Abstract
Public health policies are used internationally to encourage healthcare professionals to deliver health behaviour change interventions (e.g. being more physically active, reducing alcohol intake) as part of routine healthcare. However, organisations face a number of barriers to implementing public health policy during routine clinical practice. Research suggests inconsistencies in: (a) how health behaviour change interventions are delivered by healthcare professionals, and (b) how patients experience receiving these interventions. Of additional concern are the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have led such health policies to be overlooked. Given that COVID-19 has increased health inequalities, supporting people to modify health behaviours is now more important than ever. This webinar will present findings from a programme of research examining the prevalence of health behaviour change interventions during routine NHS healthcare, from both the healthcare professional and patient perspectives. Preliminary findings will also be presented from a new programme of research currently underway, which examines if and how COVID-19 has affected the health communication practices of healthcare professionals, including COVID-19-specific challenges, and the awareness and prevalence of healthcare professionals’ policy-related practice in relation to health communication.
Biography
Chris is a Chartered Psychologist and Lecturer in Psychology at The University of Leeds. Before moving to Leeds in May 2021, Chris obtained his PhD in Health Psychology at The University of Manchester (2015), and has since worked across a number of multidisciplinary research programmes. He is a member of the UK Society for Behavioural Medicine, and the British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology. Chris has a background in mixed methods research, and his main interests are in applying evidence-based theory to developing behaviour change interventions, and understanding healthcare professional-patient communication.
Webinar Link