Multiple health behavior change research: An introduction and overview

Abstract

In 2002, the Society of Behavioral Medicine's special interest group on Multiple Health Behavior Change was formed. The group focuses on the interrelationships among health behaviors and interventions designed to promote change in more than one health behavior at a time. Growing evidence suggests the potential for multiple-behavior interventions to have a greater impact on public health than single-behavior interventions. However, there exists surprisingly little understanding of some very basic principles concerning multiple health behavior change (MHBC) research. This paper presents the rationale and need for MHBC research and interventions, briefly reviews the research base, and identifies core conceptual and methodological issues unique to this growing area. The prospects of MHBC for the health of individuals and populations are considerable.Keywords multiple health behavior change; methodology; interventions; review OverviewIn 2002, the Society of Behavioral Medicine formed a special interest group (SIG) to contribute to the development of a science of multiple health behavior change (MHBC) for health promotion and disease management. This multidisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners focuses on the interrelationships among health behaviors and interventions designed to promote change in more than one health behavior at a time. Recognizing that intervention on multiple behaviors presents a unique set of challenges, the group addresses theoretical, methodologic, intervention, statistical, and funding issues and fosters networking, mentorship, career development, and scientific discussion among its members. PrécisThis paper presents the rationale and need for multiple health behavior change research, briefly reviews the research base, and identifies core conceptual and methodological issues unique to this growing area.

A systematic review of single health behavior change interventions vs. multiple health behavior change interventions among older adults

“…The health behaviors included both adoption (e.g., physical activity) and cessation behaviors (e.g., smoking cessation). As the MHBC field is relatively young [24], the focus was on papers from 2006 to 2011. We included studies with older adults (>55+) from community and clinical settings.…”

Advances in multiple health behavior change research

“…Such an undertaking requires balancing several concepts such as participant burden for multiple assessments, prioritizing the presentation of multiple behavior strategies, etc. Researchers have concluded that multiple simultaneous behavior change interventions are promising for addictive behaviors and for multiple cancer prevention behaviors including diet, physical activity, and obesity prevention [18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. In this Special Section, Velicer et al [25] describe a large intervention trial that examined the effectiveness of two different computer-delivered interventions designed to influence multiple behaviors in middle school students: The first intervention targeted multiple substance use behaviors; the other targeted energy balance behaviors.…”

Clustering of multiple lifestyle behaviours and its relationship with weight status and cardiorespiratory fitness in a sample of Flemish 11- to 12-year-olds

“…In addition, previous research has shown that we cannot assume that all children who eat healthily are also sufficiently physically active and vice versa (11) . Consequently, a better understanding of clustering of multiple health behaviours in young people is needed to inform effective interventions (4,12) . Cluster analysis is frequently used in health research to identify mutually exclusive, homogeneous groups of individuals sharing numerous characteristics.…”