Writing Assignment #3 instructions: The goal of this assignment is to apply what you learned
about health behavior models to your chosen health behavior and to give you practice doing a
deep read of an empirical research study. You will describe a health behavior and population of
interest. Then you will describe and critique a research article describing the impact of an
intervention that seeks to change your health behavior in the same or similar population (e.g.,
stage of the lifespan). Lastly, you will describe an intervention that you thought of that is based
on…
– an individual or interpersonal model (2 constructs of the model), AND
– either an ecological model (2 levels) OR behavioral economics (2 nudges or strategies
that counteract dark nudges or sludges)
Format: 6-page maximum, but we recommend writing concisely; thus it may only be 4-5 pages
long. Use 12-point, black, Times New Roman font; double-spaced; 1-inch margins; APA or
AMA in-text citations for the introduction and journal article critique and a reference list
(i.e., bibliography) with at least 4 citations/references (reference list does not count toward the 6
page maximum); references must include at least 2 journal articles, and any website references
must be from authoritative websites like the CDC, WHO, American Heart Association, Harvard
Nutrition Source, or MedlinePlus). Delete all instructions in brackets and the brackets themselves
before submitting. Do not include a title. This assignment is worth 20 pts (20% of final grade).
Proper citation and references are worth 1 pt, and grammar, clarity, and conciseness are worth 1
pt, unless they detract so much from the paper that we cannot discern how well you understood
the material.]
Introduction. [(part 1 of your paper; 3 pts): Identify an individual health behavior and
describe it in 1-2 sentences. Explain why this health behavior is important by naming at least 2
health outcomes to which the behavior may lead (cite at least 1 journal article). If needed,
explain how the health behavior leads to the health outcome (e.g., “screen time may increase risk
of cardiovascular disease because it increases exposure to marketing for unhealthy foods and
beverages, which leads to overconsumption of these products[citation]”). Identify the stage of
the lifespan in which your chosen behavior is important, state at least 1 reason why the stage is
important, and cite supporting research. State the prevalence of the health behavior during the
stage of the lifespan you chose (e.g., “In 2019, 54% of U.S. adolescents attending high school
reported using a condom or other barrier method during their last sexual intercourse”), and cite
supporting research (if there is no prevalence for that specific stage, list prevalence in next most
similar stage and justify; if you can only find an average for the behavior [e.g., U.S. children were exposed to an
average of 8 hours of screen time per day from 2015-2016], you may state the average instead of a proportion).
End this section with 1-2 sentences that states that this paper will (1) describe and critique a research study evaluating an intervention that aims to change your health behavior and (2) describe an intervention that you developed to promote/prevent your health behavior, which is based on your selected individual or interpersonal model (name the model) and either an ecological model or behavioral economics (name which one). Thissection should be no longer than 1 page. It is okay to write in the first person.]
Description and critique of intervention. [(part 2 of your paper; 6 pts): Find an
empirical research study published in a peer-reviewed journal that describes the impact or effect
of an intervention that aims to change your health behavior in a population that includes the stage
of the lifespan that is your focus. If you cannot find one in the exact same stage of the lifespan,
find a study in the most similar stage of the lifespan possible (e.g., adolescents instead of
emerging adults, or all adults >18 years of age instead of emerging adults). The study cannot use
a cross-sectional design. It must be an experimental design or evaluate an outcome before and
after an intervention (e.g., randomized controlled trial, a single-group pre-post design, quasi-
experimental design, natural experiment; quasi- and natural experiments are often used to
evaluate policies or community-wide programs). In 3-4 sentences, provide a brief description of
the intervention, the study design (e.g., randomized controlled trial), sample characteristics (e.g.,
public school students in New York City in grades 9-12), and the extent to which it changed the
health behavior of interest (e.g., the social media campaign reduced purchasing of tobacco). The
first time you mention the study, cite it, but no need to cite again in the rest of the paragraph. It is
okay to pick a study that seeks to change a behavior but only reports on the effect of the
intervention on the health outcome itself (e.g., an educational campaign to increase masking that only reports on the effects of the campaign on COVID-19 infection and not on actual masking
behavior).]
