The Basic Science of Behavior Change and Its Application to Pediatric Providers

Abstract

Pediatric primary care providers (PPCPs) are increasingly expected to know how to assess, diagnose, and treat a wide range of mental health problems in children and adolescents. For many PPCPs, this means learning and performing new practice behaviors that were not taught in their residency training. Typical continuing education approaches to engage PPCPs in new practices have not yielded the desired changes in provider behavior. This article summarizes behavior change principles identified through basic behavior science, adult education, and communication research, and discusses their application to a patient-centered pediatric primary care mental health curriculum.

Keywords: Behavior change; Continuing medical education; Expected values; Integrated health care; Medical provider training; Normative beliefs; Pediatric primary care; Self-efficacy.