New Articles from Annals of Behavioral Medicine and Translational Behavioral Medicine

SBM's two journals, Annals of Behavioral Medicine and Translational Behavioral Medicine: Practice, Policy, Research (TBM), continuously publish online articles, many of which become available before issues are printed. Two recently published Annals and TBM articles are listed below.

SBM members who have paid their 2024 membership dues are able to access the full text of all Annals and TBM online articles via the SBM website by following the steps below.

1. Go to the Members Only section of the SBM website.
2. Log in with your username and password.
3. Click on the Journals link.
4. Click on the title of the journal which you would like to electronically access.

To check your membership status, or if you are having trouble accessing the journals online, please contact the SBM national office at info@sbm.org or (414) 918-3156.

Translational Behavioral Medicine

Improving tobacco cessation interventions in hospitals: Pre–post evaluation of an innovative health systems intervention in Catalonia (Spain)

Cristina Martínez, Ariadna Feliu, Marta Enriquez, Laura Antón, Yolanda Castellano, Assumpta Company, Olga Romero, Ruth Ripoll, Angels Ruz, Sophia Papadakis, Esteve Fernández

Lay Summary

This study aimed to assess the impact of a health system intervention on healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) ability to help patients quit tobacco use. The intervention involved exposure to online training for staff and the implementation of a structured organizational change-level practice model that included some strategies, comprising establishing tobacco cessation steering groups with champions in each hospital, developing tailored protocols and guidelines within each organization, conducting on-site workshops for clinicians, and creating posters and pocket materials summarizing the intervention. The study took place in four hospitals in Barcelona province. We measured changes in HCPs’ knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and organizational factors related to tobacco cessation interventions. We also evaluated the performance of different components of the 5As Model, which guides tobacco cessation interventions (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange a follow-up). The results showed significant improvements in all components of the 5As Model, with “Assist” and “Arrange a follow-up” showing the most substantial enhancement. Several key dimensions, including individual skills, attitudes, commitment, and perception of organizational support, also improved significantly. Furthermore, we found that increased individual skills and organizational support were associated with higher rates of delivering the 5As components, particularly “Assist” and “Arrange a follow-up.” In conclusion, the health system intervention successfully enhanced HCPs’ skills, attitudes, commitment, and perception of organizational support, leading to improved performance in helping patients quit tobacco use. Future research should explore strategies to further promote organizational support, especially for components like “Assist” and “Arrange a follow-up” that were less commonly implemented initially.

Identification of weight loss interventions for translation among endometrial cancer survivors: A RE-AIM analysis

Samantha M Harden, Katie Brow, Jamie Zoellner, Shannon D Armbruster

Lay Summary

Weight loss improves morbidity and mortality associated with obesity-related cancer occurrence. Many interventions that target weight loss through physical activity and nutrition already exist. However, interventions specifically designed for endometrial cancer survivors with obesity are limited. Furthermore, the degree to which these programs will work in a given clinical system is unknown. This study explored existing interventions, applied a framework to analyze intervention characteristics, and used a validated tool to score the degree to which interventions would fit within the intended delivery system; in this case, a healthcare system that predominantly serves patients from rural areas.

Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Behavior Change Techniques Involved in Physical Activity Interventions for Children With Chronic Conditions: A Systematic Review

Hamsini Sivaramakrishnan, BSc, MSc, PhD; Elizabeth Davis, MBBS, FRACP, PhD; Lerato Obadimeji, BBiomedSc; Jane Valentine, MBBs, MRCP (Edin), FRACP, FARM, PhD; Fiona Wood, FRCS, FRACS, AM; Vinutha Shetty, MBBS, MD, PhD; Amy Finlay-Jones, BPsych (Hons), MPsych (Clinical), MHealthEcon, PhD (Clin Psych)

Lay Summary

Children with chronic conditions experience several barriers to engaging in physical activity. In order to overcome these unique barriers, physical activity interventions would need to incorporate specific strategies (called behavior change techniques [BCTs]) to encourage physical activity participation. The present review sought to identify BCTs that were successfully applied to physical activity interventions to increase physical activity behavior and improve psychosocial outcomes for children with chronic conditions. Across the 61 studies included within this review, the most commonly applied BCTs were providing instruction, allowing opportunities to practice the behavior, and demonstration of the behavior. Social support was also found to be the a successful BCT to increase physical activity behavior and improve psychosocial outcomes in the short- and long-term. Future physical activity interventions aimed at supporting physical activity behavior and psychosocial outcomes of children with chronic conditions could benefit from incorporating these strategies within intervention planning and delivery.

Multidimensional Religiousness and Spirituality Are Associated With Lower Interleukin-6 and C-Reactive Protein at Midlife: Findings From the Midlife in the United States Study

Kaitlyn M Vagnini, PhD; Jennifer Morozink Boylan, PhD; Monica Adams, MA; Kevin S Masters, PhD

Lay Summary

People who are religious and spiritual are often healthier and live longer than people who are less religious and spiritual. Researchers are trying to understand why. We know that religiousness and spirituality can help people manage stress and make healthy choices, which might contribute to less chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation can lead to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. This study examined data from over 2,000 participants of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study to determine whether midlife and older adults who are more religious and spiritual have less chronic inflammation. People who reported greater spirituality, more frequent spiritual experiences, use their religious/spiritual beliefs to cope with stressors, and use their religion/spirituality to practice mindfulness had lower inflammation than individuals who had less of these religious/spiritual characteristics. These findings are important because they provide knowledge about which dimensions of religiousness and spirituality are connected to health and present a biological pathway (bodily inflammation) that connects religiousness and spirituality to chronic diseases.