Efforts that are Aimed at Changing Health Behaviors

MHD508 Module 4 - SLP
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MHD508 Module 4 - SLP
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Health and Behavior: Research, Practice, and Policy. Health and Behavior: The Interplay of Biological, Behavioral, and Societal Influences. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2001. 7, Evaluating and Disseminating Intervention Research. Available from: /books/NBK43735/
The article suggests that efforts that are aimed at changing health behaviors "should be clear criteria of efficacy and effectiveness of the interventions." Though evaluating the intervention strategies has proved to be complex creating the ongoing debate. The intervention programs are on professional consensus instead of being evidence based. The article further suggests that the efficacy and effectiveness of the intervention programs can be determined by conducting empirical studies to provide evidence determine their outcomes before they are implemented. However, health practitioners randomize the trials that tend to provide convincing evidence but it does not consider all the factors and interactions in the strategies.
The interventions need to be evaluated before they are implemented. One way to do so is assess their outcomes. The objectives of health care is to increase life expectancy improve life quality of people. After assessing the outcomes, they need to be measured through the quality-adjusted life year (QALY) that measures the life expectancy. Many intervention strategies have been used to influence behaviors but most of them have put the people at risk while other has helped individuals to improve their health conditions. Health intervention strategies have consequences that need to be evaluated and determine whether they can work better under some of the controlled conditions.
Before any intervention strategy, cost-effectiveness evaluation needs to be done to determine whether the available resources are enough. All the information about the intervention strategies should be provided to all practitioners. The practitioners also should provide a feedback to determine the overall effectiveness of the interventions. The article is necessary since it provides all the necessary factors that need to be considered before the implementation of a strategy.
Mallonee, S., Fowler, C., & Istre, G. R. (2006). Bridging the gap between research and practice: a continuing challenge. Injury Prevention, 12(6), 357-359. http://doi.org/10.1136/ip.2006.014159
The article focuses on how to deal with the research-gap practice to achieve the intended outcomes. It outlines that there is a gap between research and practice that is the major challenge affecting most of the intervention strategies. The gap is believed to exist due to several factors such as lapses in communication between the researchers and practitioners, insufficient funds and lack of political support. Also, practitioners have cited that intervention strategies are narrowly focused, exp...