ReviewHealth promotion international2011
How to promote healthy behaviours in patients? An overview of evidence for behaviour change techniques.
Review in Health promotion international, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 83 papers, 8 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
83 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Behaviour change interventions to promote health and well-being among older migrants: A systematic review.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- The Effect of Long Working Hours and Overtime on Occupational Health: A Meta-Analysis of Evidence from 1998 to 2018.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Effective behaviour change techniques for physical activity and healthy eating in overweight and obese adults; systematic review and meta-regression analyses.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2017Pooled it
- Good practice characteristics of diet and physical activity interventions and policies: an umbrella review.BMC public health · 2015Pooled it
- Identifying effective methods for teaching sex education to individuals with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review.Journal of sex research · 2015Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Reactions to threatening health messages.BMC public health · 2012Pooled it
- A systematic review of hand hygiene improvement strategies: a behavioural approach.Implementation science : IS · 2012Pooled it
- "How difficult it is to change dietary behaviour" experience of older people with sarcopenic obesity: a qualitative study.BMC geriatrics · 2024Trial
- Dietary behaviour change intervention for managing sarcopenic obesity among community-dwelling older people: a pilot randomised controlled trial.BMC geriatrics · 2023Trial
- The Impact of a Clinical Decision Support System for Addressing Physical Activity and Healthy Eating During Smoking Cessation Treatment: Hybrid Type I Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- Trial
- "Exercise during hemodialysis and health promoting behaviors: a clinical trial".BMC nephrology · 2019Trial
- Trial
- It's LiFe! Mobile and Web-Based Monitoring and Feedback Tool Embedded in Primary Care Increases Physical Activity: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2015Trial
- The influence of two different invitation letters on Chlamydia testing participation: randomized controlled trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2014Trial
- Promoting walking among office employees - evaluation of a randomized controlled intervention with pedometers and e-mail messages.BMC public health · 2012Trial
- Protégé Effect for Behavior Change: Does Teaching Digital Stress Solutions to Others Reduce One's Own?Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2026Article
- Characterizing, protocolizing, and scaling up local adjunctive interventions and implementation strategies to enhance the reach of HIV-prevention and mental health/substance use treatments: a study protocol.Implementation science communications · 2026Article
- Healthy Body and Mind Program to Improve Health Outcomes and Reduce Dementia Risk in People With Osteoarthritis: Protocol for a Feasibility and Acceptability Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
23 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
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
To identify the evidence for the effectiveness of behaviour change techniques, when used by health-care professionals, in accomplishing health-promoting behaviours in patients. Reviews were used to extract data at a study level. A taxonomy was used to classify behaviour change techniques. We included 23 systematic reviews: 14 on smoking cessation, 6 on physical exercise, and 2 on healthy diets and 1 on both exercise and diets. None of the behaviour change techniques demonstrated clear effects in a convincing majority of the studies in which they were evaluated. Techniques targeting knowledge (n = 210 studies) and facilitation of behaviour (n = 172) were evaluated most frequently. However, self-monitoring of behaviour (positive effects in 56% of the studies), risk communication (52%) and use of social support (50%) were most often identified as effective. Insufficient insight into appropriateness of technique choice and quality of technique delivery hinder precise conclusions. Relatively, however, self-monitoring of behaviour, risk communication and use of social support are most effective. Health professionals should avoid thinking that providing knowledge, materials and professional support will be sufficient for patients to accomplish change and consider alternative strategies which may be more effective.
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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.