Prioritizing multiple health behavior change research topics: expert opinions in behavior change science

Abstract
Multiple health behavior change (MHBC) approaches are understudied. The purpose of this study is to provide strategic MHBC research direction. This cross-sectional study contacted participants through the Society of Behavioral Medicine email listservs and rated the importance of 24 MHBC research topics (1 = not at all important, 5 = extremely important) separately for general and underserved populations. Participants (n = 76) were 79 % female; 76 % White, 10 % Asian, 8 % African American, 5 % Hispanic, and 1 % Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. Top MHBC research priorities were predictors of behavior change and the sustainability, long-term effects, and dissemination/translation of interventions for both populations. Recruitment and retention of participants (t(68) = 2.17, p = 0.000), multi-behavioral indices (t(68) = 3.54, p = 0.001), and measurement burden (t(67) = 5.04, p = 0.001) were important for the underserved. Results identified the same top research priorities across populations. For the underserved, research should emphasize recruitment, retention, and measurement burden.

Keywords
Interventions; Measurement; Multiple health behavior change (MHBC); Recommendations; Research; Theory.

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Recommended citation: Amato K, Park E, Nigg CR. Prioritizing multiple health behavior change research topics: expert opinions in behavior change science. Transl Behav Med. 2016 Jun;6(2):220-7. doi: 10.1007/s13142-015-0381-5. PMID: 27356992; PMCID: PMC4927446.