Clinical Behavior Change

Abstract

Many patients do not receive optimal care. Clinical behavior change is directed at improvements in patient care. A systematic approach to clinical behavior change is promoted. Research on clinical behavior change is the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of clinical research findings into routine practice. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches in data collection can contribute to the development and evaluation of interventions targeted at clinical behavior change. This chapter focuses on the collection and analysis of quantitative data to answer questions such as “What is current practice?” and “What is the effect of an implementation strategy?” There are several specific statistical issues in this research area, such as the validity of measurements of clinical behavior, interdoctor variation, and clustering effects affecting power calculation and level of analysis. These issues are discussed in this chapter, and illustrated with examples from a study describing the changing test‐ordering behavior of general practitioners.