Cristina Albuquerque Godinho

• PhD Health Psychology
• Assistant Professor at NOVA National School of Public Health

To examine the effectiveness of matching health messages promoting fruit and vegetable intake to Health Action Process Approach (Schwarzer, 2008) stages of change. In a randomized controlled trial, 205 undergraduate students (non-intenders n= 123; intenders n= 82) were exposed to one of three health messages, targeted at non-intenders, intenders, a...

Objective. Vaccination is an effective preventive measure to reduce influenza transmission, especially important in a pandemic. Despite messages encouraging vaccination during the last pandemic, uptake remained low (37.6% in clinical risk groups). This study investigated the effect of different types of messages regarding length, content type, and...

The new information and communication technologies (ICT’s) have made it possible to tailor the content and format of electronic health interventions (e-health) to individuals’ characteristics and needs. In this chapter, the potential of e-health and new technologies will be examined as opportunities to provide tailored health education intervention...

Health messages are a commonly used way to promote changes in dietary habits but their efficacy could be enhanced by strategies such as the way in which the presented arguments are framed. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of framed messages (gain vs. loss) on behavioural intention and fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, comparing predictions...

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the population’s lives. Stressful conditions during the lockdown and the reintroduction to a changed social environment emotionally affected children and adolescents. The aim of this work was to study anxiety and depressive symptoms in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 years at di...

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly challenged the mental health of children and adolescents, with existing research highlighting the negative effects of restrictive measures to control the virus’s spread. However, in the specific context of this pandemic, there is limited understanding of how these difficulties have persisted over time after the s...

Um elevado número de pacientes necessita de mudar os seus comportamentos de saúde oral. Um dos desafios que os profissionais de saúde têm de enfrentar prende-se com o facto de a motivação para a mudança não ser um fenómeno de tudo ou nada, sendo que as pessoas têm frequentemente sentimentos ambivalen-tes em relação à mesma. Se o lado agradável nest...

Purpose The Swedish Physical Activity on Prescription (PAP-S) method was to be transferred to other European regions through the EUPAP Project, innovative for implementing a reliable method to other nine countries. Implementation practices are strongly context-dependent; therefore, the practice transfer requires a flexible approach. PAP-S results o...

Background While the existence of a complex variety of casual sexual relationships (CSRs) has been acknowledged, studies rarely describe the prevalence of condom use across these relationships or how their hybrid nature, specifically relationship characteristics, affect condom use. This study aims to describe condom use within committed relationshi...

This longitudinal study aimed to analyze the evolution of patterns of daily activities (physical activity time, screen usage time, and sleep hours) in European youth during school closure due to the COVID-19 health crisis. Participants were 624 caregivers of children and adolescents aged 3–18 from Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Evaluations were online...

Background Translation into practice of effective physical activity interventions in primary care is difficult, due to a complex interaction of implementation determinants. We aimed to identify implementation barriers and facilitators of four primary care interventions: physical activity assessment, counselling, prescription, and referral. Methods...

OBJECTIVE: Shifting from meat-centric to plant-rich diets may help to enable healthier and more sustainable food systems. Here we present the results of a 1-week intervention to promote plant-based eating in a meat-centric food context (i.e. canteen). DESIGN: The intervention included environmental restructuring strategies (e.g. promotional materi...

Background Adolescence is a critical period of development in which well-being usually decreases, mental health problems (e.g., depression, anxiety) increase, and lifestyles become less healthy. Schools are a primary setting for the promotion of the well-being and overall health of adolescents, and preventive actions should be a priority within the...

Collective meal contexts such as restaurants, cafeterias and canteens can help accelerate transitions to healthier and more sustainable diets. However, evidence from intervention studies on these contexts lacks integration. This scoping review aimed to map determinants of dietary change in collective meal contexts across multiple settings, interven...

Objective: Empirical research to differentiate casual sex scripts is still limited. We aimed to ascertain the sexual scripts for three main types of casual sexual relationships: hookup, friends with benefits and one-night stands. Methods: Through a mixed-method approach, we performed a study consisting in two sequential tasks to (1) complete three...

Global environmental and public health challenges related to current food systems call for large-scale shifts towards increasingly plant-based diets, especially in Western meat-centric societies. School meal systems can play a role in these changes due to their widespread prevalence and multi-sectoral impact. However, there is a lack of evidence ab...

