Health psychology: Behaviour change for health and well-being in adults and children in Northern Ireland

Dr Liz Simpson, Dr Marian McLaughlin and Prof Tony Cassidy (Ulster) Reducing health inequalities and promoting well-being is a main focus for Government health policies in Northern Ireland.  Many of the chronic health conditions that are prevalent in our society today, such as obesity, coronary heart disease and diabetes, all have one thing in common, they can be linked to poor lifestyle choices such as smoking, consumption of unhealthy foods and being sedentary. A number of health psychology researchers are working in the area of behaviour change within Northern Ireland.  The aim of this seminar is to provide an overview of how health psychology theories are being used to design more effective interventions to improve health and well-being in different groups and across a range of health related behaviours.  It is worth noting that some theories of behaviour change such as The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) has been endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as an evidence-based way of predicting health related behaviour and a framework for designing behaviour change interventions.  Within this seminar, we will look at how theories of behaviour change are being used, and in collaboration with Public Health bodies such as Cancer Focus NI, the Public Health Agency and Chest Heart and Stroke NI to develop and deliver more effective behaviour change interventions focusing on physical activity, dietary intake and e-cigarette use. Such theories can be applied to a number of health related behaviours, both at a community and clinical setting, that represent health inequalities and considerable risk for the development of chronic conditions, such as obesity and coronary heart disease and poor health outcomes. This presentation will showcase ongoing research and how health psychology can contribute to Public health in Northern Ireland.  This seminar took place on 14 February 2018 Download: Policy Briefing Presentation