Book chapter
Chapter 11 - Using habit science in the design and delivery of a pharmacist-delivered medication adherence intervention
Contemporary Research Methods in Pharmacy and Health Services - Volume 2, pp.155-167
Academic Press
2026
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-443-44607-8.00024-8
Abstract
Habit science is a prominent area of health psychology that explores how health can be promoted through automatic behaviors formed through repeated actions in context. This chapter discusses the foundational principles of habit science, highlighting its basis in neuroscience and health psychology. The key principles include the role of cues, routines, and rewards in habit formation, as well as the distinction between habitual and reflective mechanisms. Unlike reflective factors, which involve conscious decision-making and motivation, habits operate out of automatic impulses to engage in particular actions in associated contexts, developed through repetition. Measuring habit strength involves tracking behavioral frequency, context stability, and automaticity using tools such as self-report questionnaires and recorded behaviors. Habit science can be used in designing and implementing interventions to promote long-term health behavior maintenance and improve health outcomes, especially when used in conjunction with other reflective and structural targets of behavior change and maintenance. This chapter provides an overview of habit science for researchers and practitioners and discusses the foundational principles of habit science, highlighting its basis in neuroscience and health psychology. It also provides an example of how habit science can be incorporated into a pharmacist-provided intervention to promote medication adherence.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Chapter 11 - Using habit science in the design and delivery of a pharmacist-delivered medication adherence intervention
- Creators
- Matthew Witry - University of IowaL. Alison Phillips - Iowa State University
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- Contemporary Research Methods in Pharmacy and Health Services - Volume 2, pp.155-167
- DOI
- 10.1016/B978-0-443-44607-8.00024-8
- Publisher
- Academic Press; Amsterdam
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2026
- Academic Unit
- Pharmacy Practice and Science
- Record Identifier
- 9985219318202771
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