Behavioral interventions-past, present, and future: Proceedings of the 5th International Behavioural Trials Network International Hybrid Meeting

Behavioral medicine is at a crucial juncture. The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic revealed the critical public health role of behaviors in the spread and impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus,1,2 and there is a growing recognition that behavioral science will be fundamental in the ongoing climate crisis.3 Furthermore, there is a sense that the methods and frameworks4,5 around how our interventions are developed and tested have matured enough to enable our field to start having widespread, long-term, positive impacts. This has been recognized internationally, through both the World Health Organization’s Behavioural Sciences for Better Health Initiative6,7 and the United Nations, where behavioral science is 1 of the 5 core cutting-edge skills identified in its quintet of change initiatives.8 However, in spite of the current wave of optimism, there are still few examples of health behavior change interventions being consistently implemented in systems, communities, or clinical practices.