Evidence Of Changes In Behavior Research Articles

Discrete Choice Experiment on Financial Incentives for Engaging Young Adults in Vaping Cessation Programs

Introduction Contingency management involves rewarding individuals based on objective evidence of behavioral changes. This study explores preferences for financial incentives in vaping cessation programs. Methods A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted among young adult current e-cigarette users aged 19-29. DCE attributes (and levels) included reward amount ($100, $300), reward schedule (consistent value, escalating value), reward procedure (gain-framed, loss-framed), vaping education modules (yes, no), text messaging support (yes, no), and cost ($30, $100). Participants were randomized into one of the four blocks, each containing four choice sets. Each choice set presented two hypothetical vaping cessation programs. Choice data (n × choice sets × alternative programs = 154 × 4 × 2 = 1,232 observations) were analyzed using generalized estimation equation models. Results Participants showed a preference for vaping cessation programs offering a higher reward amount (odds ratio [OR] = 11.5; 95% CI,7.0-19.2), gain-framed rewards for sustained abstinence (OR = 1.4; 95% CI,1.0-1.8), text messaging support (OR = 1.9; 95% CI,1.4-2.5), and a lower program cost (OR = 2.6; 95% CI,1.8-3.8). Interaction tests showed significant effects of the rewards procedure among daily e-cigarette users (adjusted OR [AOR] = 2.1; 95% CI,1.3-3.5), but not some-day users; and among those with no quit attempts in the past six months (AOR = 2.7; 95% CI,1.5-4.7), but not those with previous quit attempts. Female participants preferred text messaging support (AOR = 3.6; 95% CI,2.3-5.4), whereas male participants did not show this preference. Conclusion A multifaceted vaping cessation intervention augmented with financial incentives might improve participation and engagement among young adults. Future studies should investigate how these attributes can enhance program reach and vaping abstinence outcomes in real-world settings.

The Design and Impact of Interactive Online Modules for Dental Faculty Calibration

The diverse backgrounds of health professions faculty often result in inconsistent teaching, clinical techniques, and feedback for students. Faculty calibration is essential for uniform, high-quality instruction. However, scheduling training sessions is challenging due to faculty availability. This study introduces a self-paced, interactive online approach to dental faculty calibration. Four self-paced online modules were developed using an interactive cloud-based platform. A variety of learning activities were interspersed throughout the module to promote active learning. A survey captured faculty’s perception of the online format. ANOVA analyses examined differences in perceived effectiveness of the online format between full-time, part-time, and adjunct faculty. The platform analytics offered insights into the faculty’s module performance. Anecdotal feedback from faculty provided evidence of behavioral changes. 94% of the faculty expressed high satisfaction with the online format. The majority of faculty agreed or strongly agreed that the online format was effective (89%), engaging (88%), and easy to navigate (84%). They highlighted the modules’ user-friendliness, flexibility, and engaging content. ANOVA analyses revealed no significant differences in perceived effectiveness of the online format between full-time, part-time, and adjunct faculty. Anecdotal feedback demonstrated that faculty were incorporating the knowledge gained from the modules into their teaching practices. This positive online experience also motivated several faculty to integrate similar online approaches into their own courses. This online approach provides a more flexible, sustainable, and interactive approach to faculty development that could be beneficial to other institutions.

An exploratory analysis of revision behavior development of L2 writers on an intensive English for academic purposes program using Bayesian methods

Revision is a fundamental part of the writing process and is particularly important in the production of high-quality academic writing. This study is an exploratory examination of changes in revision behavior, as measured by keystroke logging software, at the beginning (T1) and end (T2) of a one-month intensive English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course on n = 39 undergraduate and postgraduate students. Bayes Factors (BFs) are utilized as measures of strength of evidence for changes in behavior. In this paper, we examine the application of a Bayesian Hypothesis Testing (BHT) approach and its implications specifically for exploratory studies, i.e., studies with relatively small samples intended to search data for emergent patterns. The results show that, in most cases, we have moderate evidence against any change in behavior over time. Based on this evidence, we conclude that the experimental parameters of further exploratory work into the development of revisions should be modified to maximize the chance of finding patterns in the data from which to generate any confirmatory hypotheses.

Sensitivity to Hand Offsets and Related Behavior in Virtual Environments over Time

This work explored how users’ sensitivity to offsets in their avatars’ virtual hands changes as they gain exposure to virtual reality. We conducted an experiment using a two-alternative forced choice (2-AFC) design over the course of 4 weeks, split into four sessions. The trials in each session had a variety of eight offset distances paired with eight offset directions (across a two-dimensional plane). While we did not find evidence that users became more sensitive to the offsets over time, we did find evidence of behavioral changes. Specifically, participants’ head–hand coordination and completion time varied significantly as the sessions went on. We discuss the implications of both results and how they could influence our understanding of long-term calibration for perception-action coordination in virtual environments.

