how to appropriately relate predictors of individual's behaviour to measures of the behaviour of healthcare professionals .The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between the theory of planned behaviour proximal predictors of behaviour (intention and perceived behavioural control, or PBC) and practice level behaviour. This was done in the context of two clinical behaviours – statin prescription and foot examination – in the management of patients with diabetes mellitus in primary care. Scores for the predictor variables were aggregated over healthcare professionals using four methods: simple mean of all primary care team members' intention scores; highest intention score combined with PBC of the highest intender in the team; highest intention score combined with the highest PBC score in the team; the scores (on both constructs) of the team member identified as having primary responsibility for the clinical behaviour. Methods: Scores on theory-based cognitive variables were collected by postal questionnaire survey from a sample of primary care doctors and nurses from northeast England and the Netherlands. Data on two clinical behaviours were patient reported, and collected by postal questionnaire survey. Planned analyses explored the predictive value of various aggregations of intention and PBC in explaining variance in the behavioural data. Results: Across the two countries and two behaviours, responses were received from 37 to 78% of healthcare professionals in 57 to 93% practices; 51% (UK) and 69% (Netherlands) of patients surveyed responded. None of the aggregations of cognitions predicted statin prescription. The highest intention in the team (irrespective of PBC) was a significant predictor of foot examination Conclusion: These approaches to aggregating individually-administered measures may be a methodological advance of theoretical importance. Using simple means of individual-level measures to explain team-level behaviours is neither theoretically plausible nor empirically supported; the highest intention was both predictive and plausible. In studies aiming to understand the behaviours of teams of healthcare professionals in managing chronic diseases, some sort of aggregation of measures from individuals is necessary. This is not simply a methodological point, but a necessary step in advancing the theoretical and practical understanding of the processes that lead to implementation of clinical behaviours within healthcare teams

Reflective and automatic processes in healthcare professional behavior : A dual process model tested across multiple behaviors

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