TY - JOUR
T1 - Use of Health Behavior Theory in Funded Grant Proposals
T2 - Cancer Screening Interventions as a Case Study
AU - Kobrin, Sarah
AU - Ferrer, Rebecca
AU - Meissner, Helen
AU - Tiro, Jasmin
AU - Hall, Kara
AU - Shmueli-Blumberg, Dikla
AU - Rothman, Alexander J
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, The Society of Behavioral Medicine (outside the USA).
PY - 2015/6/13
Y1 - 2015/6/13
N2 - Background: Interventions using theory should change behavior and identify both mechanisms of effect and necessary conditions. To date, inconsistent description of “use of theory” has limited understanding of how theory improves intervention impact. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the use of theory in health behavior intervention development by coding grant proposals. Methods: We developed an abstraction tool to characterize investigators, interventions, and theory use and identified seven core elements describing both how and how much theory was used. We used the tool to review and code NCI’s funded cancer screening intervention R01 proposals, 1998–2009. Results: Of 116 proposals, 38 met criteria; all but one described a conceptual model unique to the proposed research. Few proposals included plans to identify mechanisms of effect or conditions necessary for intervention effectiveness. Conclusions: Cancer screening intervention grant proposals rarely use theory in ways that advance behavioral or theoretical sciences. Proposed core elements may classify and synthesize the use of theory in behavioral intervention research.
AB - Background: Interventions using theory should change behavior and identify both mechanisms of effect and necessary conditions. To date, inconsistent description of “use of theory” has limited understanding of how theory improves intervention impact. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the use of theory in health behavior intervention development by coding grant proposals. Methods: We developed an abstraction tool to characterize investigators, interventions, and theory use and identified seven core elements describing both how and how much theory was used. We used the tool to review and code NCI’s funded cancer screening intervention R01 proposals, 1998–2009. Results: Of 116 proposals, 38 met criteria; all but one described a conceptual model unique to the proposed research. Few proposals included plans to identify mechanisms of effect or conditions necessary for intervention effectiveness. Conclusions: Cancer screening intervention grant proposals rarely use theory in ways that advance behavioral or theoretical sciences. Proposed core elements may classify and synthesize the use of theory in behavioral intervention research.
KW - Behavioral theory
KW - Cancer screening
KW - Grant proposal
KW - Use of theory
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U2 - 10.1007/s12160-015-9714-3
DO - 10.1007/s12160-015-9714-3
M3 - Article
C2 - 26070290
AN - SCOPUS:84946492745
SN - 0883-6612
VL - 49
SP - 809
EP - 818
JO - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
JF - Annals of Behavioral Medicine
IS - 6
ER -