Background: Rates of noncommunicable diseases continue to rise worldwide. Many of these diseases are a result of engaging in risk behaviors. Without lifestyle and behavioral intervention, noncommunicable diseases can worsen and develop into more debilitating diseases. Behavioral interventions are an effective strategy to reduce the burden of disease. Behavior change techniques can be described as the “active ingredients” in behavior change and address the components that need to be altered in order for the target behavior to change. Health professionals, such as pharmacists and nurses, can engage in opportunistic behavior change with their patients, to encourage positive health behaviors. Objective: We aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate a behavior change workshop targeted at health professionals in Australia, with the goal of increasing knowledge of behavior change techniques and psychological variables. Methods: A prospective study design was used to develop and evaluate a 2-hour behavior change workshop targeted at health professionals. The workshop was developed based on the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior Model and had five core objectives: (1) to detail the role of health professionals in delivering optimal care, (2) to demonstrate opportunities to change behavior, (3) to describe principles of behavior change, (4) to explain behavior change techniques, and (5) to determine the most appropriate behavior change techniques to use and when to use them. A total of 10 workshops were conducted. To evaluate the workshops and identify any potential long-term changes in behavior, we collected pre- and postworkshop data on knowledge and psychological constructs from the attendees. Results: A final sample of 41 health professionals comprising general practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists completed the pre- and postworkshop surveys. Following the workshops, there were significant improvements in knowledge of behavior change techniques (t40=–5.27, P<.001), subjective norms (t40=–3.49, P=.001), descriptive norms (t40=–3.65, P<.001), perceived behavioral control (t40=–3.30, P=.002), and intention (t36=–3.32, P=.002); each had a large effect size. There was no significant difference in postworkshop attitude (t40=0.78, P=.44). The participants also found the workshops to be highly acceptable. Conclusions: A 2-hour, theoretically informed workshop designed to facilitate the use of behavior change techniques by health professionals was shown to be largely effective. The workshops resulted in increases in knowledge, descriptive and subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention, but not in attitude. The intervention was also shown to be highly acceptable, with the large majority of participants deeming the intervention to be needed, useful, appropriate, and applicable, as well as interesting and worth their time. Future research should examine the lasting impacts of the workshop on health professionals’ practices.

Pharmacists are trusted and accessible healthcare professionals who are well-positioned to deliver brief health behaviour change technique-based interventions for chronic health conditions. However, little is known about the factors influencing pharmacists' use of behaviour change techniques and their capacity to deliver these interventions within community pharmacy. This study employed the COM-B model to explore the factors that explain pharmacists' delivery of behaviour change techniques in practice. A secondary objective was to ascertain whether capability, opportunity, and motivation are associated with and explain significant variance in the use of behaviour change techniques during patient interactions. Two-hundred and eleven Australian pharmacists (mean age = 36.1, SD = 10.7) completed a survey on their capability, opportunity, and motivation to deliver behaviour change techniques, and their delivery and frequency of use in practice. Most pharmacists (91.3%) use behaviour change techniques during patient interactions. Results from a simple linear regression showed that a composite COM score was associated with pharmacists' behaviour change technique use F(1,195) = 47.12, β = 0.44, 95 % CI [0.09, 0.16], p < .001, and their frequency of use (F(1,198) = 44.19, β = 0.43, 95 % CI [0.02, 0.06], p < .001). While capability, opportunity, and motivation were individually associated with the range and frequency of behaviour change technique used, motivation was the only significant variable in the composite model for range (β = 0.35, 95 % CI [0.11, 0.41], p < .001) and frequency of behaviour change technique use (β = 0.22, 95 % CI [0.01, 0.09], p < .05). Pharmacist motivation was the most important construct explaining behaviour change technique use. Interventions should seek to foster pharmacist motivation and may benefit from adopting COM-B as a behaviour change framework, to understand the factors influencing the delivery of behaviour change interventions.

