The psychometric properties of a tool to assess brief behaviour change counselling in South Africa

Abstract Background Human hygiene behaviours influence the transmission of infectious diseases. Changing maladaptive hygiene habits has the potential to improve public health. Parents and teachers can play an important role in disinfecting surface areas and in helping children develop healthful handwashing habits. The current study aims to inform a future intervention that will help parents and teachers take up this role using a theoretically and empirically informed behaviour change model called the Capabilities-Opportunities-Motivations-Behaviour (COM-B) model. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was designed to measure participants’ capabilities, opportunities, and motivations to [1] increase their children’s handwashing with soap and [2] increase their cleaning of surface areas. Additional items captured how often participants believed their children washed their hands. The final survey was administered early in the coronavirus pandemic (May and June 2020) to 3975 participants from Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Participants self-identified as mums, dads, or teachers of children 5 to 10 years old. ANOVAs analyses were used to compare participant capabilities, opportunities, and motivations across countries for handwashing and surface disinfecting. Multiple regressions analyses were conducted for each country to assess the predictive relationship between the COM-B components and children’s handwashing. Results The ANOVA analyses revealed that India had the lowest levels of capability, opportunity, and motivation, for both hand hygiene and surface cleaning. The regression analyses revealed that for Australia, Indonesia, and South Africa, the capability component was the only significant predictor of children’s handwashing. For India, capability and opportunity were significant. For the United Kingdom, capability and motivation were significant. Lastly, for Saudi Arabia all components were significant. Conclusions The discussion explores how the Behaviour Change Wheel methodology could be used to guide further intervention development with community stakeholders in each country. Of the countries assessed, India offers the greatest room for improvement, and behaviour change techniques that influence people’s capability and opportunities should be prioritised there.

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The Perspectives of Amateur Soccer Players and their Coaches on the Use of Performance Enhancing Substances

Global Journal of Health Science ◽

10.5539/gjhs.v11n7p154 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 154

Author(s):

Thanujj Kisten ◽

Rowena Naidoo

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Behaviour Change ◽

Youth Sports ◽

Nutritional Supplements ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Young Athletes ◽

Kwazulu Natal ◽

Educational Programmes ◽

Performance Enhancing Substances ◽

Performance Enhancing

Adolescent and youth sports seem to have progressively developed in South Africa to the point where young athletes are considering doping and the use of performance-enhancing substances (PES). This study determined the perspectives of U-19 soccer players and their coaches in the eThekwini region, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, on the use of supplements and drugs. Male participants (n = 449) playing first team soccer from development clubs in the eThekwini region, and their respective coaches (n = 30), volunteered to participate in this study. A questionnaire was administered to players and coaches were interviewed. Soccer players and their coaches believed that consuming prohibited substances in sport was unethical. The majority of the players (73.9% either agreed or strongly agreed) and coaches believed that doping in soccer is on the increase. About a quarter of the players consumed nutritional supplements and smoked cannabis. Anti-doping educational programmes and behaviour change interventions are vital in order to educate and transform athletes’ and coaches’ perspectives on doping and PES, and their resultant behaviour.

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Development of a training programme for primary care providers to counsel patients with risky lifestyle behaviours in South Africa

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine ◽

10.4102/phcfm.v7i1.819 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Zelra Malan ◽

Bob Mash ◽

Kathy Everett-Murphy

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Primary Care ◽

Nurse Practitioners ◽

Communicable Disease ◽

Primary Care Providers ◽

Training Programme ◽

Care Providers ◽

Clinical Nurse ◽

Lifestyle Behaviours ◽

Behaviour Change Counselling

Background: We are facing a global epidemic of non-communicable disease (NCDs), which has been linked with four risky lifestyle behaviours. It is recommended that primary care providers (PCPs) provide individual brief behaviour change counselling (BBCC) as part of everyday primarycare, however currently training is required to build capacity. Local training programmes are not sufficient to achieve competence.Aim: This study aimed to redesign the current training for PCPs in South Africa, around a new model for BBCC that would offer a standardised approach to addressing patients’ risky lifestyle behaviours.Setting: The study population included clinical nurse practitioners and primary care doctors in the Western Cape Province.Methods: The analyse, design, develop, implement and evaluate (ADDIE) model provided a systematic approach to the analysis of learning needs, the design and development of the training programme, its implementation and initial evaluation.Results: This study designed a new training programme for PCPs in BBCC, which was based on a conceptual model that combined the 5As (ask, alert, assess, assist and arrange) with a guiding style derived from motivational interviewing. The programme was developed as an eight-hour training programme that combined theory, modelling and simulated practice with feedback, for either clinical nurse practitioners or primary care doctors.Conclusion: This was the first attempt at developing and implementing a best practice BBCC training programme in our context, targeting a variety of PCPs, and addressing different risk factors.

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Equipping providers with principles, knowledge and skills to successfully integrate behaviour change counselling into practice: a primary healthcare framework

Public Health ◽

10.1016/j.puhe.2017.10.022 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 154 ◽

pp. 70-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

M. Vallis ◽

D. Lee-Baggley ◽

T. Sampalli ◽

A. Ryer ◽

S. Ryan-Carson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Behaviour Change ◽

Primary Healthcare ◽

Knowledge And Skills ◽

Behaviour Change Counselling

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Action for increasing energy-saving behaviour in student residences at Rhodes University, South Africa

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education ◽

10.1108/ijshe-07-2017-0107 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 773-789 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Angel Ancha Lindelwa Bulunga ◽

Gladman Thondhlana

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Saving ◽

Behaviour Change ◽

Green Infrastructure ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Energy Use ◽

Economic Benefits ◽

Environmental Behaviour ◽

Content Type

Purpose In response to increasing energy demand and financial constraints to invest in green infrastructure, behaviour change energy-saving interventions are increasingly being considered as a tool for encouraging pro-environmental behaviour in campus residences. This paper aims to report on a pilot programme aimed at reducing energy consumption via behaviour change interventions, variably applied in residences at Rhodes University, South Africa. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected via structured questionnaires, energy consumption records and post-intervention programme focus group discussions. Findings Participant residences that received a mix of different interventions in the forms of pamphlets, face-to-face discussions, incentives and feedback recorded more energy reductions of up to 9 per cent than residences that received a single or no intervention. In post-experiment discussions, students cited personal, institutional and structural barriers to pro-environmental energy-use behaviour. Practical implications Overall, the results of this study suggest that information provision of energy-saving tips combined with regular feedback and incentives can result in energy-use reductions in university residences, which may yield environmental and economic benefits for universities, but addressing barriers to pro-environmental behaviour might maximise the results. Originality/value Given the lack of literature on energy conservation in the global South universities, this study provides the basis for discussing the potential for using behavioural interventions in universities for stirring pathways towards sustainability.

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