Little Evidence to Support the Risk–Disturbance Hypothesis as an Explanation for Responses to Anthropogenic Noise by Pygmy Marmosets (Cebuella niveiventris) at a Tourism site in the Peruvian Amazon

The risk–disturbance hypothesis states that animals react to human stressors in the same way as they do to natural predators. Given increasing human–wildlife contact, understanding whether animals perceive anthropogenic sounds as a threat is important for assessing the long-term sustainability of wildlife tourism and proposing appropriate mitigation strategies. A study of pygmy marmoset (Cebuella niveiventris) responses to human speech found marmosets fled, decreased feeding and resting, and increased alert behaviors in response to human speech. Following this study, we investigated pygmy marmoset reactions to playbacks of different acoustic stimuli: controls (no playback, white noise and cicadas), anthropogenic noise (human speech and motorboats), and avian predators. For each playback condition, we recorded the behavior of a marmoset and looked at how the behaviors changed during and after the playback relative to behaviors before. We repeated this on ten different marmoset groups, playing each condition once to each group. The results did not replicate a previous study on the same species, at the same site, demonstrating the importance of replication in primate research, particularly when results are used to inform conservation policy. The results showed increased scanning during playbacks of the cicadas and predators compared with before the playback, and an increase in resting after playbacks of avian predators, but no evidence of behavior change in response to playbacks of human speech. There was no effect of ambient sound levels or distance between the playback source and focal animals on their behavior for all playback conditions. Although we find that noise can change the behavior of pygmy marmosets, we did not find evidence to support the risk–disturbance hypothesis.

Weather-Related Human Outdoor Behavior with Respect to Solar Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure in a Changing Climate

Climate-related changes in human sun exposure behavior can be an important influence on future ultraviolet radiation (UVR) related disease risks. In particular, active leisure mobility and leisure activities are more dependent on weather conditions than routine activities. However, the direction and extent of the effects vary. For temperate and cold climates, the available studies provide indications that a possible increase in UVR exposure would primarily result from a reduction in clothing and only secondarily from changes in the time spent outdoors. Existing studies suggest a nonlinear, bell-shaped relationship with threshold value effects for the relationship between outdoor time and thermal conditions. If the local climate is already very warm and there are only minor seasonal differences, there is no statistically significant evidence of changes in behavior. If there is significant warm discomfort, there is a tendency to avoid being outdoors or in the sun. It is not justified to simply transfer and generalize results and conclusions to different climates and seasons and between different leisure activities and forms of active mobility. The geographical context must be considered also in terms of cultures and habits, adaptations, traffic and land use (urban, rural). In addition, changes in behavior can develop differently depending on individual characteristics of people such as heat affinity, leisure type, age and gender. Differentiated analyses are required that take into account and balance opposing effects.

Impacts of the co-adoption of electric vehicles and solar panel systems: Empirical evidence of changes in electricity demand and consumer behaviors from household smart meter data

During the electrification of household energy consumption, there is an increasing number of consumers that purchase both electric vehicles (EV) and distributed solar photovoltaics (PV) systems. This study aims to examine the change in electricity demand from the power grid for EV owners when they add distributed solar panels to their homes. The impacts of the two technologies combined are different from the sum of two individual impacts because they may not be additive and EV consumers' behaviors may be subject to change. We apply a difference-in-differences model and compare consumers with or without EVs and also EV consumers with and without additional PVs. We use the hourly electricity demand data for 13,190 households in the Phoenix metropolitan area in Arizona. Our results show that EV consumers, without PV panels, use more electricity compared to non-EV consumers, and their average hourly demand is higher by 0.4 kWh. After adding PVs, EV consumers decrease the average hourly demand from the electric grid by 1.1 kWh. The co-adoption of PVs with EVs helps reduce the system peak hour loads. Besides, we also find evidence of behavior changes when EV consumers shift some of their EV charging from night to day so that they are charging their EVs with more cleaner electricity. The annual monetary savings for consumers after adding PVs are estimated to be ~$930, and the total social savings are estimated to be ~$925. Given the positive co-adoption effects, a policy implication is that incentives should be provided to promote the co-adoption of PVs with EVs.

Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical effectiveness, safety, adherence and risk compensation in all populations

ObjectiveTo conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of the effectiveness and safety of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV.MethodsDatabases (PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane...

