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Background: The use of behavioural science and behaviour change within local authorities and public health has supported healthful change; evidenced by its importance and contribution to reducing harm during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can provide valuable information to enable the creation of evidence-based intervention strategies, co-created with the people they are aimed at, in an effective and efficient manner. Aim: To understand the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation of performing a constellation of eight COVID-19 disease prevention behaviours related to the slogans of ‘Hands, Face, Space, Fresh Air’; ‘Find, Isolate, Test, (FIT), and Vaccinate’ in workplaces identified as high risk for transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) to support intervention development. Method: This qualitative study recruited twenty-three participants (16 female, 7 male), who were interviewed from three environments (schools, care homes, warehouses) across three local authorities. Semi-structured interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Ten core themes were identified inductively; 1) Knowledge and skills, 2) Regulating the behaviour, 3) Willingness to act, 4) Necessity and concerns, 5) Emotional impact, 6) Conducive environment, 7) Societal influence, 8) No longer united against COVID-19, 9) Credible leadership, and 10) Inconsistent adherence to COVID-19 prevention behaviours. Themes were then deductively mapped to the COM-B model of behaviour change (Michie et al., 2011; 2014) and the Theoretical Domains Framework (Cane et al., 2012) and a logic model using the Behaviour Change Wheel (Michie et al., 2011; 2014) was produced to inform intervention design. Conclusion: This study offers a novel approach to analysis that has included eight behaviours within a single thematic analysis and COM-B diagnosis. This will enable local authorities to direct limited resources to overarching priorities. Of key importance, was the need for supportive and credible leadership, alongside developing interventions collaboratively with the target audience. COVID-19 has had an emotional toll on those interviewed, however, promoting the value of disease prevention behaviours, over and above their costs, can facilitate behaviour. Developing knowledge and skills, through education, training, marketing and modelling can further facilitate behaviour. This supports guidance produced by the British Psychological Society COVID-19 Behavioural Science and Disease Prevention Taskforce.

The aim of this study is to understand responses to health recommendations during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in the general population. Individuals recruited via social media were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing: demographic and clinical factors; responses to health recommendations; perceptions of perceived risk/severity and perceived self-efficacy/response efficacy, perceptions of risk in response to hypothetical antibody test results and; participant-reported barriers and facilitators associated with the uptake of health recommendations.

Aim The main aim of the study is to track objective nebuliser adherence and symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis for a prolonged period of time. Data will be analysed using novel N of 1 methodology to enable a clearer understanding of the relationship between variables. Research Questions To investigate the relationship between nebuliser adherence and symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis over a 4 month period Does adherence to nebuliser treatment impact upon the symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis? Summary Following the conclusions drawn from a previous PhD study it was evident that a longer period of time is required to observe the relationship between the two variables. Therefore 19 patients were recruited from three UK centres and asked to track symptoms and also given the option to nominate a symptom of their choice for a four-month period. Additionally, some participants chose to wear a pedometer watch to monitor step-count.

This project will explore the barriers and facilitators to NHS healthcare workers at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Hospital Board receiving the influenza vaccine and potential future COVID-19 vaccine. The project will consist of two phases; Phase 1 will be semi-structured interviews with healthcare workers, Phase 2 will be co-design workshops aimed at designing interventions to increase the uptake of the flu vaccine in NHS staff.

Adherence to medication in long-term conditions is around 50%. The key components of successful interventions to improve medication adherence remain unclear, particularly when examined over prolonged follow-up periods. Behaviour change theories are increasingly interested in the utility of habit formation for the maintenance of health behaviour change, but there is no documentation on how habit has been conceptualised in the medication adherence intervention literature, or what effect the key technique identified in habit formation theory (context dependent repetition) has in these studies. . To examine this, a machine-learning assisted review was conducted. Searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE and PSYCInfo and the reference list of a comprehensive systematic review of medication adherence interventions yielded 5973 articles. Machine learning-assisted title and abstract screening identified 15 independent RCTs published between 1976 and 2021, including 18 intervention comparisons of interest. Key findings indicate that conceptualisations of habit in the medication adherence literature are varied and intervention behaviour change techniques were diverse among these studies. Behaviour change technique coding identified only six studies which explicitly described using habit formation. Conclusions indicate that despite the potential utility of habits as a technique to support maintenance in medication adherence, randomised controlled trials of habit formation interventions are few. Future work should aim to develop this evidence base, drawing on contemporary habit theory and with explicit demonstration of what techniques have been used to promote habit formation.

