The ultimate impact of a health innovation depends not only on its effectiveness but also on its reach in the population and the extent to which it is implemented with high levels of completeness and ...fidelity. Implementation science has emerged as the potential solution to the failure to translate evidence from research into effective practice and policy evident in many fields. Implementation scientists have developed many frameworks, theories and models, which describe implementation determinants, processes, or outcomes; yet, there is little guidance about how these can inform the development or selection of implementation strategies (methods or techniques used to improve adoption, implementation, sustainment, and scale-up of interventions) (1, 2). To move the implementation science field forward and to provide a practical tool to apply the knowledge in this field, we describe a systematic process for planning or selecting implementation strategies: Implementation Mapping.
Implementation Mapping is based on Intervention Mapping (a six-step protocol that guides the design of multi-level health promotion interventions and implementation strategies) and expands on Intervention Mapping step 5. It includes insights from both the implementation science field and Intervention Mapping. Implementation Mapping involves five tasks: (1) conduct an implementation needs assessment and identify program adopters and implementers; (2) state adoption and implementation outcomes and performance objectives, identify determinants, and create matrices of change objectives; (3) choose theoretical methods (mechanisms of change) and select or design implementation strategies; (4) produce implementation protocols and materials; and (5) evaluate implementation outcomes. The tasks are iterative with the planner circling back to previous steps throughout this process to ensure all adopters and implementers, outcomes, determinants, and objectives are addressed.
Implementation Mapping provides a systematic process for developing strategies to improve the adoption, implementation, and maintenance of evidence-based interventions in real-world settings.
We examine whether information about a female candidate’s relationship history, obtained from social media profiles, affects evaluations of her suitability for a student union board position. ...Moreover, we investigate whether it is possible to mitigate any bias against women with multiple partners by providing information about the origins of prejudice. We utilized a 2 (relationship history: multiple vs. one partner(s)) X 2 (mitigating information: explaining prejudice against promiscuous women vs. explaining prejudice against outgroups) experimental design across two studies. Participants were female students (Study 1: n = 209 American students; Study 2; n = 119 European students), who indicated whether they would hire the applicant for a job, and evaluated this applicant. Results show that generally, participants tended to evaluate the candidate with multiple partners less positively than the candidate with only one partner: They were less likely to hire her (Study 1), evaluated her less positively (Study 1), and considered her less of a fit with the organization (Study 1 and 2). The results regarding providing additional information were not consistent. Our findings suggest that private social media information can influence applicant evaluations and hiring decisions, and therefore organizations should be careful when utilizing social information in recruitment processes.
Aim
The current study aims to qualitatively identify determinants, barriers and facilitators of physical activity among a population with mental health disorders.
Subject and methods
Seventeen ...participants with moderate mental disorders were recruited. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify physical activity facilitators and barriers. Data were organized and analysed in ATLAS.ti, mainly based on a generic qualitative research approach.
Results
Most participants found physical activity important and expressed a positive attitude towards it. In general, higher self-efficacy and more social support were beneficial for participants’ physical activity levels. Reasons/facilitating factors to be more physically active were: having fun, good weather, progress, routine, self-compassion and a stimulating environment. Barriers were not having fun, being busy, mental complaints, lack of energy, procrastination and physical complaints.
Conclusion
Future interventions could promote physical activity among people with moderate mental disorders to help them identify and overcome barriers. The newly identified determinant ‘self-compassion’ could be an interesting target for promoting physical activity in this group of people with moderate mental disorders.
Use of fear appeals assumes that when people are emotionally confronted with the negative effects of their behaviour they will change that behaviour. That reasoning is simple and intuitive, but only ...true under specific, rare circumstances. Risk perception theories predict that if people will experience a threat, they want to counter that threat. However, how they do so is determined by their coping efficacy level: if efficacy is high, they may change their behaviour in the suggested direction; if efficacy is low, they react defensively. Research on fear appeals should be methodologically sound, comparing a threatening to a non-threatening intervention under high and low efficacy levels, random assignment and measuring behaviour as outcome. We critically review extant empirical evidence and conclude that it does not support positive effects of fear appeals. Nonetheless, their use persists and is even promoted by health psychology researchers, causing scientific insights to be ignored or misinterpreted.
In this study, we aimed to test the relationship between compulsive exercise and self-esteem, body image, and body satisfaction as potential predictors of eating disorders.
Self-report measures of ...compulsive exercise beliefs and behaviors, self-esteem, body image, and body satisfaction, were completed by 120 female participants through an online questionnaire. Factor analyses with varimax rotation were performed to create exercise-frequency groups. ANOVA's were performed on Body Mass Index (weight adjusted for height squared, BMI), current minus ideal weight, self-esteem, body image, and body satisfaction to determine if there were differences depending on these exercise groups.
Factor analysis revealed two factors for compulsive exercise beliefs and behaviors: (1) Exercise Fixation, and (2) Exercise Frequency and Commitment. Based on those factors, participants were subdivided into four clusters: (1) pathological obligatory exercisers, (2) exercise fixators, (3) committed exercisers, and (4) non-exercisers. No differences were found between these groups for BMI or current minus ideal weight. Pathological obligatory exercisers and committed exercisers spend significantly more hours on exercise weekly compared to exercise fixators or non-exercisers. No differences between pathological obligatory exercisers, exercise fixators, and non-exercisers were found on self-esteem or body satisfaction, where the committed exercisers scored significantly better. Both committed exercisers and non-exercisers scored significantly better on body image flexibility compared to pathological obligatory exercisers and exercise fixators.
