title: Goal conflict, goal facilitation, and health professionals' provision of physical activity advice in primary care: an exploratory prospective study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The theory of planned behaviour has well-evidenced utility in predicting health professional behaviour, but focuses on a single behaviour isolated from the numerous potentially conflicting and facilitating goal-directed behaviours performed alongside. Goal conflict and goal facilitation may influence whether health professionals engage in guideline-recommended behaviours, and may supplement the predictive power of the theory of planned behaviour. We hypothesised that goal facilitation and goal conflict contribute to predicting primary care health professionals' provision of physical activity advice to patients with hypertension, over and above predictors of behaviour from the theory of planned behaviour.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a prospective predictive design, at baseline we invited a random sample of 606 primary care health professionals from all primary care practices in NHS Grampian and NHS Tayside (Scotland) to complete postal questionnaires. Goal facilitation and goal conflict were measured alongside theory of planned behaviour constructs at baseline. At follow-up six months later, participants self-reported the number of patients, out of those seen in the preceding two weeks, to whom they provided physical activity advice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-four primary care physicians and nurses completed measures at both time points (7.3% response rate). Goal facilitation and goal conflict improved the prediction of behaviour, accounting for substantial additional variance (5.8% and 8.4%, respectively) in behaviour over and above intention and perceived behavioural control.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health professionals' provision of physical activity advice in primary care can be predicted by perceptions about how their conflicting and facilitating goal-directed behaviours help and hinder giving advice, over and above theory of planned behaviour constructs. Incorporating features of multiple goal pursuit into the theory of planned behaviour may help to better understand health professional behaviour.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Society, Baddiley-Clark Building, Richardson Road, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE2 4AX, UK. justin.presseau@ncl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Presseau
authors.forename: Jill J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: Neil C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Falko F
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Sniehotta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D015444:Exercise / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012606:Scotland; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires