ArticleImplementation science : IS2009
Specifying and reporting complex behaviour change interventions: the need for a scientific method.
Article in Implementation science : IS, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 405 papers, 43 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
405 citing papers in PubMed, 43 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Conceptualisation and application of implementation strength in public health programmes within health systems: a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review identifying effective teaching methods and their combinations for increasing empathy in physicians: pairwise and network meta-analysis.BMC medical education · 2025Pooled it
- Oral Health Promotion Interventions in Residential Aged Care Facilities - A Systematic Review of Behaviour Change Techniques Used in Interventions.Community dentistry and oral epidemiology · 2025Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of the effect of visiting zoos and aquariums on visitors' conservation knowledge, beliefs, and behavior.Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology · 2025Pooled it
- Understanding the Components of Eating Behaviour-Focused Weight Management Interventions Adjunct to Metabolic Bariatric Surgery: Systematic Review of Published Literature.Current obesity reports · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review of experimentally tested implementation strategies across health and human service settings: evidence from 2010-2022.Implementation science : IS · 2024Pooled it
- Effectiveness of physical activity interventions on undergraduate students' mental health: systematic review and meta-analysis.Health promotion international · 2024Pooled it
- Identifying behaviour change techniques in 287 randomized controlled trials of audit and feedback interventions targeting practice change among healthcare professionals.Implementation science : IS · 2023Pooled it
- Adapted motivational interviewing for brief healthcare consultations: A systematic review and meta-analysis of treatment fidelity in real-world evaluations of behaviour change counselling.British journal of health psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Application of the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) compilation of strategies to health intervention implementation in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.Implementation science : IS · 2023Pooled it
- Sexual and Dating Violence Prevention Programs for Male Youth: A Systematic Review of Program Characteristics, Intended Psychosexual Outcomes, and Effectiveness.Archives of sexual behavior · 2023Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of Workplace Physical Activity Coaching.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2023Pooled it
- Methods for Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRVB): A Systematic Review and Guidelines.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2023Pooled it
- Behavioural change interventions encouraging clinicians to reduce carbon emissions in clinical activity: a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2023Pooled it
- Implementation costs of hospital-based computerised decision support systems: a systematic review.Implementation science : IS · 2023Pooled it
- Strategies to implement multifactorial falls prevention interventions in community-dwelling older persons: a systematic review.Implementation science : IS · 2023Pooled it
- A systematic literature review of breastfeeding interventions among Black populations using the RE-AIM framework.International breastfeeding journal · 2022Pooled it
- The development of the Religious Health Interventions in Behavioural Science (RHIBS) Taxonomy: a scientific classification of religious practices in health.Translational behavioral medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Effectiveness of interventions to improve health behaviours of health professionals: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
345 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Complex behaviour change interventions are not well described; when they are described, the terminology used is inconsistent. This constrains scientific replication, and limits the subsequent introduction of successful interventions. Implementation Science is introducing a policy of initially encouraging and subsequently requiring the scientific reporting of complex behaviour change interventions.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.