Compulsive exercise has both an exercise volume and an emotional component. The level of compulsive exercise is linked to one's self-esteem, body image, and body satisfaction and those factors could be a target for future interventions.
The process of developing a behavior change intervention can cover a long time period. However, in times of need, this development process has to be more efficient and without losing the scientific ...rigor. In this article, we describe the just-in-time, planned development of an online intervention in the field of higher education, promoting COVID-19 vaccination among university students, just before they were eligible for being vaccinated. We demonstrate how intervention development can happen fast but with sufficient empirical and theoretical support. In the developmental process, Intervention Mapping (IM) helped with decision-making in every step. We learned that the whole process is primarily depending on the trust of those in charge in the quality of the program developers. Moreover, it is about applying theory, not about theory-testing. As there was no COVID-19-related evidence available, evidence from related fields helped as did theoretical knowledge about change processes, next to having easy access to the target population and important stakeholders for informed qualitative and quantitative research. This project was executed under unavoidable time pressure. IM helped us with systematically developing an intervention, just-in-time to positively affect vaccine acceptance among university students.
Sedentary behavior (SB) has detrimental consequences and cannot be compensated for through moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (PA). In order to understand and mitigate SB, tools for measuring and ...monitoring SB are essential. While current direct-to-customer wearables focus on PA, the VitaBit validated in this study was developed to focus on SB. It was tested in a laboratory and in a free-living condition, comparing it to direct observation and to a current best-practice device, the ActiGraph, on a minute-by-minute basis. In the laboratory, the VitaBit yielded specificity and negative predictive rates (NPR) of above 91.2% for sitting and standing, while sensitivity and precision ranged from 74.6% to 85.7%. For walking, all performance values exceeded 97.3%. In the free-living condition, the device revealed performance of over 72.6% for sitting with the ActiGraph as criterion. While sensitivity and precision for standing and walking ranged from 48.2% to 68.7%, specificity and NPR exceeded 83.9%. According to the laboratory findings, high performance for sitting, standing, and walking makes the VitaBit eligible for SB monitoring. As the results are not transferrable to daily life activities, a direct observation study in a free-living setting is recommended.
When reopening universities in times of COVID-19, students still have to adhere to COVID-19 behavioral guidelines. We explored what behavioral determinants (and underlying beliefs) related to the ...adherence to guidelines are both relevant and changeable, as input for future interventions.
A cross-sectional online survey was conducted (Oct–Nov 2020), identifying behavioral determinants (and underlying beliefs) of university students' adherence to COVID-19-guidelines, including keeping 1.5 m distance, getting tested, and isolating (N = 255).
Attitude, perceived norm, self-efficacy, and several beliefs (e.g., risk perception beliefs ‘I am not afraid because I am young’ r = −0.33; p < .001; attitudinal beliefs, e.g., ‘I feel responsible for telling people to adhere to guidelines’ r = 0.37; p < .001; self-efficacy beliefs, e.g., ‘COVID-19-prevention guidelines are difficult to adhere to’ r = −0.30; p < .001) were associated with intention to adhere to guidelines, and for those beliefs there was room for improvement, making them suitable as possible intervention targets.
Students mostly adhere to COVID-19 guidelines, but there is room for improvement. Interventions need to enhance students' adherence behavior by targeting the most relevant determinants as identified in this study. Based on these findings, a small intervention was introduced targeting the determinants of students' adherence to guidelines.
•Students mostly adhere to COVID-19-prevention guidelines.•CIBER approach was used to select relevant (sub-)determinants for an intervention.•Attitude, perceived norm & self-efficacy determine adherence to the guidelines.•E.g. ‘Guidelines are difficult to adhere to’ is relevant for an intervention.•In the intervention, e.g., self-efficacy was targeted by ‘planning coping responses’.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of technology for communication and social interactions. Especially for children in low-income families-a vulnerable population suffering from ...health and digital disparities-the situation worsened during the pandemic. Earlier studies in times of COVID-19 suggested that the children in Korea who usually do homework and dine at community childcare centers (CCCCs, free after-school care places) need to learn more about how to eat healthily and how to interact with others using digital technology. Therefore, to reduce these children's health and digital inequalities, an interactive live and online cooking program was developed and provided to 313 children and 95 staff members at the 29 CCCCs located in the southern provinces in South Korea. The aim of the current study was to explore the experiences of children and staff with the program. After surveying their experiences, a high degree of satisfaction was found (children: 3.60 ± 0.10; staff: 3.63 ± 0.08 points out of 4.00). Aspects that needed improvement in the program were related to (in)experience in online technology, the frequency and timing of the cooking classes, and the communication between the centers and (online) chefs. In addition, in a word cloud analysis, terms such as 'fun', 'delicious', and 'want' were highlighted for children, and terms such as 'participating' and 'preparation' dominantly appeared for the staff. In the analysis of negative experiences, terms related to environmental factors such as 'sound', 'hear', and 'voice' were highlighted. This novel but preliminary approach for children from low-income families, by integrating cooking with digital technology, indicates that with enough digital support, the CCCCs are a promising platform to promote healthy eating and digital literacy. Optimizing and disseminating these strategies during this pandemic period, and future pandemics, could be beneficial to keep children in their communities healthy, and ultimately reduce socioeconomic health disparities.
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