[Describe the intervention in greater detail, any theory/model/approach upon which it
was based, and how the intervention was based on the theory/model/approach. If the authors do
not explicitly name a theory/model/approach, described how the intervention is consistent with at
least 1 theory/model/approach from class and explain why.]
[In 2-4 sentences, describe the primary measure(s) the study used to determine if the
intervention was successful (e.g., self-reported survey about the health behavior; biomarker, like
nicotine levels in blood; change in an actual health outcome to which the behavior is supposed to
lead). The article may describe this as the “outcome” of the study. Describe at least 1 strength or
limitation of the measure(s) used. The authors may hint at this in the discussion section where
they describe strengths and limitations of the study.]
[Describe the quantitative measure of association between the intervention and the
primary outcome(s), and specify the duration of time over which the intervention was evaluated.
For example, “Relative to the control group, those exposed to the warning label during the 15-
minute online survey ordered 3% fewer items high in added sugars;” “After 3 months of
implementing later school start times, 9th grade students in California reported an average of 15
minutes of longer sleep duration than students in Washington;” “Residents in villages who
received education about masking had a 30% lower odds of contracting COVID-19 over the
subsequent 4 months.”]
[Describe the limitations of the study overall. You can paraphrase the limitations
described by the authors, which are located in the discussion section of the paper.]
Intervention idea
[(part 3 of your paper: It can be one you made up completely or one
that is based on real interventions you found in the literature, but it should be a different
intervention from the one you described in the paper above. No citations are needed here unless
you are stating a fact from another source). In 2-4 sentences, provide a brief summary/overview
of your intervention and describe which organization(s) will be implementing the intervention
(e.g., childcare centers, schools, primary care clinics, non-profit organization, government if it is
a policy or regulatory intervention like warning labels on cigarettes). The intervention can have
multiple components (e.g., a policy like a soda tax, which generates revenue to fund public
school nutrition education and clean tap water access; a university-based sexual education
program that offers in-person seminars and that also has a social media presence). The
intervention should be implemented by an organization or in a setting that is appropriate for the
stage of the lifespan that you selected. 1 pt]
[In 1-3 sentences, provide a brief overview of your chosen individual or interpersonal
model (i.e., HBM, IBM, TTM, or SCT). For some models with many constructs like TTM, do
not name and define every construct—instead, describe that there are stages of change and
processes of change that help people advance through the stages (name a couple examples of
stages and processes). Then after those 1-3 sentences, the bulk of this paragraph should focus on
the following. Define 2 constructs from your model and clearly describe how your intervention
components were based on those 2 constructs. If you chose TTM as your model, you should
describe how your intervention was based on 2 processes of change, and how these can move
people through specific stages of change. 4 pts]
[In 1-3 sentences, name your chosen ecological model (e.g., Bronfenbrenner’s
Bioecological Model, generic social-ecological model) or state that you are using behavioral economics to inform your intervention, and either provide a brief overview of the ecological
model (e.g., the levels of influence over the individual) or define at least 1 heuristic or bias and
define nudges/choice architecture. Then, after those 1-3 sentences, the bulk of the paragraph
should focus on the following. If you chose an ecological model, describe how your intervention
addresses 2 levels of influence over individual health behaviors (do not pick the “individual
level” as one of your levels, and if you already picked an interpersonal model in the prior
paragraph, do not pick the “interpersonal level”). If you chose behavioral economics, describe at
least 2 ways your intervention could nudge or change the choice architecture toward healthier
behaviors. You can also describe a policy that prohibits dark nudges (e.g., a policy that removes
unhealthy products from checkout lanes in a grocery store) or a policy that removes sludges (e.g.,
simplifies paperwork or prevents industry from confusing the public with slude. Do not include a
conclusion to this paper. 4 pts]
