The person-based approach to enhancing the acceptability and feasibility of interventions

Abstract

BackgroundThis paper provides three illustrations of how the “person-based approach” can be used to assess and enhance the acceptability and feasibility of an intervention during the early stages of development and evaluation. The person-based approach involves using mixed methods research to systematically investigate the beliefs, attitudes, needs and situation of the people who will be using the intervention. The in-depth understanding of users’ perspectives derived from this research then enables intervention developers to design or modify the intervention to make it more relevant, persuasive, accessible and engaging.MethodsThe first illustration describes how relevant beliefs and attitudes of people with asthma were identified from the existing qualitative and quantitative literature and then used to create guiding principles to inform the design of a web-based intervention to improve quality of life. The second illustration describes how qualitative “think-aloud” interviews and patient and public involvement (PPI) input are used to improve the acceptability of a booklet for people with asthma. In the third illustration, iterative think-aloud methods are used to create a more accurate and accessible activity planner for people with diabetes.ResultsIn the first illustration of the person-based approach, we present the guiding principles we developed to summarise key design issues/objectives and key intervention features to address them. The second illustration provides evidence from interviews that positive, non-medical messages and images were preferred in booklet materials for people with asthma. The third illustration demonstrates that people with diabetes found it difficult to complete an online activity planner accurately, resulting in incorrect personalised advice being given prior to appropriate modification of the planner.ConclusionsThe person-based approach to intervention development can complement theory- and evidence-based development and participant input into intervention design, offering a systematic process for systematically investigating and incorporating the views of a wide range of users.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40814-015-0033-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Breastfeeding support and opiate dependence: A think aloud study

“…Think aloud promotes a person-based approach by canvassing the perspective of those with personal experience of a phenomenon and the benefit of their understanding can be incorporated into the development process. Subsequently, this approach has gained credence within healthcare research as accommodating user's views prior to pilot testing can optimise efficacy, acceptability and minimise time and resource expenditure (Hoddinott, 2015;Yardley et al 2015). Specifically, for this population group, the process enables respondents to express their thoughts in a fragmented manner which avoids the need for social verbalisation.…”

Beyond the Debate on Promises and Risks in Digital Health: Analysing the Psychological Function of Wearable Devices

“…First, there is the belief in long-term health behaviour changes at the individual level. Although psychologists are aware of the well-known obstacles to these changes in the health field (Dennison, Morrison, Conway, & Yardley, 2013;Yardley et al, 2015a), they still hope that wearable devices will be the sought-after solution to this problem. Second, there is a belief in the ongoing interest and sustainable motivation of individuals, while it has been shown that the latter actually get bored with wearable devices rather quickly (Ledger & McCaffrey, 2014;Gadenne, 2014).…”

“…Nevertheless, in both cases, the focus is on the positive value placed on the individual aspect of control. These devices are deemed to improve the patient's empowerment by fostering better compliance with treatment (Dennison, Morrison, Conway, & Yardley, 2013;Samoocha, Bruinvels, Elbers, Anema, & van der Beek, 2010;Yardley, Ainsworth, Arden-Close, & Muller, 2015a).…”

A randomised controlled study of the effectiveness of breathing retraining exercises taught by a physiotherapist either by instructional DVD or in face-to-face sessions in the management of asthma in adults

“…Using our 'person-based approach' to developing accessible, persuasive and helpful intervention materials, 36 feedback on the draft version was sought through the use of semistructured think-aloud interviews lasting approximately 1 hour with 29 people with asthma. The interviews included two components: open-ended questions exploring attitudes to breathing retraining exercises in the context of health beliefs and lifestyle and think-aloud methods to elicit spontaneous reactions to the booklet.…”