Monitoring how different people – as ‘social sensors’ – evaluate and respond to crisis such as pandemics, allows tailoring crisis communication to the social perceptions of the situation, at different moments. To gather such evidence, we proposed a index of social perceptions of systemic risk (SPSR), as an indicator of a situational threat compromi...

Evidence consistently shows that men (compared to women) tend to be more attached to meat consumption, less willing to follow plant-based diets, and overall more likely to express defensiveness toward plant-based eating. This study expands knowledge on the meat-masculinity link, by examining whether negative affect toward plant-based eating helps e...

Current food systems face immediate and complex challenges in feeding a growing global population. It is necessary to mitigate the environmental impact of food systems while ensuring food security across the globe. Drawing on the example of recent multi-sectoral approaches which focus on the interconnections between public health and the environmen...

Este conjunto de ferramentas, do inglês “toolkit”, destina-se aos intervenientes de espaços de restauração coletiva que pretendam desenvolver e implementar um plano de transição para uma alimentação mais saudável e sustentável nos seus contextos de refeição – com foco em refeições equilibradas de maior base vegetal.

Issue/problem Implementation of national systems for patients' physical activity (PA) assessment and counselling is a cost-effective strategy recommended in the WHO Global Action Plan for PA 2018-2030. Although Primary Health Care (PHC) professionals are recognized as key agents for PA promotion, challenges remain on how to develop feasible and sca...

Background Portugal has one of the highest rates of physical inactivity in Europe. To raise the profile of physical activity (PA) among adults, the Portuguese National Physical Activity Promotion Program of the Directorate-General of Health developed and implemented a national mass media campaign in 2019 named ?Follow the Whistle?. The campaign was...

Background: Physical activity is a major determinant of physical and mental health. International recommendations identify health professionals as pivotal agents to tackle physical inactivity. This study sought to characterize medical doctors' clinical practices concerning the promotion of patients' physical activity, while also exploring potentia...

As the number of smart devices that surround us increases, so do the opportunities to leverage them to create socially- and context-aware systems. Smart devices can be used for better understanding human behaviour and its societal implications. As an example of a scenario in which the role of socially aware systems is crucial, consider the SARS-CoV...

O Manual apresenta sugestões no âmbito da alimentação saudável, da atividade física, da utilização de ecrãs, da saúde mental e da saúde oral, abordando ainda aspetos como as relações saudáveis e os valores a partilhar. Destina-se aos pais e cuidadores de crianças e jovens, mas também às escolas e aos jovens que pretendem ter mais informação.

PURPOSE: Recent reviews and reports have highlighted the need for integrated, context-specific efforts to enable sustainable food transitions. This study aimed to identify pathways to promote healthier and more environmentally friendly food practices in school contexts, with a focus on increased plant-based eating. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The...

A pandemia por COVID-19 provocada pelo coronavírus SARS-CoV-2 mostrou que o comportamento humano é determinante no combate a esta, salientando a importância das ciências do comportamento e ciências da comunicação no trabalho multi e interdisciplinar com áreas científicas como a saúde pública, epidemiologia e outras. Neste âmbito, este livro apresen...

Background Sleep, sedentary behaviour and physical activity are constituent parts of a 24h period and there are several questionnaires to measure these movement behaviours, the objective was to systematically review the literature on content and measurement properties of self- and proxy-reported questionnaires measuring movement behaviours in adult...

Casual sexual relationships (CSRs) are frequent relationship experiences in young adulthood that provide opportunities for many to explore sexual relationships and to construct their sexual identity. Empirical research on casual sex is still lacking outside North-American countries, despite evidence pointing to the need to contextualize sexual inte...

Global concerns with public health, animal suffering, and environmental problems linked to meat-centric diets have increased over the last decade. One way to help address these concerns is to implement measures that reduce meat consumption and increase plant-based eating in collective meal contexts, such as catering services in schools and universi...

Academic disciplines are often organized according to the behaviors they examine. While most research on a behavior tends to exist within one discipline, some behaviors are examined by multiple disciplines. Better understanding of behaviors and their relationships should enable knowledge transfer across disciplines and theories, thereby dramaticall...

