Evaluation of educational workshops for health professionals in behaviour change

INTERVENTION: Health professionals have shown to rely on providing only education to clients as a way of delivering information and promoting behaviour change. However, while education is important, it is usually ineffective for changing behaviour when used in isolation. Behaviour change theories and techniques can be useful for delivering effective behaviour change interventions. As such, dietary interventions that are informed by behaviour change theoretical models and techniques, have shown to have a greater potential to be more effective than those without. Dietitians have expressed that the training received during dietetics education in behaviour change has been inadequate and that they felt their skills in behaviour change were limited. A randomised controlled trial, comparing the effectiveness of a behaviour change intervention with a waitlist control group. Participants will be randomised to either the intervention or waitlist control group. Assessments will occur at baseline (T0), Post workshops (T1) and at 3‐month follow‐up (T2). The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of two‐2 hour workshops in: • Increasing the number of behaviour change techniques used and frequency of use of behaviour change techniques in practice. • Increase dietitians’ capability, opportunity, motivation and preparedness towards delivering behaviour change techniques in practice. The final aim is to assess the acceptability of the intervention, to dietitians. The workshops will be delivered by the research team which include a health psychologist and researchers from psychology and nutrition/dietetics who are experienced in health‐behaviour change. Workshops will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams and will be delivered in‐person at Curtin University. Each wor CONDITION: Diet and Nutrition ‐ Other diet and nutrition disorders Education of health‐behaviour change ; ; Education of health‐behaviour change PRIMARY OUTCOME: Behaviour (Use of behaviour change techniques), assessed using one item that asks which techniques have they used in practice. Participants are provided a list of 14 techniques that are covered in the workshops. ; [Baseline (T0), Post second workshop (T1) and 3 month follow up (T2)] Frequency of behaviour, assessed using one item that asks how frequently do participants use behaviour change techniques in practice. [Baseline (T0), Post second workshop (T1) and 3 month follow up (T2).] SECONDARY OUTCOME: Acceptability, as assessed using the Acceptability scale (Kothe and Mullan, 2014).[Post second workshop (T1)] Capability as assessed using the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation (COM) measure. [Baseline (T0), Post second workshop (T1) and 3 month follow up (T2)] Motivation as assessed using the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation (COM) measure.[Baseline (T0), Post second workshop (T1) and 3 month follow up (T2)] Opportunity as assessed using the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation (COM) measure.[Baseline (T0), Post second workshop (T1) and 3 month follow up (T2)] Preparedness to use Behaviour change techniques, as assessed using the Preparedness scale. [Baseline (T0), Post second workshop (T1) and 3 month follow up (T2)] INCLUSION CRITERIA: Registered and working as a dietitian in Australia.