Division of Medical Education, University of Manchester, UK.
Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
Acta Psychol (Amst). 2022 Apr;224:103527. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103527. Epub 2022 Feb 7.
The emergence of COVID-19 and the importance of behaviour change to limit its spread created an urgent need to apply behavioural science to public health. Knowledge mobilisation, the processes whereby research leads to useful findings that are implemented to affect positive outcomes, is a goal for researchers, policy makers and practitioners alike. This study aimed to explores the experience of using behavioural science in public health during COVID-19, to discover barriers and facilitators and whether the rapidly changing context of COVID-19 influenced knowledge mobilisation.
We conducted a semi-structured interview study, with ten behavioural scientists and seven public health professionals in England, Scotland, Wales, The Netherlands and Canada. We conducted an inductive thematic analysis.
We report three key themes and 10 sub-themes: 1.Challenges and facilitators of translation of behavioural science into public health (Methods and frameworks supported translation, Lack of supportive infrastructure, Conviction and sourcing of evidence and Embracing behavioural science) 2. The unique context of translation (Rapid change in context, the multi-disciplinary team and the emotional toll). 3. Recommendations to support future behavioural science translation (Embedding experts into teams, Importance of a collaborative network and showcasing the role of behavioural science).
Barriers and facilitators included factors related to relationships between people, such as networks and teams; the expertise of individual people; and those related to materials, such as the use of frameworks and an overwhelming amount of evidence and literature.
People and frameworks were seen as important in facilitating behavioural science in practice. Future research could explore how different frameworks are used. We recommend a stepped competency framework for behavioural science in public health and more focus on nurturing networks to facilitate knowledge mobilisation in future emergencies.
新冠疫情的出现以及行为改变对于限制其传播的重要性，使得将行为科学应用于公共卫生领域成为当务之急。知识转化是指研究产生有用的发现并将其付诸实施以产生积极结果的过程，这是研究人员、政策制定者和实践者的共同目标。本研究旨在探讨在新冠疫情期间将行为科学应用于公共卫生的经验，发现障碍和促进因素，以及新冠疫情快速变化的背景是否影响了知识转化。
我们在英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士、荷兰和加拿大进行了一项半结构式访谈研究，共有 10 名行为科学家和 7 名公共卫生专业人员参与。我们进行了归纳主题分析。
我们报告了三个关键主题和 10 个子主题：1. 将行为科学转化为公共卫生的挑战和促进因素（方法和框架支持转化、缺乏支持性基础设施、证据和证据的信念和来源以及接受行为科学）2. 独特的转化背景（背景的快速变化、多学科团队和情绪压力）。3. 支持未来行为科学转化的建议（将专家嵌入团队、协作网络的重要性和展示行为科学的作用）。
障碍和促进因素包括人与人之间关系相关的因素，如网络和团队；个人的专业知识；以及与材料相关的因素，如框架的使用以及大量的证据和文献。
人们和框架被认为是促进实践中行为科学的重要因素。未来的研究可以探索不同框架的使用方式。我们建议在公共卫生领域使用行为科学的逐步能力框架，并更加注重培育网络，以促进未来紧急情况下的知识转化。
