Commissioning and behaviour change: kicking bad habits
On 8 December 2008, the King’s Fund published a report (Commissioning and behaviour change: kicking bad habits) which seeks to investigate the effectiveness of different types of public health programme in tackling smoking, alcohol misuse, poor diet and lack of exercise.
The report finds that these behaviours constitute deep-rooted social habits which are not easily changed by one-off, short-lived measures. It also suggests that many NHS staff lack the necessary skills and incentives to effectively help people choose and maintain healthier lifestyles.
The report recommends that:
- The NHS needs to make better use of social marketing techniques and data analysis tools like geodemographics to identify, target and effectively communicate messages and motivate people to change how they live.
- Public health programmes should not rely on a single approach – such as information campaigns or financial incentives – as the evidence shows the most effective behaviour change interventions employ a variety of tactics.
- A robust evaluation of both short- and long-term changes in behaviour and health outcomes should be made a requirement of all public health programmes in order to build an evidence base for the future.
- Frontline staff should be more proactive in promoting healthy habits to the patients they see every day. Contracts and incentives should be used to encourage such behaviour.
- Government departments and local agencies involved in tackling unhealthy behaviours need to co-ordinate more effectively their efforts and ensure that targets are agreed to support shared objectives.
Commissioning and behaviour change: kicking bad habits