Playing it safe: A literature review and research agenda on motivational technologies in transportation safety

While motivation affects safety-related decision-making and human reliability, technologies to promote it are scarcely used. We have only recently witnessed how motivational technologies, including serious games, gamification, and persuasive technologies have emerged on the palette of methods for enhancing transportation safety. However, the research on these technologies for transportation safety is fragmented, preventing future studies and practical efforts. This paper describes the state-of-the-art through a systematic review to address this issue. Analyzing 62 studies, we perceive that motivational technologies focus on reducing the accident likelihood and mitigating their consequences. While these technologies can induce positive psychological change and improve learning, the evidence of behavioral change is mainly limited to simulation settings, lacking examination of the long-term benefits and potential adverse effects. Our results highlight the importance of aligning motivational design with the cognitive demand of the transportation task and the means for improving safety. Future research should explore how motivational technologies can enhance safety from the system design perspective, cover a broader scope of transportation modes, compare their effects to conventional approaches while considering social aspects in their design and evaluation. Beside providing an overview of the area and future directions, this paper also introduces design recommendations to guide practitioners.

Participation Improves Collective Decisions (When It Involves Deliberation): Experimental Evidence From Kenya

AbstractCitizen participation in decision making has been widely lauded as a method for improving societal outcomes. Deliberative discussion, in particular, is believed to be more transformative than a mere aggregation of individual preferences, leading to more socially optimal decision making and behavior. I report the results from a laboratory experiment with 570 subjects in Nairobi, directly testing the effect of participation in deliberative group decision making on collective outcomes. Participants engage in a group task to earn compensation toward a shared group fund. Randomly assigned treatments vary according to whether decision making over the task to be completed involves: (1) external assignment; (2) non-deliberative majority voting; or (3) consensus through deliberative discussion. I find that deliberation improves collective decision making. Deliberation is also associated with changes in preferences, greater agreement with decision outcomes, and greater perceived fairness. Evidence for behavior change is weaker, but there is some support for further research into the relationship between preference change and behavior change.

Lifestyle and mental health 1 year into COVID-19

In previous work, Giuntella et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci 118:e2016632118, 2021), we documented large disruptions to physical activity, sleep, time use and mental health among young adults at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020. This study explores the trends 1 year into COVID-19, as vaccines began to roll out, COVID-19 deaths declined, and social distancing measures eased in the United States. We combine biometric and survey data from multiple cohorts of college students spanning Spring 2019 through Spring 2021 (N = 1179). Our results show persistent impacts of the pandemic on physical activity and mental health. One year into the pandemic, daily steps averaged about 6300 per day compared to about 9800 per day prior to the pandemic, a 35% decline. Almost half of participants were at risk of clinical depression compared to a little over one-third prior to the pandemic, a 36% increase. The impacts on screen time, social interactions and sleep duration at the onset of COVID-19 largely dissipated over the course of the pandemic, though screen time remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels. In contrast to the sharp changes in lifestyle and mental health documented as the pandemic emerged in March 2020, we do not find evidence of behavioral changes or improvements in mental well-being over the course of Spring 2021 as the pandemic eased.

Comprehensive Evaluation of the Toxicity and Biosafety of Plasma Polymerized Nanoparticles.

The rapid growth of nanoparticle-based therapeutics has underpinned significant developments in nanomedicine, which aim to overcome the limitations imposed by conventional therapies. Establishing the safety of new nanoparticle formulations is the first important step on the pathway to clinical translation. We have recently shown that plasma-polymerized nanoparticles (PPNs) are highly efficient nanocarriers and a viable, cost-effective alternative to conventional chemically synthesized nanoparticles. Here, we present the first comprehensive toxicity and biosafety study of PPNs using both established in vitro cell models and in vivo models. Overall, we show that PPNs were extremely well tolerated by all the cell types tested, significantly outperforming commercially available lipid-based nanoparticles (lipofectamine) used at the manufacturer’s recommended dosage. Supporting the in vitro data, the systemic toxicity of PPNs was negligible in BALB/c mice following acute and repeated tail-vein intravenous injections. PPNs were remarkably well tolerated in mice without any evidence of behavioral changes, weight loss, significant changes to the hematological profile, or signs of histological damage in tissues. PPNs were tolerated at extremely high doses without animal mortality observed at 6000 mg/kg and 48,000 mg/kg for acute and repeated-injection regimens, respectively. Our findings demonstrate the safety of PPNs in biological systems, adding to their future potential in biomedical applications.

