The opening presentation for a national conversation on behavioural sciences and their contribution to public health in England

1. Toward a behavioural sciences
strategy for public health and
wellbeing in England
A prospectus for conversation
and development
February 2017, Version 6
Conversation Event – Fri 17th March 2017

2. Proposal
• develop a framework strategy for maximising
the contribution of behavioural science to the
protection and improvement of the public’s
health and wellbeing in England;
• with a particular focus on enhancing the
effectiveness of public health interventions
and reducing health inequalities through
better application of behavioural science.

3. Clarification
• First iteration of the
conversation
• Need to include
other disciplines and
partners
• Expectation that
others will augment

4. Recommendation
This stakeholder conversation informs a
task group to draft a strategy

5. Context
• Great potential of behavioural science to
deliver insights, tools and interventions
• Need for a coherent and systematic framework
• To enable behavioural sciences to make a more
effective contribution
• Protect and improve the public’s health and
wellbeing and reduce health inequalities
• Reduced public funding

6. Integrated population health approach
• Downstream -
individual level
interventions
• Upstream -
population level
before risks or
exposures arise

7. Academy of Medical Sciences
Health of the Public 2040 (i)
We have a “limited understanding of which
aspects of our environments – singly and
together – are most important in driving
unhealthy behaviours, often without awareness.
We know even less about how to create
environments –physical, economic, social and
digital – to enable healthier behaviours”

8. Academy of Medical Sciences
Health of the Public 2040 (ii)
Call for “greater focus on developing
interventions that may act at a level other
than the individual (e.g. at group, community
or population level), or at more than one
level”

9. Academy of Medical Sciences
Health of the Public 2040 (iii)
“We need to better review and monitor
interventions as they are implemented…
…to ensure they are effective and to inform
future decision-making”

10. Academy of Medical Sciences
Health of the Public 2040: recommendations
1. Identify research needs and co-ordinate activities
2. Higher education - foster transdisciplinary approaches
3. Education and training of practitioners
– drivers and interventions
– research, and evaluate and use evidence
4. Regional hubs between practitioners and researchers
5. Strengthen mechanisms for independent evidence
6. explore joint working with the commercial sector
7. Strengthen engagement and communication with public

11. ‘Fifth wave’ of public health
Defined by a ‘culture of health’:
health and incentives for healthy behaviour are
maximised, healthy choices are promoted
by default, and factors that create a culture and
environment which promote unhealthy
behaviour are minimised”
Davies SC, et al. (2014). For debate: a new wave in public health
improvement. The Lancet 384(9957), 1889-1995.

12. Workforce and skills
• CFWI Public Health Workforce review
– Website not accessible at the moment
• Public Health Skills and Knowledge Framework
– Empower communities
– Create environments that facilitate and enable
– Facilitate change (behavioural and/or cultural)
– Use different policy options (BCW)
– Use social marketing and behavioural science

13. Which social/behavioural sciences?

14. What are we doing/might we do?
1. Mainstream behavioural science:
– schema for behavioural science
– practical knowledge, skills, tools and frameworks
2. Enable practitioners to interpret behavioural science
3. More interventions with explicit mechanism of
action informed by behavioural science
4. Access to expert advice
5. Quick wins

15. Potential outputs
1. Enhanced pre-service curricula
2. Strengthened in-service training
3. Guidance on approaches and frameworks
4. Inclusion in governance processes
5. Improving access to evidence
6. Capacity through networks and procurement
7. Community of evidence and practice
8. Advise on research priorities