TheoryPicker - Picker

Assuming that you could give audience members any information they needed or teach them any skills required, is it likely that they could change this health behavior on their own?

Yes, this is a voluntary action that individuals could eventually perform on their own
No, the social, environmental, economic, cultural and/or policy barriers are too big for most people to overcome

Warning: The theories ranked by this version of TheoryPicker are not good fits for your health problem. You may want to consider some higher-order theories.

Do any of these special circumstances hold?

a) There is an emergency or crisis, and scientific information about the health risk it poses is incomplete Warning: The theories ranked by this version of TheoryPicker are not good fits for your health problem. You may want to consider guidance available at CDCynergy, Crisis version.	Yes No
b) People at risk have serious physical or mental health limitations that may preclude performing the behavior or require individually tailored responses Warning: The theories ranked by this version of TheoryPicker are not good fits for your health problem, although they have been used successfully in a small number of cases. For example, the Theory of Planned Behavior was useful in HIV-prevention among the seriously mentally ill.¹⁵ You may want to consider theories about dyadic patient/provider communications.¹	Yes No
c) There could be ethical problems inherent in recommending the behavior (e.g., those who are already healthy and affluent are likely to benefit more, widening health disparities). Warning: The theories ranked by this version of TheoryPicker may not be good fits for your health problem on their own. Consider supplementing them with knowledge gap theory¹, Precede/Proceed (see page 39), or a Community-based Participatory Research Model (see page 23).	Yes No

This behavior is:

	1 = must be done repeatedly	2 = must be done a few times	3 = must be done just 1 time
a) Just a 1-time thing, not something that must be done over and over to benefit health or avoid a health risk (examples)	1	2	3
	1 = not true of the desired behavior	2 = somewhat true of the behavior	3 = very true of the behavior
b) Something many people in my community already intend to do	1	2	3

The desired behavior is connected to a health problem that most audience members:

When it comes to deciding whether or not to perform this particular behavior, whose example or opinion would really matter to an audience member?

	1 = would not matter	2 = would matter somewhat	3 = would matter a lot
a) Someone really up-to-date or knowledgeable	1	2	3
b) Only certain people the audience member cares about (e.g., parents, romantic partners, employers, clique members) who care a lot about this particular decision	1	2	3
c) The majority of the audience member’s peers	1	2	3

People making the recommended behavior change:

	1 = not true of the desired behavior	2 = somewhat true of the behavior	3 = very true of the behavior
a) Need time to warm up to the idea, or to make some preparations	1	2	3
b) Do it publicly, so others can see the results	1	2	3
c) Make it easier for others to make the change	1	2	3

Many audience members already believe that:

Trying out the behavior before making a permanent change would help to change this behavior.

Yes
No

To perform this behavior (or to do so on schedule), people would need reminders or tips about making the behavior easy.

Yes
No

The behavior change involves quitting something (e.g., smoking, unprotected sex, eating unhealthy foods). An audience member who quit could relapse if stressed or tempted.

1 = not true of the desired behavior	2 = somewhat true of the behavior	3 = very true of the behavior
1	2	3

	1 = not true of the desired behavior	2 = somewhat true of the behavior	3 = very true of the behavior
a) Need to be more aware of	1	2	3
b) Need to regard as more serious	1	2	3
c) Need to feel more risk of personally	1	2	3
d) Need to know how to prevent	1	2	3

	1 = yes	2 = maybe	3 = no
a) “The consequences of the behavior would be more positive than negative”	1	2	3
b) “People like me could perform this behavior if they tried”	1	2	3
c) “This behavior is consistent with my self-image or values”	1	2	3
d) “This behavior suits my lifestyle and situation”	1	2	3

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