Background: Health systems and their professionals play a key role in the promotion and maintenance of behaviours contributing to increased physical activity levels. Pharmacists are well placed within communities, making them an accessible source to provide brief advice to people on how to be more physically active. Objective: This study aimed t...

Objective To understand the key mechanisms that support healthy dietary habits promoted by fruit and vegetable (F&V) box schemes, testing relevant behaviour change triggers identified under the COM-B model in an evaluation research study of a Portuguese F&V box scheme (PROVE). Design Correlation study with a post-test-only non-equivalent group des...

Rapid worldwide decreases in physical activity (PA), an increase in sedentary behaviour (SB) and poorer dietary patterns have been reported during COVID-19 confinement periods. However, as national variability has been observed, this study sought to describe PA, SB and eating patterns, and to explore their gender as well as other socio-demographic...

Food packaging usually includes multiple cues, including claims about nutrients that may modulate how the consumer perceives (and behaves towards) the product. In the current work, we systematically examined how different types of claims about sugar influenced the perception of food product categories (i.e., yogurts, ice creams, cookies, and breakf...

In March 2020, the Your COVID-19 Risk tool was developed in response to the global spread of SARS-CoV-2. The tool is an online resource based on key behavioural evidence-based risk factors related to contracting and spreading SARS-CoV-2. This article describes the development of the tool, the produced resources, the associated open repository, and...

Excessive sugar intake is one of the factors contributing to the alarming rates of childhood obesity and overweight in Portugal. Children's preferences and food consumption patterns are largely determined by the foods that are more familiar to them. Parents and caregivers are responsible for shaping children's eating habits since they are the ones...

Tools to identify good practices in the design, implementation, and evaluation of physical activity community-based interventions (PACIs) are key to address the physical inactivity pandemic. Existing tools tend to be extensive and with limited applicability to assess small-scale PACIs. This work aimed to report the development and preliminary valid...

Casual sexual relationships (CSR) are increasingly common but limited empirical research has addressed their terminology and distinctive characteristics. This study sought to identify the most clear-cut terms and to consider how culture-sensitive characteristics distinguish casual sexual relationships among Portuguese emerging adults (N = 262, 18-2...

O manual, que pretende ser um referencial baseado em princípios da Promoção da Literacia em Saúde, Ciências da Comunicação e do Comportamento, começa por explicar, de forma simples e clara, o processo de desenvolvimento das vacinas, e a forma como atuam os diferentes tipos de vacinas.

Oral Health is fundamental to health, well-being, and quality of life. The prevalence and recurrence of oral diseases is a silent epidemic. Effective control of the dental biofilm is a pillar for gingival health. Therefore, helping to improve and maintain patients' oral hygiene levels should be a goal for all oral health professionals who are dedic...

Excessive sugar intake has been associated with multiple health conditions (e.g., higher risk for non-communicable diseases). Hence, health organizations have issued guidelines defining the maximum daily intake of free or added sugars. However, data from several countries suggests that these guidelines are rarely met, particularly by young adults....

To raise perceived capability (C), opportunity (O) and motivation (M) for physical activity (PA) behaviour (B) among adults, the Portuguese Directorate-General of Health developed a mass media campaign named “Follow the Whistle”, based on behaviour change theory and social marketing principles. Comprehensive formative and process evaluation suggest...

Background. The directionality of associations between self-regulatory variables, behavior, and automaticity is seldomly tested. In this study, we aimed to examine a volitional, self-regulatory sequence of variables proposed in the Health Action Process Approach framework (intention → action plans → action control → behavior) and its relationship w...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of using mobile text messages and a novel floss holder as compared to finger flossing or the novel floss holder alone, on the psychological, behavioral, and clinical parameters of patients with gingivitis.Methods: A total 165 adults were assessed for eligibility and 144 met the criteria...

Background: To efficiently search, compare, test and integrate behaviour change theories, they need to be specified in a way that is clear, consistent and computable. An ontology-based modelling system (OBMS) has previously been shown to be able to represent five commonly used theories in this way. We aimed to assess whether the OBMS could be appli...

BACKGROUND: To efficiently search, compare, test and integrate behaviour change theories, they need to be specified in a way that is clear, consistent and computable. An ontology-based modelling system (OBMS) has previously been shown to be able to represent five commonly used theories in this way. We aimed to assess whether the OBMS could be appli...

