The Challenge of Behaviour Change Emma L Davies

Dr Emma Davies chats with Kezia Stewart, recent MSc Behaviour Change graduate, and Behavioural Insights and Evaluation Officer for Cycling UK. Kezia told me about some of the barriers to increased rates of cycling, as well as her views about working in behavioural science. Kezia also tells us about some of the projects she had the opportunity to work on during her MSc in Behaviour Change at UCL.

In episode 5, we explore trial design and measurement with an example of an intervention to reduce alcohol consumption by reducing the strength of alcohol. Dr Emma Davies interviews Dr Parvati Perman-Howe about her PhD study, which involved a double-blind randomised controlled cross-over pilot trial. Dr Perman-Howe discusses the purpose of a pilot trial, the design of the study, and some of the things she learnt from the process, as well as sharing some tips and advice. 

Dr Emma Davies talks to Dr Nikki Newhouse about digital tools for behaviour change in episode four of the series. Dr Newhouse tells us all about the good, and the not so good, things that we need to know if we are considering using apps or websites or other digital methods to deliver our interventions. While there isn't always an 'app for that', there might be, but we need to think carefully about engagement and evaluation.  

In this episode Dr Emma Davies speaks to Dr Catherine Wheatley about her experiences of working on a large trial to test an intervention that aimed to increased physical activity in adolescents. Catherine explains the aims of the trial and talks about some of the measures, as well as what was learned from some of the challenges that the study team faced. Important issues such as fidelity, engagement and co-production, which are relevant to all intervention topics, are discussed. 

Dr Emma Davies speaks to Sarah Howcutt, who has conducted research into the reasons why people don't take part in health research. Sarah discusses what she has learned from three varied projects, about alcohol consumption, young women's views about research, and bowel cancer screening. She discusses her ideas about 'marketing' our research, the importance of interdisciplinary teams, and sharing our findings with research participants. 

Dr Emma Davies talks to Dr Sarah Hennelly about her experiences of developing and evaluating the 'Mind the Bump' intervention, which was a mindfulness based intervention aimed at improving health behaviours in pregnant women. Dr Hennelly reflects on the some of the challenges faced in this project, including that the intervention targeted multiple health behaviours, recruitment and retention. She also reflects on the challenges of changing drinking behaviours in various population groups.