Applied Behaviour Change

I’ve been fortunate lately to lead one (Applied Behaviour Change) and contribute to another (Paulina Bondaronek, PhD) exciting project at the intersection of AI and Behavioural Science and Behaviour Change. A cross-disciplinary space that is as challenging as it is rewarding for me... but often requires a lot of self-directed learning. I recently attended a webinar, "Balancing Innovation and Risks with Large Language Models (LLMs)" by JMIR Publications, where Dr Bell from Stanford shared her research on how LLMs can be thoughtfully (and carefully) integrated into digital mental health. A few key points: 🟢 LLMs can improve mental health literacy, making information accessible in various languages and reading levels. They are also used in simulators, helping practitioners refine skills in sensitive interactions, like suicide assessments. 🟢 While not for formal diagnoses, LLMs could support clinicians with screening and monitoring tools, aiding in more consistent, evidence-based practices. 🟢 LLMs show promise in summarizing patient information and suggesting evidence-based treatments. However, Dr Bell advises caution in using them directly for therapeutic intervention until validated. 🟢 Dr Bell highlighted risks like bias in training data and underscored the importance of diverse, representative models (something we've been working on now!). Ethical standards should include informed consent, transparency, and competence boundaries, along with a “human-in-the-loop” approach, ensuring LLMs are a supportive tool, not a replacement. 🟢 Dr Bell suggests we “turbocharge” self-help tools with culturally customized data to achieve personalized user support. What I appreciated most was the emphasis on the 'human-in-the-loop' approach. While AI can indeed be used for good, it should be viewed as a collaboration rather than a replacement. If you are someone working in a similar field, let's connect! And if you're up to a virtual coffee, don't hesitate to message me. Dr Kristina Curtis Nicole Jiang #MentalHealthTech #DigitalHealth #EthicsInAI #BiasInAI #LanguageModels #MentalHealthInnovation #HealthInnovation #BehaviourChange

Behaviour change with an AI chatbot 🤖 A recent study investigated whether an AI chatbot could effectively promote behaviour change. Enter “Cory COVID-Bot”, a chatbot designed to shape users' attitudes and intentions around COVID-19 testing and lockdown compliance🩹. Cory delivered two behaviour change interventions through animated, language-neutral clips, aiming to boost understanding and motivation for protective behaviours ❤️🔥: 1) an animation illustrating the exponential growth of COVID-19 cases, and 2) a clip evoking compassion for those affected by the virus. The study suggests that AI chatbots can indeed drive behaviour change, especially for diverse audiences where accessibility (through language-neutral visuals) is essential. What’s remarkable here is the use of short, animated clips to communicate complex public health concepts - without spoken or written language. This made Cory highly accessible across language barriers, reaching culturally diverse and lower literacy populations alike. The compassion animation, in particular, was designed to support empathy, linking emotional engagement directly with behavioural intentions. Perhaps unsurprisingly, autonomy played a crucial role. The study found that while chatbots equipped with animations can effectively deliver standardized information, their impact is most profound when users voluntarily engage with it. This finding reinforces an important point: 📌Even with AI-driven interventions, respecting user autonomy by allowing people to interact with the chatbot when they choose and at their own pace, may significantly improve the impact of behaviour change efforts. And as we know, in behaviour change, self-initiated actions are often more impactful and sustainable. Link to the article in the comments. #AI #BehaviourChange #Autonomy #ChatBot

We have an amazing line up of speakers for the next #ECDC webinar on building trust in policies, interventions and communications for infectious disease prevention. Register now to join us on the 8th of Nov! European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)#misinformation #healthcomms #community #trust #publichealth #infectiousdisease #prevention

Today's the last day of the #CBCIntermediateCourse! Throughout the week participants have worked on a personal plan, with guidance from their mentor, to develop a behaviour change intervention to their own area of interest. Earlier some of our participants gave fantastic presentations on their personal plan and received live feedback from course leads Susan Michie, Fabiana Lorencatto, Dr Lucy Porter and Angel Chater. This afternoon, our course leads were joined by leading expert Robert West for a final Q&A session for participants. 🎉 A big thank you and congratulations to our 36 participants for your engagement, enthusiasm and hard work throughout the week! And thanks to our presenters & mentors for your expertise and guidance 👏 Danielle D'Lima Paulina Schenk Lisa Zhang Dr Amanda Moore Marta Marques Vivi Antonopoulou Dr Alison R. McKinlay Gillian Forbes Neil Howlett Leslie M Gutman Dr Kristina Curtis 👉 Find out more about all of our courses: https://lnkd.in/e8seCJnb

Register now for the next UCL Centre for Behaviour Change introductory course on Behaviour Change Interventions! #behaviourchange #UCL #experts #onlinelearning

How can organisations develop hybrid working models that benefit both employees and the organisation? Join us in the latest Clarasys podcast episode on 'Never Mind The Pain Points' hosted by the wonderful Sophie Brazell, with insights from Sarah Partridge and myself. Link in the comments! #hybridworking #codesign #behaviouraldesign #research #experiment

Thrilled to be part of the Welcome Ceremony at HIMSS Europe next week in Rome! ☀️ This marks my third year as a speaker, and I'm continually inspired by the exceptional health tech innovators and healthcare futurists, like Koen Kas, that I meet. The conference organisers (Lisa Thomlinson, Lisa Rice Duek MBA, RN, Susanna C.) excel at gathering the brightest and most pioneering minds in the field, creating a thought-provoking and dynamic event in digital health. The energy around the increasingly advanced and sophisticated technologies, with the potential to transform patient lives, is always electrifying. However, we can further enhance these innovations by integrating evidence-based behaviour change models and co-design principles into product strategies to boost engagement and support sustainable behavioural changes. Looking forward to connecting! Please find me at the conference or message me if you'd like to learn more #BehaviouralDesign #DigitalHealth #CoDesign #Engagement #BehaviourChange #HIMSS24

I’ll be speaking at #HIMSS24Europe on Gaming and Behavioural Health and Leveraging Digital Health for Action on Non-Communicable Diseases. Excited to share my knowledge and insights with health innovators from around the world. Will I see you in Rome? Registration link in the comments! #DigitalHealth #BehaviouralScience #HumanComputerInteraction #NonCommunicableDiseases #Keynote #Rome

Very excited to be working with Verian Group, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, UCL Centre for Behaviour Change and EHMA - European Health Management Association as the Lead Thematic Expert for this pioneering #ECDC project! This project aims to strengthen the capacity for the use of social and #behavioural sciences among actors working in the #prevention of #communicable diseases across Europe!

🎉 Exciting News Alert! Tomorrow marks the 10-year anniversary of the launch of UCL's Centre for Behaviour Change, a milestone worth celebrating! 🚀 The Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW), a key framework developed by CBC's director Susan Michie along with esteemed colleagues Maartje M. van Stralen and Robert West, has transformed intervention design over the last decade. What's truly inspiring is witnessing the BCW's profound impact on mobile health interventions addressing a diverse array of health conditions and behaviours. 📱💊 The integration of participatory research methods like co-design has been instrumental in bridging the gap between research and practice, ensuring interventions are acceptable, feasible and motivating for the target groups. As we reflect on the past 10 years, we're filled with anticipation for what the future holds in behaviour change research, particularly in the realm of digital health and beyond. 🌟 Here's to another decade of innovation, collaboration, and transformative change! 🎊 #10YearsCBC #BCW #behaviourchange #innovation #collaboration #research #implementationscience #mhealth UCL Centre for Behaviour Change Susan Michie Robert West Fabiana Lorencatto