Integrating the Science of Habit: Opportunities for Occupational Therapy

Chronic diseases are the leading causes of early morbidity and mortality in the United States. Because personal behaviors are the primary risk factors for developing chronic diseases, developing effective strategies to modify personal behaviors remains a national imperative. Occupational therapy can help address this problematic situation through interventions based on an understanding of habit and principles of habit modification. The objective of this paper is to provide an evidence-based argument for occupational therapy research and practice targeting health-promoting lifestyle behaviors as habits. We discuss empirical research conducted over the previous decade with a focus on the role of habit in daily behavior, key evidence-based strategies for changing existing habits and developing new habits, and recent advances in habit measurement in relation to issues of intervention design. Understanding habit development, function, and change offers a novel orientation for occupational therapy toward practice and research on many complex health problems.