Management strategies to de-implement low-value care—an applied behavior analysis

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of knowledge about management strategies being used to de-implement low-value care (LVC). Furthermore, it is not clear from the current literature what mechanisms are involved in such strategies and how they can change physicians’ behaviors. Understanding the mechanisms is important for determining a strategy’s potential impact. Applied behavior analysis focuses on processes involved in increasing and decreasing behaviors. Therefore, the aim of this study is to understand what management strategies are being used to de-implement LVC and the possible mechanisms involved in those strategies, using concepts from applied behavior analysis. METHOD: We applied a qualitative study design using an inductive approach to understand what management strategies are in use and then employed applied behavior analysis concepts to deductively analyze the mechanisms involved in them. RESULTS: We identified eight different management strategies intended to influence LVC. Five of the strategies were developed at a regional level and had the potential to influence physicians’ LVC-related behaviors either by functioning as rules on which LVC to de-implement or by initiating local strategies in each health care center that in turn could influence LVC practices. The local strategies had a stronger potential for influencing de-implementation. CONCLUSION: Both strategies at a systemic level (regional) and on a local level (health care centers) must be considered to influence LVC-related behaviors. Strategies at the center level have a specific opportunity to impact LVC-related behaviors because they can be tailored to specific circumstances, even though some of them probably were initiated as an effect of strategies on a regional level. Using applied behavior analysis to understand these circumstances can be helpful for tailoring strategies to reduce LVC use. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43058-022-00320-3.