Tasmin Rookes - Behaviour Change Interventions for multiple long-term conditions

Identifying important behaviour change components in complex interventions for people with multiple long-term health conditions (M-LTCs): a systematic review

The Approach

Tasmin lead a systematic review exploring the effectiveness of behaviour change interventions for people living with multiple long-term health conditions, also known as multimorbidity. We summarised the current evidence trying to help people with two or more conditions change the things they do, to aid self-management of their conditions. We did this to find out which components of these new interventions were most effective in encouraging behaviour change in this group of people and what leads to a better quality of life or improvement in their condition.

The Results

Our findings show that emotional well-being and psychological distress outcomes were most amenable to change, especially when the interventions centred around collaborative care and lasted for longer than 6-months. The components of these interventions with the most potential to improve outcomes were behaviour-centred goal setting, whilst monitoring the outcomes of the behaviour; problem-solving, social support, health-related information, and pharmacological support (where appropriate).

The Implications

Interventions designed to help people living with two or more health conditions should incorporate these six components, as well as any other components relevant to the behaviours they are trying to change. There should be a focus on improving psychological distress, especially when at least one is a mental health condition.

Dissemination and Funding

The link to the full paper: Effectiveness of complex behaviour change interventions tested in randomised controlled trials for people with multiple long-term conditions (M-LTCs): Systematic reviews with meta-analysis  

A summary of the Behaviour Change Techniques has been submitted for publication. Links to the full text will be shared here once available.

This was funded by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) and was presented at their annual showcase in September 2023.