Association for Behavior Analysis International

Health Promotion (Wellness) clearly needs more Behavior Analysis and Behavior Analysts. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a highly-developed practice based on a significant body of scientific knowledge. It grew out of B.F. Skinners Radical Behaviorism. ABA is perfect for wellness work due to its willingness to deal with consciousness as it does any other behavior. ABAs goal? Improve socially meaningful behaviors to a useful extent. In health promotion, this practical approach applies to wellness programming using an Antecedent, Behavior, Consequent (ABC discriminated operant) model. The clear distinction between incentives and reinforcers lends additional strength to the ABA approach. As of today, ABA has been vastly underutilized within corporate wellness programs. This presentation will emphasize what Behavior Analysts can contribute to corporate wellness. Its specific emphasis is on program design, lifestyle coaching and cultures of health. It will incorporate many ABA concepts and tools and through them explain why current wellness and health promotion programs do not yet produce all of the results of which they are capable. The presentation demonstrates how ABA can develop and foster ongoing healthy behavior at both the individual and population levels.

At the ABA annual meeting in 1998 (Orlando, FL) a panel discussion asked, "Will the best in behavioral safety systems please step forward?" The panel discussed methods for detecting and shaping quality applications of behavior science to work safety. In subsequent years, the CCBS (Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies) developed and implemented a process to assess and accredit management systems resting on principles of behavior. Accreditation was earned by numerous sites demonstrating (1) a documented behavioral program with foundations in scientific work (2) achieving safety outcomes that are the best in the their industry and (3) sustained for at least three years. Over 20 sites in the US and UK have earned CCBS accreditation since 2003; some multiple times via re-accreditation. This session reviews the accreditation process, highlights the data from 43 site assessments and considers future directions to better shape quality via program review by a third-party, independent commission of behavior science experts.