Making an impact on health services: the influence of context on healthcare professional behaviour

Abstract

Aims: • To bring together studies that investigate the influence of context on healthcare professional (HCP) behaviour • To assess contextual influences in real-time in the delivery of patient care • To examine theoretical explanations of variation in HCP behaviour with a focus on non-deliberative processes • To identify opportunities for HCP behaviour change Rationale: Healthcare professional behaviour has important implications for the professionals themselves, patient outcomes and wider health service delivery. There remain problems in accurately assessing what healthcare professionals do during their clinical work. Implementing change can also be problematic because of a limited understanding of the non-deliberative (e.g. contextual/habitual) influences on targeted healthcare behaviours which may have some bearing on the effectiveness of interventions. This symposium aims to present novel ways of assessing and explaining automatic, associative influences on behaviours involved in clinical practice with a focus on guiding methods of change. Summary: In keeping with the conference theme, making an impact in health services, the symposium will highlight several approaches to understanding healthcare professional behaviour in order to design and develop theory-based behaviour change interventions. Studies presented adopt diverse methods and cover a range HCP behaviours and healthcare contexts. Specifically, the programme will comprise: a systematic review investigating the relationship between habit and healthcare professional behaviour (Potthoff); a qualitative study identifying the role of context in influencing the antibiotic prescribing behaviour of doctors in two primary care settings (Tonkin-Crine); an observational investigation of situational factors associated with stress in trainee doctors (Bell); a real-time diary study exploring nursing tasks and perceptions of stress (Farquharson); and a study examining the use of psychological theory to support implementation of evidence-based practice in healthcare (Fahy). A discussion (lead by Presseau) will complete the symposium.