Work harder or aim lower? Overconfidence and belief updating in the classroom

AbstractBuilding on recent lab experiments on belief updating, this study uses a university‐based field experiment to investigate behaviour change together with the updating of beliefs in response to feedback in a real‐life context. Postgraduate students predict their performance expectations for a core degree course in a probability distribution format where correct expectations are incentivised using a quadratic scoring rule. Behaviour, in the form of weekly time spent on the course, is also reported. Students then receive feedback in the form of graded tests and assignments, following which they repeat both the prediction exercise and the behaviour reporting. Cognitive dissonance theory predicts that where beliefs and performance feedback do not align, people will either change their beliefs to better conform to received feedback or change their behaviour so that performance better approximates their beliefs. In line with findings from lab experiments, results show that beliefs adjust to better predict true performance when feedback is received. Beliefs also become more precise (lower variance) with feedback. Evidence of behaviour change (time spent on the course) in response to feedback is also noted. The latter finding might account for some of the incomplete adjustment of beliefs often noted in the literature.

The Effectiveness of Flipped Classroom in Health Professions Education in China: A Systematic Review.

Background:Flipped classroom has received much attention during the last few years in China, but inconsistent conclusions are made about the effectiveness this approach in health professions education. This review examined the findings of controlled studies published in Chinese in order to summarize the effects of the flipped classroom methodology. These studies focused specifically on undergraduate level of health professions students.Methods:A literature search was conducted using China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform in June 2019. No date restrictions were used. Peer-reviewed papers were reviewed and experimental studies were included if the study compared student outcomes using flipped classroom method versus traditional lectures. The revised version of the Kirkpatrick’s model was applied to evaluate the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach.Results:In total, 934 articles were obtained. Among them, 235 articles were full text reviewed and 59 met the inclusion criteria. Most of the student agreed that flipped classroom strategy was very helpful improving their self-learning ability, problem solving ability, teamwork, and communication skills, but reported increased workload and less-efficiency compared with traditional lectures. However, the majority of studies (n = 52) showed positive findings of the flipped classroom on changes in knowledge and skills, and 3 in negative. Among these 59 studies, there was little evidence of changes in behavior, organizational practice and patient outcome.Conclusions:Better design with reduced content should be considered for instructors to promote learning effectiveness. Long-term effects of flipped classroom should be considered in future studies.

Acceptability of a text message-based intervention for obesity prevention in infants from Hawai\u2018i and Puerto Rico WIC

BackgroundLow-income and minority children are at increased risk for obesity. Text messaging offers advantages for delivering education, but few studies have assessed the acceptability of text messaging in interventions aimed at preventing excessive weight gain in infants. This study investigated the acceptability of a text message-based intervention for prevention of excessive weight gain in infants from Hawai‘i and Puerto Rico WIC clinics.MethodsThe four-month text message based intervention designed to improve infant feeding practices and reduce excessive weight gain was a randomized controlled trial that included mothers with infants ages 0–2 months at baseline. Participants in the intervention arm received 18 text messages (1/week) promoting breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding. Acceptability of the intervention was assessed from participant retention, satisfaction, and evidence of behavior change in a sequential multimethod approach, quantitatively from questions sent via text and qualitatively during the in-person exit interview. The final analysis included 80 mother-infant pairs from the intervention arm.ResultsWhen asked about messages liked and disliked the most, the majority of responses via text indicated that they liked all messages. From the qualitative analyses, most participants reported that all messages were useful and that the messages led them to make changes in the way they fed their infants. Participant retention was good at 78.4%.ConclusionsThe intervention was acceptable to participants based upon participant retention, measures of satisfaction, and reports of behavior change. Results may inform development of mobile health programs for minority childhood obesity prevention.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier; NCT02903186; September 16, 2016.

A review of implementation of behavioural aspects in the application of OR in healthcare

This article presents a survey of the literature on the application of operational research (OR) in healthcare, with a particular focus on behavioural considerations. In order to explore the extent to which behavioural aspects are included, we perform a search of the most relevant OR journals for articles with content related to the representation of behaviour in models, evidence of behavioural change using models, and the impact on organisations beyond the use of a model. A detailed analysis of 130 articles is presented and shows that the majority are focused on improving service delivery at an organisational level. The most common OR methods depicting behaviour are simulation and qualitative methods, but there is evidence of the use across a range of methods. However, in many cases, authors do not necessarily acknowledge the behavioural aspects in their papers. Given many aspects of healthcare are influenced by human behaviour, it is important that future work makes more explicit the assumptions used to represent behaviour, test the sensitivity of models to different behavioural assumptions, and offer more information about how users employ models to make decisions.

