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Health interventions based on theory may be more effective than those that are not. This review of reviews synthesizes all published randomized controlled trial (RCT) meta‐analytic evidence from the last decade to examine whether theory‐based interventions were found to be associated with more effective adult health behaviour change interventions.

Systematic reviews including meta‐analyses were identified by searching Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and CDSR. A narrative synthesis was used to summarize and analyse the evidence. Only reviews including RCTs of health behaviour change interventions with adults aged 18+ published from 2007 to 2017 were included.

Of 8,659 articles, nine systematic reviews met inclusion criteria. The majority of reviews (n = 8) suggested no increased effectiveness for theory‐based compared to non‐theory‐based interventions for effectiveness …