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selecting a behavior change theory to guide health communication

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Purpose

Which theory of behavior change can help you plan a health communication intervention for a large audience? There is no single right answer, but some theories will fit your needs better than others. The purpose of this tool is to rank-order some commonly used theories by their degree of fit with your behavior change challenge.

Input & Output

You will be asked a series of questions about the behavior you want to change. Based on your answers, 6 theories of behavior change will be ranked by their degree of fit with your needs. TheoryPicker will offer other tips and resources as well.

Limitations

  1. The tool restricts its focus mainly to theories at the individual or interpersonal levels, but you should think more broadly.
  2. The most recent updates to a theory may not be reflected. Think flexibly -- compare pros and cons of various versions of a theory.
  3. The tool does not preserve fine-grained definitional distinctions between similar constructs from different theories. Learn more about the limitations.