Use of Behaviour Change Techniques by Direct Support Professionals to Support Healthy Lifestyle Behaviour for People With Moderate to Profound Intellectual Disabilities

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-8-2020

Publication Title

Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities

Volume

34

Issue

4

First page number:

1048

Last page number:

1056

Abstract

Background: Behaviour change techniques (BCTs) can be employed to support a healthy lifestyle for people with intellectual disabilities. The aim of this study is to determine whether and which BCTs are used by direct support professionals (DSPs) for supporting healthy lifestyle behaviour of people with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities. Method: Direct support professionals (n = 18) were observed in their daily work using audio-visual recordings. To code BCTs, the Coventry Aberdeen London Refined (CALO-RE-NL) taxonomy was employed. Results: Direct support professionals used 33 BCTs out of 42. The most used BCTs were as follows: ‘feedback on performance’, ‘instructions on how to perform the behaviour’, ‘doing together’, ‘rewards on successful behaviour’, ‘reward effort towards behaviour’, ‘DSP changes environment’, ‘graded tasks’, ‘prompt practice’ and ‘model/demonstrate behaviour’. Conclusions: Although a variety of BCTs is used by DSPs in their support of people with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities when facilitating healthy lifestyle behaviour, they rely on nine of them.

Keywords

Behaviour change techniques; Direct support professionals; Lifestyle behaviour; Moderate to profound intellectual disabilities

Disciplines

Applied Behavior Analysis | Developmental Psychology

Language

English

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