Many foodborne illness outbreaks originate in food service establishments. We tested two behavioural interventions designed to improve the duration and quality of handwashing. We ran a three-armed parallel trial in a laboratory kitchen, from 7 March to 27 May 2022. Participants were n = 195 workers who handle food. We randomly allocated participants to three groups: Timer – tap-mounted timer that counted seconds while participants washed their hands; Precommitment – agreed to five statements on good hand hygiene before attending the kitchen; and Control. Participants completed a food preparation task under time pressure. Cameras focused on the sink captured handwashing. Outcome measures were number of times participants washed their hands; number of times they washed their hands using soap; number of times they washed using soap and washed the backs of their hands; and mean duration of handwashing attempts using soap. Participants in Timer washed their hands for 1.9 s longer on average than Control (β = 2.20, 95% CI = 0.34-4.06, p = 0.021). Participants in Precommitment washed their hands for 2.5 s longer on average than Control (β = 2.30, 95% CI = 0.33-4.27, p = 0.022). We found no statistically significant differences on any other outcome measure.

Facilitating the learning and engagement of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in any classroom can be challenging. In this study, we examined the use of online daily behaviour report card (DBRC) to decrease off-task behaviour in students with ADHD who were studying at a public school for at-risk youths in Singapore. Using a multiple baseline design across participants, the study involved 3 adolescents with ADHD who exhibited a high level of off-task behaviour and had received numerous office discipline referrals. Aside from the involvement of classroom teachers, the online DBRC intervention was modified to involve an additional school mentor who supported the parents in monitoring and guiding the students. Results indicated that the online DBRC intervention had been effective in decreasing off-task behaviour in the 3 students. Implications of findings and directions for future studies are discussed.

This investigation examined the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their preferences for classroom interventions for behaviours consistent with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Teacher ratings of intervention acceptability, effectiveness, and rate of change were compared across United States and New Zealand samples. Beliefs examined were personal teaching efficacy, general teaching efficacy, and pupil control ideology (PCI). Samples were compared regarding their preferences for the daily report card, response cost technique, classroom lottery, and medication as classroom strategies for managing ADHD-related behavioural concerns. Data were analysed using general linear modelling techniques, and an interaction was demonstrated between ADHD intervention x PCI x nationality. Differences were observed for ADHD interventions across samples based upon pupil control orientations. Implications for educators and their classroom practices are discussed.

The ‘Txt2Stop’ SMS messaging programme has been found to double smokers’ chances of stopping. It is important to characterise the content of this information in terms of specific behaviour change techniques (BCTs) for the purpose of future development. This study aimed to (i) extend a proven system for coding BCTs to text messaging and (ii) characterise Txt2Stop using this system. A taxonomy previously used to specify BCTs in face-to-face behavioural support for smoking cessation was adapted for the Txt2Stop messages and inter-rater reliability for the adapted system assessed. The system was then applied to all the messages in the Txt2Stop programme to determine its profile in terms of BCTs used. The text message taxonomy comprised 34 BCTs. Inter-rater reliability was moderate, reaching a ceiling of 61% for the core program messages with all discrepancies readily resolved. Of 899 texts delivering BCTs, 218 aimed to maintain motivation to remain abstinent, 870 to enhance self-regulatory capacity or skills, 39 to promote use of adjuvant behaviours such as using stop-smoking medication, 552 to maintain engagement with the intervention and 24 were general communication techniques. The content of Txt2Stop focuses on helping smokers with self-regulation and maintaining engagement with the intervention. The intervention focuses to a lesser extent on boosting motivation to remain abstinent; little attention is given to promoting effective use of adjuvant behaviours such as use of nicotine replacement therapy. As new interventions of this kind are developed it will be possible to compare their effectiveness and relate this to standardised descriptions of their content using this system.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetically-inherited disorder that results in energy imbalance. Undernutrition is common in children with CF and associated with poor health outcomes. To ensure optimal growth and nutrition, children with CF are recommended to consume 120–150% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for energy, but most studies show they typically are only able to achieve 100% of the RDA. While biological factors clearly contribute to poor dietary adherence, recent studies have documented behavioural and environmental barriers to adherence that includes parent-child interaction at mealtimes. While not ‘abnormal’, parent behaviours such as paying increased attention to the child in the form of coaxing, commanding and feeding when the child is engaged in behaviours incompatible with eating (food refusal, talking, leaving the meal) may serve to reinforce these child non-eating behaviours. Thus, dietary counselling alone, albeit necessary, is typically insufficient because of failure to specifically address these behavioural and environmental barriers to dietary treatment. Behavioural intervention that targets both nutrition education and behavioural management has been found to be effective in achieving an average increased energy intake of 4200 kJ (1000)kcal/d and weight gain of 1·48 kg over 9 weeks in children with CF. This intervention utilizes self-monitoring, goal setting and shaping to structure the delivery of treatment. It also teaches parents to utilize child behaviour-management techniques to motivate children to increase their energy intake. These behavioural strategies include differential attention (praising and ignoring), contingency management and behavioural contracting. The potential application of these techniques to dietary counselling is suggested.

There is a pressing need for the development of effective early family intervention programs for children showing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) behaviours with Conduct Disorder (CD) or Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) behaviours. Previous research has indicated that children with ADHD are at high risk of developing comorbid CD or ODD behaviours. In addition, it has been shown that ODD or CD behaviours in childhood tend to persist and to have adverse effects on later social adjustment. However, ODD or CD behaviours are not necessary concomitants of ADHD, and it has been demonstrated that behavioural intervention can have both short- and long-term beneficial effects for children showing early signs of ODD or CD behaviours. In the short term, behavioural family interventions may be able to reduce oppositional behaviour, particularly in the preschool years. In the long term, early intervention has been shown to reduce the incidence of later antisocial behaviour in children at risk for this developmental trajectory. In this paper, it will be argued that behavioural family interventions have not been effectively utilised or promulgated in the community for children with ADHD despite the demonstrated efficacy of these types of interventons. A model of a multilevel system of intervention that can be tailored to the individual family's needs is presented.