Objective: Governments worldwide have been implementing interventions aimed at improving citizens' dietary habits. Examining how individuals perceive these interventions is relevant for promoting future policies in this area, as well as informing the way they are designed and implemented. In the current study, we focused on interventions aimed at...

The Swedish Physical Activity on Prescription (PAP-S) method is to be transferred in other nine European regions through the EUPAP Project (Catalonia-Spain, Denmark, Flanders-Belgium, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal and Romania). The PAP-S five core components are individualised patient-centred counselling, evidence-based physical activi...

Objective: To evaluate the effects of using mobile text messages and a new floss holder (“GumChucks”) during dental consultations on the psychological, behavioral, and clinical parameters of patients with gingivitis, outlined by evidence examined in a theory-based framework. Materials and Methods: A total of 142 adult patients with gingivitis was r...

Aim: This study investigates the joint role of volitional predictors of oral hygiene behaviors of flossing and brushing in adults with gingivitis, framed by the Health Action Process Approach model (HAPA). Materials and methods: In a longitudinal online survey, 201 participants aged 18-75, of which 56.7% were women, completed assessments at base...

Background: This paper aims to discuss how physical activity (PA) brief assessment, brief counseling, and self-monitoring tools were designed and implemented in the Portuguese National Health Service (NHS), and to report on their current use by health professionals and citizens. Methods: Three digital tools to facilitate PA promotion in primary...

PROVE is a Portuguese program that empowers small-scale farmers organized into local networks to directly commercialize baskets of locally produced fruits and vegetables to consumers. This study applied a post-test-only non-equivalent group design to evaluate the resulting influence on the social empowerment of farmers and on consumer diets. The me...

BACKGROUND. There is increasing consensus that transitioning towards reduced meat consumption and more plant-based diets is a key feature to address important health and sustainability challenges. However, relevant evidence that may inform these transitions remains fragmented with no overarching rationale or theoretical framework, which limits the...

Use of natural language to represent behaviour-change theories has resulted in lack of clarity and consistency, hindering comparison, integration, development and use. This paper describes development of a formal system for representing behaviour-change theories that aims to improve clarity and consistency. A given theory is represented in terms of...

Aim To investigate the effects of using an intra‐oral camera (IOC) during a dental hygiene consultation and mobile text messages (TM) between appointments on clinical, behavioral, and psychological parameters of patients with gingivitis. Materials and Methods Patients were randomly assigned into four conditions: IOC, TM, IOC+TM, and control, and e...

What is this document? This document summarizes physical activity data for Portugal up to September 2018 and shows the state of play regarding the key actions for its promotion. What can I find in this document? A summary of physical activity and sedentary behaviour situation in Portugal and the main activities developed to promote it. What are t...

The pilot projects to promote physical activity in the NHS have the main objective of evaluating the effectiveness in health gains and the respective cost-effectiveness - with a forecast of the impact of these measures on the financial sustainability of the NHS - of a new model of PA promotion in the NHS, based on three components: 1) Brief counsel...

In recent years, gluten-free (GF) diet has become quite popular among non-celiac individuals and GF versions are now available for an array of processed foods. In this study, we examined how including a GF label in packaging impacts the evaluation of food products in several evaluative dimensions. Participants (N = 202; 63.2% female, Mage = 27.87,...

Background: Academic disciplines are often organized according to the behaviors they examine. For example, behavioral medicine addresses health-related behaviors, such as smoking, drug abuse, and exercise, whereas a more specialized discipline such as information systems focuses on technology use. While most research on a behavior tends to exist wi...

This study investigated how conformity to hegemonic masculinity norms affects men’s and women’s food consumption and whether such influence was contextually modulated. A total of 519 individuals (65% women; M = 44 years old) participated in a 2 (gender salience: low vs high) × 2 (participants’ sex: male vs female) quasi-experimental between-subject...

Behavior change interventions typically contain multiple potentially active components: behavior change techniques (BCTs). Identifying which specific BCTs or BCT combinations have the potential to be effective for a given behavior in a given context presents a major challenge. The aim of this study was to review the methods that have been used to i...

