Canadian Behavioural Interventions and Trials Network

“We want to provide students with the same knowledge and training to conduct behavioural trials for research that would lead to developing programs for diabetes prevention, cardiac rehab, smoking cessation or lowered obesity,” says Sean Locke, Chair of the Ontario Hub. “Behavioural interventions try to change the way people think about their behaviours by using strategies to get people to regulate their motivation and set goals.”

“Such initiatives are rarely integrated into the mainstream Canadian health-care system despite evidence that they are effective. This is an oversight the country-wide project is aiming to address.”

The Brock News - August 17, 2023

“Most of our health care is fixated on biomedical treatment, meaning pills or surgery as ways of alleviating chronic health conditions,” notes Simon Bacon, Principle Lead of the project. “But we know that changes in lifestyle can greatly help minimize the impact of preventable disease.”

How to effectively engaging individuals in these changes has not adequately been tested, Bacon maintains. This training platform will help create infrastructure to train people to develop and test behaviour change interventions and integrate these across the health-care spectrum.

Concordia University News - January 19, 2023

Seven training platforms are receiving a combined investment of over $32M to train a new generation of scientists and researchers in such specialties as biostatistics, stroke research, behavioural change, and the general practice of clinical research. Simon Bacon is to lead the training platform focused on health behaviour change.

Canadian Institutes of Health Research - January 19, 2023