Determining the impact of a bowel management protocol on patients and clinicians' compliance in cardiac intensive care: A mixed-methods approach.

Bowel management protocols standardise care and, potentially, improve the incidence of diarrhoea and constipation in intensive care. However, little research exists reporting compliance with such protocols in intensive care throughout patients' stay. Furthermore, there is a limited exploration of the barriers and enablers to bowel management protocols following their implementation, an important aspect of improving compliance. To investigate the impact of a bowel management protocol on the incidence of constipation and diarrhoea, levels of compliance, and to explore the enablers and barriers associated with its use in intensive care. A mixed-methods study was conducted in cardiac intensive care using two phases: (a) a retrospective case review of patients' hospital notes, before and after the protocol implementation, establishing the levels of diarrhoea and constipation and levels of compliance; (b) focus groups involving users of the protocol, 6months following its implementation, exploring the barriers and enablers in practice. Fifty-one patients' notes were reviewed during phase one: 30 pre-implementation and 21 post-implementation. Following the protocol implementation, there was a tendency for a higher incidence of constipation and less severe cases of diarrhoea. Overall compliance with the protocol was low (2.3%). However, there was evidence of behavioural change following protocol implementation, including less variation in aperients given and a shorter, less varied time period between starting enteral feed and administering aperients. Several themes emerged from the focus groups: barriers and enablers to the protocol characteristics and dissemination; barriers to bowel assessment; nurse as a barrier; medical involvement and protocol outcomes. The bowel management protocol implementation generated some positive outcomes to bowel care practices. However, compliance was low and until there is improvement, through overcoming the barriers identified, the impact of such protocols in practice will remain largely unknown.

3.38 The Canadian Research and Education for the Advancement of Child Health (Canreach) Patient-Centered Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care (PPP) Continuing Medical Education: Evidence of Behavioral Change Based on Clinical Profiles of Referral

3.38 The Canadian Research and Education for the Advancement of Child Health (Canreach) Patient-Centered Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care (PPP) Continuing Medical Education: Evidence of Behavioral Change Based on Clinical Profiles of Referral

The use of MOOCs in social enterprise education: an evaluation of a North–South collaborative FutureLearn program

This study contributes to the literature on technology and entrepreneurship education, and in particularly to the discussion on massive open online courses (MOOCs) in social enterprise education. Using the Freeth/Kirkpatrick's evaluation model, this paper examines the effectiveness of a social enterprise MOOC program – The FutureLearn (FL) Social Enterprise Program – created in a collaboration between Middlesex University, Living in Minca Ltd in London and the Jindal Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at O.P. Jindal Global University in Delhi, India. To date, there is no evidence of previous work evaluating the effectiveness of a MOOC in social enterprise education, particularly one designed in collaboration between institutions from the global North and South countries. Our findings revealed that the FutureLearn Social Enterprise Program was perceived as positive, and we identified evidence of changes in behavior, as well as, benefits and opportunities for both individuals and organizations. The results provide insights into alternative forms of collaboration for the creation and implementation of enterprise education courses, and specifically for collaborations in the design of social enterprise MOOC programs done between global North and South countries.

Results of an asthma education program delivered via telemedicine in rural schools

BackgroundAsthma morbidity is high in low-income children living in rural US regions, yet few interventions have been designed to decrease the asthma burden in rural populations. ObjectiveTo examine the effect of a school-based asthma education program delivered by telemedicine in children living in an impoverished rural region. MethodsWe conducted a cluster randomized trial with rural children 7 to 14 years old by comparing a school-based telemedicine asthma education intervention with usual care. The intervention provided comprehensive asthma education by telemedicine to participants and provided evidence-based treatment recommendations to primary care providers. ResultsOf the 393 enrolled children, median age was 9.6 years, 81% were African American, and 47% lived in households with an annual income less than $14,999. At enrollment, 88% of children reported uncontrolled asthma symptoms. At the end of the intervention, there were no statistically significant differences in reported symptom-free days (primary outcome) for the intervention or usual-care group. Participants in the intervention group reported significantly higher use of peak flow meters to monitor asthma and reported taking their asthma medications as prescribed more frequently compared with the usual-care group. There were no changes in other outcome measures, including quality of life, self-efficacy, asthma knowledge, or lung function, between groups. ConclusionAlthough there was some evidence of behavior change among intervention participants, these changes were inadequate to overcome the significant morbidity experienced by this highly symptomatic rural impoverished population. Future interventions should be designed with a multifaceted approach that considers caregiver engagement, distance barriers, and inadequate access to asthma providers in rural regions. Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01167855.