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A lexicon for measuring maintenance of behavior change
Rachel B Seymour1, Susan L Hughes, Marcia G Ory
1Center for Research on Health and Aging, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60608, USA. rseymo1@uic.edu
American Journal of Health Behavior
|July 8, 2010
Summary
This study established consensus definitions for behavior change maintenance and surveyed 16 Health Maintenance Consortium (HMC) studies. Findings reveal varied operationalization of maintenance, impacting transbehavioral research quality.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral science
- Health psychology
- Public health
Background:
- Behavior change maintenance is crucial for long-term health outcomes.
- Standardized conceptualization and measurement of maintenance are lacking across different health behaviors.
- The Health Maintenance Consortium (HMC) initiated efforts to address these research gaps.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish consensus definitions for behavior change maintenance and related constructs.
- To examine how maintenance is conceptualized and measured across diverse health behaviors within HMC studies.
- To identify similarities and differences in maintenance measurement for improving transbehavioral research.
Main Methods:
- A workgroup convened to define maintenance and related concepts across diet, tobacco, substance abuse, and physical activity.
- Consensus definitions were established through multiple meetings.
- A survey assessed the operationalization of maintenance in 16 HMC intervention studies.
Main Results:
- 75% of studies used criteria to assess maintenance, tracking it as a continuous measure.
- 81% assessed facilitators and barriers, viewing maintenance as both an intermediate and primary outcome.
- Maintenance was assessed at the individual level in all studies, with limited assessment at organizational, environmental, and policy levels.
Conclusions:
- Similarities and differences in maintenance measurement exist across behaviors.
- These findings have significant implications for enhancing the quality of transbehavioral research.
- Standardized approaches to measuring behavior change maintenance are needed.
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