title: Conceptual models of health behavior: research in the emergency care settings.
abstract: This article provides recommendations for incorporating conceptual models of health behavior change into research conducted in emergency care settings. The authors drafted a set of preliminary recommendations, which were reviewed and discussed by a panel of experienced investigators attending the 2009 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference. The original recommendations were expanded and refined based on their input. This article reports the final recommendations. Three recommendations were made: 1) research conducted in emergency care settings that focuses on health behaviors should be grounded in formal conceptual models, 2) investigators should clearly operationalize their outcomes of interest, and 3) expected relations between theoretical constructs and outcomes should be made explicit prior to initiating a study. A priori hypothesis generation grounded in conceptual models of health behavior, followed by empirical validation of these hypotheses, is needed to improve preventive and public health-related interventions in emergency care settings.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA. Edwin.Boudreaux@umassmed.edu
authors.forename: Edwin D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Boudreaux
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cydulka
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bock
authors.forename: Belinda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Borrelli
authors.forename: Steven L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Bernstein
mesh_terms: D003245:Consensus Statements as Topic; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D015438:Health Behavior; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009042:Motivation; D009874:Operations Research; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011634:Public Health; D012107:Research Design