Pharmacists are among the most trusted and accessible health professionals in Australia. Community pharmacists are well positioned to deliver brief health recommendations to reduce risk factors of communicable and non-communicable disease during patient interactions. However, effective facilitation of these interactions in pharmacy practice should be considered. The Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour (COM-B) model provides a framework to map understanding of the factors affecting pharmacists' delivery of health behaviour recommendations to patients, with the aim of reducing disease risk factors. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with Australian community pharmacists (M_age = 38.7 years, SD = 15.6). Participants described their barriers and enablers to delivering brief health behaviour change recommendations during patient counselling. Transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, with the COM-B model as a guiding framework. Three themes were identified: 'Perceptions of patient willingness', 'Professional Role and Identity', and 'Structural constraints in pharmacy practice.' Pharmacists reported being motivated to engage with patients about behaviour change but felt inhibited by retail-models of pharmacy, time constraints, and lack of experiential learning. A patient-centred pharmacy model, theoretical knowledge of behaviour change, proprietor support, and patient interest appeared to be instrumental in the effective facilitation of behaviour change advice. Pharmacists are reportedly motivated to engage with patients about health risk factors and disease management. However, external barriers to recommendations and lack of time may only be reduced with management support. Findings necessitate pharmacy model-level initiatives to effectively overcome barriers, such as educating pharmacists about the benefits of behavioural medicine, and training in brief behaviour change techniques through professional development opportunities. Behavioural medicine can enhance pharmacists' capacity to support individuals in managing chronic and communicable disease, but this may need to be incorporated and prioritised early in pharmacy training, including throughout tertiary pharmacy curricula.

Background: The use of education alone as a technique to change behavior in interventions is usually insufficient, particularly in health interventions. Behavior change techniques have been shown to be effective in fostering positive changes in health behaviors such as diet and physical activity. The upskilling of health professionals can increase perceived capability and motivation toward eliciting change in clients’ behaviors. However, to date, dietitians have received limited training in behavior change and have expressed a need for continuous professional development. Objective: The study objectives are to (1) develop and evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of two 2-hour behavior change workshops on changing dietitians behavior (ie, range of behavior change techniques used and frequency of use) across 3 time points; (2) determine if participation in these workshops will elicit changes in dietitians’ perceived capability, opportunity, and motivation toward using behavior change techniques; and (3) determine the acceptability of the training and its application in practice by dietitians. Methods: We will recruit registered dietitians (N=140) in Australia to participate in this randomized controlled trial. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention or 3-month waitlist control condition and complete outcome measures at 3 time points: baseline, after the workshop, and follow-up at 3 months. Both groups will complete 2 workshops on behavior change that are guided by the COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior) Model and embedded with behavior change techniques. The primary outcome is changes in behavior, (ie, the range of behavior change techniques used and their frequency of use). Secondary outcomes include changes in perceived capability, opportunity, motivation, and preparedness as a health professional toward delivering behavior change techniques. The acceptability of the workshops will also be assessed after the workshop through the postworkshop survey and semistructured interviews. A series of 2-way repeated measures ANOVAs and regressions will be used. Qualitative data will be analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Participant recruitment commenced in June 2023. The results of the study are expected to be published in November 2024. The results will allow us to assess comparisons between the intervention and waitlist control groups, as well as changes in perceived capability, opportunity, motivation, and preparedness over a 3-month period. It will also provide an understanding of the acceptability of the training as a form of continuous professional development for dietitians. Conclusions: If found to be effective, the results of this 2-arm randomized controlled trial will guide future training and continuous professional development for health professionals in changing behavior in practice. Our findings will contribute to our understanding of the application of behavior change techniques in practice with clients and identify components of COM-B where dietitians may need future support. Trial Registration: ACTRN12623000525684; https://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12623000525684.aspx International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/49723

Pharmacists are essential in primary healthcare and are uniquely positioned to promote preventative health through behaviour change interventions. Effective delivery of these interventions requires theoretical and practical training in behaviour change strategies and techniques. The aim of the study was to (1) examine the current integration of behaviour change training in the Australian Pharmacy curricula, and (2) identify key factors contributing to its inclusion in the course. A comprehensive qualitative approach was used to conduct a curriculum review across accredited Australian pharmacy courses. This involved a document analysis of unit outlines, triangulated with semi-structured interviews with pharmacy staff to explore perceptions and experiences of behaviour change training. Eleven accredited Australian pharmacy courses (6 undergraduate, 5 postgraduate), including 148-unit outlines, were analysed using summative content analysis. Behaviour change training focused on communication, counselling, clinical reasoning, and patient-centred skills. Semi-structured interviews (N = 10) showed five themes: "It's not clearly defined," "Focus on 'industry ready skills'," "It's experience driven, "They're just expected to apply it", and "Behaviour change is embedded." Key factors included limited time, resources, incentives, knowledge gaps, and competing priorities. Behaviour change training is integrated throughout the curriculum, however there are inconsistencies in the breadth and depth across universities. The findings highlight the need for clear and structured integration of behaviour change in learning outcomes and targeted assessments to develop students' behaviour change skills. Future curriculum development should focus on creating frameworks to equip educators to support student's competencies and confidence as they transition into practice.