Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28290066›Full record

SynthesisAnnals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine2017

Can Communicating Personalised Disease Risk Promote Healthy Behaviour Change? A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews.

David P French, Elaine Cameron, Jack S Benton, Christi Deaton, Michelle Harvie

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 91 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
91citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

91 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Are There Any Effective Behavior Change Strategies for Communicating Genetic Risk in Obesity Prevention and Body Weight Reduction Interventions?Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026
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  2. Prevalence and correlates of perinatal depression.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2023
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  6. Delivering Opportunistic Behavior Change Interventions: a Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2020
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  19. Prediction of individualised 6-month mortality risk in opioid use disorder.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2026
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31 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

David P FrenchManchester Centre of Health Psychology, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Coupland 1 Building, Manchester, M13 9PL, England. david.french@manchester.ac.uk.
Elaine CameronManchester Centre of Health Psychology, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Coupland 1 Building, Manchester, M13 9PL, England.
Jack S BentonManchester Centre of Health Psychology, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Coupland 1 Building, Manchester, M13 9PL, England.
Christi DeatonSchool of Clinical Medicine, Forvie Site, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SR, England.
Michelle HarvieNightingale Centre, University Hospital South Manchester, Manchester, M23 9LT, England.

Funding

NIHR CLAHRC Greater Manchester Research Capability funding
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe assessment and communication of disease risk that is personalised to the individual is widespread in healthcare contexts. Despite several systematic reviews of RCTs, it is unclear under what circumstances that personalised risk estimates promotes change in four key health-related behaviours: smoking, physical activity, diet and alcohol consumption. PURPOSE: The present research aims to systematically identify, evaluate and synthesise the findings of existing systematic reviews.

methodsThis systematic review of systematic reviews followed published guidance. A search of four databases and two-stage screening procedure with good reliability identified nine eligible systematic reviews.

resultsThe nine reviews each included between three and 15 primary studies, containing 36 unique studies. Methods of personalising risk feedback included imaging/visual feedback, genetic testing, and numerical estimation from risk algorithms. The reviews were generally high quality. For a broad range of methods of estimating and communicating risk, the reviews found no evidence that risk information had strong or consistent effects on health-related behaviours. The most promising effects came from interventions using visual or imaging techniques and with smoking cessation and dietary behaviour as outcomes, but with inconsistent results. Few interventions explicitly used theory, few targeted self-efficacy or response efficacy, and a limited range of Behaviour Change Techniques were used.

conclusionsPresenting risk information on its own, even when highly personalised, does not produce strong effects on health-related behaviours or changes which are sustained. Future research in this area should build on the existing knowledge base about increasing the effects of risk communication on behaviour.

Indexed as

CommunicationHealth BehaviorAlcohol DrinkingExerciseFeeding BehaviorHumansRisk FactorsSmokingBehaviourBehaviour changeRisk communicationSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID28290066
PMCPMC5602036

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.