Intervention mapping in the development of health promotion interventions for adults with chronic conditions: a scoping review.

Herbert, Tom; Cooper, Kay; Malone, Michael

Abstract

The objective of this scoping review was to map how Intervention Mapping (IM) has been used to develop health promotion interventions for adults with chronic conditions. Chronic conditions present a growing burden of disease across the world with many countries looking for novel ways of managing these conditions. Intervention Mapping is a six-step behavioral change intervention development approach that can be used to create programs or innovations for health promotion in different settings and locations. This review considered all studies that used IM to develop a health promotion intervention for adults (age ≥18) with a chronic condition in any setting or location. To be included, the study had to utilize at least one of the six steps of IM. This scoping review followed the JBI methodology for scoping reviews, starting with an initial limited search of MEDLINE and CINAHL to refine the search strategy, then a search across all selected databases and trial registries, and finally a search of the reference lists of included studies. In May 2023, the databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, AMED (EBSCOhost), APA PsycINFO, EMBASE(Ovid), Cochrane Library (Reviews, Trials), Scopus (Elsevier), and Web of Science (Clarivate), the trial registries ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN Registry, The Research Registry, EU-CTR (European Union Clinical Trials Registry), ANZCTR (Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry), and TRoPHI (Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions), and the grey literature databases EThOS (British Library), EBSCO Open Dissertations (EBSCO), and Sherpa Services (OpenDOAR) were systematically searched. Title and abstract screening was conducted in Covidence© by three independent reviewers, with conflicts resolved through discussion. Full text screening of selected studies was conducted in the same way by two reviewers. Data were extracted by one reviewer using a predefined, yet flexible tool developed by the authors. A second reviewer also independently extracted the first 10% of the included studies with any discrepancies between reviewers resolved through discussion, with random checks on 10% of the remaining studies providing extra fidelity. The data were presented in tables, graphs and diagrams with a descriptive summary and discussion of the results. 7371 records were yielded from the search strategy, with 5619 records remaining after de-duplication. 194 records were evaluated at full text, with 56 studies included in this review after screening. Interventions were developed for 26 named chronic conditions. Steps 1, 2 and 3 were included in 55 studies (98%), Step 4 was included in 48 studies (86%), Step 5 was included in 30 studies (54%), and Step 6 was included in 25 studies (45%). Stakeholder involvement included people with lived experience, healthcare professionals, experts, and community members, and was reported most often in the workgroup involved in conducting the research. The most common theory utilized by the included studies was the Social Cognitive Theory. Intervention Mapping has been used to create a variety of health promotion interventions for many chronic conditions around the world. Although IM was adapted by all the included studies to fit their needs, this flexibility is embraced by the authors of IM. Stakeholders were involved throughout, although less so in later steps, and theory, although regularly employed, was not always fully integrated into the developed interventions. The findings of this scoping review suggest that a dedicated IM reporting tool should be developed to improve the reporting of IM literature and enable easier understanding and synthesis of future research. Furthermore, this scoping review recommends that future intervention developers recognize the benefits while understanding the challenges of fully engaging with theory when developing their interventions.

Citation

HERBERT, T., COOPER, K. and MALONE, M. [2025]. Intervention mapping in the development of health promotion interventions for adults with chronic conditions: a scoping review. JBI evidence synthesis [online], (accepted).

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 17, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 10, 2025
• Journal: JBI evidence synthesis
• Electronic ISSN: 2689-8381
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Behavior therapy; Chronic disease; Program development; Needs assessment; Noncommunicable diseases
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2878952
• Related Public URLs: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2767688 (Scoping review protocol for this output)
• Additional Information: The protocol was registered and is available from the OSF website at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/Z9KDC