Table 1

Behaviour change techniques used in message development and example messages

Behaviour change technique33	Content/explanation33	Example text message in English
Provide information about behaviour-health link	General information about behavioural risk	The way you cook can impact your health as well. Steaming, boiling and sautéing are better ways to cook than deep-frying and pan-frying. Cooking in less oil is a healthy alternative.
Prompt barrier identification	Identify barriers to perform the behaviour and plan ways of overcoming them	Taking diabetes medications and injecting insulin regularly can help control your blood sugar. Forgetting to take your medication? Try to set a repeating alarm on your cellphone to remind you to take your medication or insulin injection.
Set graded tasks	Set easy tasks, and increase difficulty until target behaviour is reached	Have you been finding it hard to quit smoking? In the beginning things are always hard. You can use a schedule to gradually reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke. For example, you may try going from 20 cigarettes to 15 per day for a week.
Provide instruction	Tell the person how to perform a behaviour and/or preparatory behaviours	If you experience symptoms of angina (severe chest pain), place one nitroglycerin tablet under your tongue. Sit, stay calm and rest if you ever forget medications while going out. If angina symptoms are not relieved within 10 min, seek medical attention immediately.
Prompt self-monitoring of behaviour	The person is asked to keep a record of specified behaviour(s)	A cold or diarrhoea will make your blood sugar levels rise, so monitor your glucose more frequently when you are sick. If you are using insulin, test your blood glucose six to eight times a day, keep a blood glucose log and share it with your health providers.
Prompt practice	Prompt the person to rehearse and repeat the behaviour or preparatory behaviours	As an old Chinese saying goes, ‘It takes more than one cold day for a river to freeze three feet deep; ice in the river takes a long time to melt.’ Similarly, cerebrovascular disease requires long-term prevention and treatment. Remember to take your medications as prescribed!
Plan social support or social change	Prompt consideration of how others could change their behaviour to offer the person help or (instrumental) social support	Quitting smoking on your own can be difficult. Tell your friends and family when you are quitting so that they will stop giving you cigarettes. Support and encouragement from your loved one can be helpful as well.
Stress management	May involve a variety of specific techniques (eg, progressive relaxation) that do not target the behaviour but seek to reduce anxiety and stress	Relaxation is something we need to learn and practice. Listening to music, reading or talking to friends and family can ease stress.
Motivational interviewing	Prompt the person to provide self-motivating statements and evaluations of their own behaviours to minimise resistance to change	Did you smoke less today than you did yesterday or days before? If you did reduce the amount of cigarettes, it is something worth celebrating. We are sure that you have put a lot of effort into quitting. Keep up the good work and you can make a difference!