Designing a behaviour change intervention using COM-B and the Behaviour Change Wheel: Co-designing the Healthy Gut Diet for preventing gestational diabetes

Background

Evidence suggests that modulating the gut microbiota during pregnancy may help prevent gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The Healthy Gut Diet study is a complex behaviour change intervention co-designed with women who have a lived experience of GDM. The aim of the study was to describe the development of the behaviour change dietary intervention, the Healthy Gut Diet.

Methods

This study followed the process for designing behaviour change interventions using the Behaviour Change Wheel. Six researchers and 12 women with lived experience participated in online workshops to co-design the Healthy Gut Diet intervention. This included “diagnosing” the barriers and enablers to two target behaviours: eating more plant foods and eating less ultra processed/saturated fat containing foods. Content analysis of the workshop transcripts and activities was undertaken, underpinned by the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation and Behaviour (COM-B) model and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).

Results

Barriers and enablers to the target behaviours were described across all six COM-B components and 10 TDF domains. The intervention functions for the Healthy Gut Diet were education, enablement, environmental restructuring, persuasion and incentivisation. Forty behaviour change techniques were integrated into five modes of delivery for the Healthy Gut Diet intervention. The feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of the Healthy Gut Diet is being tested within a randomised controlled trial.

Conclusions

Using the Behaviour Change Wheel process in partnership with consumers resulted in a clearly described complex intervention targeting barriers and enablers of dietary behaviour change to improve the gut microbiota diversity in pregnant women.