O impacto da alimentação sobre a saúde, bem-estar e qualidade de vida é hoje inquestionável. Segundo dados recentes da Direção-Geral da Saúde, os hábitos alimentares inadequados constituem o fator de risco que mais contribui para o total de anos de vida saudável perdidos pela população portuguesa, tornando-se vital uma compreensão aprofundada sobre...

Health messages framed to be congruent with people’s motivational orientation have been shown to be generally effective in promoting health behavior change, but some inconsistencies have been found. This study tested whether the perceived quality of a health message moderated the congruency effect in the domain of fruit and vegetable (FV) consumpti...

Unhealthy eating habits have a great impact on people's health. Sex-related differences in their adoption exist; however, sex is not the only explaining factor, with gender playing a vital role in this relation. Drawing upon the Gender in Context Model and the Focus Theory of Normative Conduct, we aimed to investigate how conformity to hegemonic ma...

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of using an intra-oral camera (IOC) during supportive periodontal therapy (SPT), on the psychological, behavioral, and clinical parameters of patients with gingivitis, outlined by evidence and a theory-based framework. Methods: A group of 78 adult patients with gingivitis receiving an SPT was randomized into t...

Proceedings of the 11th National Congress of Health Psychology

Nudge is a complementary approach to health behavior change interventions, drawing attention to the fact that behavior is influenced by the context in which it takes place. This article is divided into a theoretical part, in which the nudge approach is presented, its aims, and the influence of automatic processes on behavior. A typology of nudges,...

Nudge is a complementary approach to health behavior change interventions, drawing attention to the fact that behavior is influenced by the context in which it takes place. This article is divided into a theoretical part, in which the nudge approach is presented, its aims, and the influence of automatic processes on behavior. A typology of nudges,...

Cancer fatalism is the belief that cancer is uncontrollable and lethal. Individuals with less education are more likely to hold fatalistic beliefs about cancer, but the mechanism accounting for the relationship is unknown. We tested whether negative health information seeking experiences explain this relationship. Structural equation modeling was u...

Objetivo A prevenção do excesso de peso e obesidade infantis em Portugal é prioritária e tem sido alvo de vários programas de intervenção. Este estudo teve como objetivo principal desenvolver um registo nacional, caracterizando as intervenções implementadas. Método Incluíram-se programas de promoção de estilos de vida saudáveis implementados em Po...

This is a survey of 400 in-house lawyers working in public, third and commercial sectors. We set out here the findings at the highest level. A number of organisations assisted with the distribution of the survey. This report provides a unique profile of real differences within the in-house community. We examine individual and team orientations to t...

The present report considers the results of a survey designed to provide data on how the profession views the relative seriousness of different types of behaviour and the factors that might affect these views. The survey has been designed by the SRA and their consultant, Jane O’Brien. This report analyses and describes the results of the survey. 61...

Objectives: Maintaining physical exercise levels may not only require motivation and planning but also action control which is supposed to mediate between planning and exercise. Design: Behavioural intention, action planning, coping planning and past behaviour were assessed at baseline, and action control and concurrent exercise were measured on...

Background and purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of two subsequent intervention components (motivational and self-regulatory components), placed in different order, to promote fruit and vegetable (FV) intake. Methods: After baseline assessment, university students (N=205, aged 18-26 years) were allocated to two groups. One group received a...

O consumo regular de frutas e vegetais constitui um dos aspectos essenciais de uma alimentação saudável, proporcionando diversos benefícios de saúde. O presente capítulo aborda os principais factores associados a este comportamento de saúde, com especial relevo para os factores psicossociais, salientando a sua relevância para a eficácia de interven...

Eating behaviours have an important impact on health and well-being. This paper presents research conducted by our group on the social psychology of eating and interventions for the promotion of healthy eating. Studies are presented on the social predictors of eating, such as the behaviour of others and cultural/social norms, and on the psychologic...

Objectives This study investigates the joint role of coping planning and action control as volitional predictors of changes in the daily consumption of fruit and vegetables. DesignIn a longitudinal online survey, 203 participants completed assessments at baseline (Time 1), 1week (Time 2), and 2weeks later (Time 3). Methods Structural equation model...

Theoretically driven health communications are needed to promote fruit and vegetable intake among people at different stages of change. The Health Action Process Approach, a clearly specified model and good predictor of fruit and vegetable intake, was used as a framework to guide a formative research for the development of health messages targeting...