Using the Behaviour Change Wheel to explore potential strategies for minimising harms from non-recreational prescription medicine sharing

Article synopsis: Medicine sharing can result in negative health outcomes; thus, systematically developed interventions to reduce potential harms from medicine-sharing are required. This qualitative study used the ‘Behaviour Change Wheel’ (BCW) to apply a theory-based approach to identifying (a) factors influencing patients' non-recreational prescription medicine sharing behaviours and (b) potential interventions. The findings indicate that factors related to ‘Capability’ (knowledge and cognitive skil ls), ‘Opportunity’ (environmental factors), and ‘Motivation’ (‘brain processes that energize and direct behaviour’) influence medicine sharing behaviours. Education, persuasion, enablement, environmental restructuring, and restriction appear to be the most suitable BCW intervention funct ions to target factors influencing medicine sharing.
Source: Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy - Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Source Type: research