An International Perspective on Improving the Quality and Potential of Behavioral Clinical Trials

Abstract

Healthy behaviors (e.g., eating a healthy diet, engaging in regular physical activity, smoking cessation) are associated with a reduction in the incidence and mortality of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease. There have been many examples of health behavior interventions leading to improvements in NCDs and their risk factors, such as hypertension. However, despite their potential benefits, the uptake of existing behavioral interventions has been limited. Among many barriers to implementation of behavioral treatments are concerns about methodological inadequacies. The current manuscript discusses recent advances in frameworks for the development of interventions, the reporting of trials and their protocols, and areas which need further work. The goal of this article is to increase awareness and encourage further debate about how best to promote high-quality behavioral intervention research.