Additional file 1. CFHealthHub Data Observatory Topic Guide.

Additional file 1. Topic Guide.

This guidance offers recommendations for interventions that can be used to encourage and enable physical distancing. The target behaviour for this guidance document is physical distancing, defined as staying 1–2 metres (depending on national guidance)apart from people in the same location. We are using the term ‘physical distancing’ as opposed to ‘social distancing’, in line with the World Health Organization and our earlier guidance.Physical distancing is important when viruses are airborne, such as the virus that causes Covid-19. Remaining at a physical distance from others reduces the risk of aerosols and droplets entering the eyes, nose or mouth and therefore reduces the risk of spreading infection, particularly with physical distancing of 1 metre or more3. Many governments and health agencies have recommended people adhere to a physical distance of between1 metre4 to 2 metres5 from people who are not in their household or ‘bubble’. In general, people typically stand a little less than 1 metre away from familiar people and 1.3 metre away from others6. Whilst many people have started to physically distance, standing metres away requires breaking strong habits. Even where regulations do not require physical distancing, people might still be encouraged to distance where possible, in regions where transmission rates are rising or high. This guidance is based on a systematic review of the evidence for interventions to encourage physical distancing and summarises the approaches that are effective in helping people to maintain physical distance from others. This included six papers, reporting 14 interventions with over 5500 people. There may be other approaches that could be effective but at present there is no evidence for or against them. It is important to note that some of the evidence reports influences on intention to distance physically rather than the action of physical distancing itself.

Background: \ud \ud Adherence to nebulizer treatments in adults with cystic fibrosis is often low. A new complex intervention to help adults with cystic fibrosis increase adherence to nebulizer treatments was tested in a pilot randomized controlled trial in two UK cystic fibrosis centers. Patients used a nebulizer with electronic monitoring capabilities that transferred data automatically to a digital platform (CFHealthHub) to monitor adherence over time, and a tailored website to display graphs of adherence data and educational and problem solving information about adherence. A trained interventionist helped patients to identify ways to increase their adherence. \ud \ud Objective: \ud \ud To explore the mechanisms of action of this complex intervention.\ud \ud Methods:\ud \ud A qualitative interview study undertaken concurrently with a pilot randomized controlled trial. 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted with three interventionists at two time points, 14 patients in the intervention arm of the trial, and five members of the multidisciplinary teams offering wider care to patients. A framework approach was used for analysis. \ud \ud Results:\ud \ud The intervention was informed by a theoretical framework of behavior change. There was evidence of the expected behavior change mechanisms of action. There was also evidence of Vassilev’s mechanisms of action associated with effective telehealth interventions for self-management support: relationships, visibility, and fit. Patients described how building a relationship with the interventionist through face-to-face visits with someone who cared about them and their progress helped them to consider ways of increasing adherence to medication. Rather than seeing the visibility of adherence data to clinicians as problematic, patients found this motivating, particularly if they received praise about progress made. The intervention was tailored to individuals but there were challenges in how the intervention fitted into some patients’ busy lives when delivered through a desktop computer.\ud \ud Conclusion:\ud \ud Mechanisms associated with effective telehealth interventions for self-management operated within this new intervention. The intervention was modified to strengthen mechanisms of action based on these findings, for example delivery through an app accessed via mobile phones, and then tested in a randomized controlled trial in 19 UK cystic fibrosis centers. \ud \ud Trial registration: ISRCTN13076797