Painter Julia E, Borba Christina P C, Hynes Michelle, Mays Darren, Glanz Karen
Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Rd, NE, Rm 530, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
Ann Behav Med. 2008 Jun;35(3):358-62. doi: 10.1007/s12160-008-9042-y. Epub 2008 Jul 17.
Theory-based health behavior change programs are thought to be more effective than those that do not use theory. No previous reviews have assessed the extent to which theory is used (that is, operationalized and tested) in empirical research.
The purpose of this study was to describe theory use in recent health behavior literature and to assess the proportion of research that uses theory along a continuum from: informed by theory to applying, testing, or building theory.
A sample of empirical research articles (n = 193) published in ten leading public health, medicine, and psychology journals from 2000 to 2005 was coded to determine whether and how theory was used.
Of health behavior articles in the sample, 35.7% mentioned theory. The most-often-used theories were The Transtheoretical Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Health Belief Model. Most theory use (68.1%) involved research that was informed by theory; 18% applied theory; 3.6% tested theory; and 9.4% sought to build theory.
About one third of published health behavior research uses theory and a small proportion of those studies rigorously apply theory. Patterns of theory use are similar to reports from the mid-1990s. Behavioral researchers should strive to use theory more thoroughly by applying, testing, and building theories in order to move the field forward.
基于理论的健康行为改变项目被认为比那些未运用理论的项目更有效。此前尚无综述评估理论在实证研究中的运用程度（即理论的操作化和检验）。
本研究旨在描述近期健康行为文献中理论的运用情况，并评估从受理论启发到应用、检验或构建理论这一连续过程中运用理论的研究比例。
对2000年至2005年在十种主要公共卫生、医学和心理学期刊上发表的实证研究文章样本（n = 193）进行编码，以确定是否以及如何运用理论。
样本中的健康行为文章有35.7%提及理论。最常使用的理论是跨理论模型、社会认知理论和健康信念模型。大多数理论运用（68.1%）涉及受理论启发的研究；18%应用理论；3.6%检验理论；9.4%试图构建理论。
约三分之一已发表的健康行为研究运用理论，其中一小部分研究严格应用理论。理论运用模式与20世纪90年代中期的报告相似。行为研究人员应努力通过应用、检验和构建理论更全面地运用理论，以推动该领域发展。
