Facilitating self-management support using the behaviour change wheel (BCW) to address healthcare professionals’ behaviour

Abstract

BackgroundSupporting self-management in healthcare practice is essential to improve chronic patients’ daily life experiences. Primary care professionals play an indispensable role in this. Nevertheless, supporting self-management in practice comes with many challenges. The aim of this study is to identify determinants of professionals’ supportive behaviour and develop an intervention that facilitates self-management support in primary care practice, using these determinants as building blocks. MethodsTo develop the intervention, the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) was used which involves eight steps in three stages: (1) Understanding the behaviour using the COM-B model, (2) Identifying intervention options, and (3) Identifying content and implementation options. The theoretical underpinnings for stage 1 included data from interviews, focus groups and brainstorm sessions, incorporated beforehand in a self-management support model. Subsequently, literature analysis, empirical research and expertise from the research group guided stages 2 and 3. ResultsWe found that changes in “psychological capability”, “physical opportunity”, “reflective motivation” and “automatic motivation” are required to optimize professionals’ behaviour towards self-management support. The two key intervention functions identified were “enablement” and “education”. Therefore, a blended learning trajectory that incorporated these interventional building blocks was developed, integrating specific behaviour change techniques (BCTs) including: (1) Information about social and environmental consequences, (2) Information about health consequences, and (3) Social support (practical). The learning design was finalized by applying the Absorb-Do-Connect learning framework developed by Horton. ConclusionsApplication of the BCW framework shaped a self-management support intervention to educate and enable healthcare professionals. Future research will pilot and refine the intervention.