Behavioural and social sciences to enhance the efficacy of health promotion interventions: redesigning the role of professionals and people

Abstract

Evidence on the effectiveness of health promotion interventions is mixed, especially in terms of the magnitude of their impact and long-term adherence. This paper proposes a comprehensive approach informed by behavioural economics of developing behavioural change programmes, which is designed to educate, activate, engage and empower people by taking into consideration individual and social mechanisms. Three applied pilots and their results are presented in order to illustrate the approach using cognitive and social mechanisms to lead to better health outcomes, individually and community-wide. More research is needed to explore levers and barriers for the systemic adoption of this framework in implementing health promotion interventions.

Physical Activity in the Daily Life of Adolescents: Factors Affecting Healthy Choices from a Discrete Choice Experiment

“…The actual evidence suggests that social support positively affects the PA, although the association is still unclear and supported by mixed evidence [ 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 ]. Community interventions should take into consideration the whole and complex choice architecture of individuals, considering both the individual’s family and the specific cultural and social contexts and dynamics [ 57 , 126 ].…”

“…In this respect, initiatives aimed at changing behaviors have increasingly adopted the ‘nudge’ approach of Thaler and Sunstein, by changing the choice architecture of individuals for presenting the ‘right’ choices as more appealing than the ‘wrong’ ones [ 55 , 56 ]. By following a less paternalistic approach, behavioral changing interventions should address not only individual cognitive biases, but also cultural and social contexts and dynamics, as illustrated by Pennucci and colleagues [ 57 ]. To this end, policymakers need information on population preferences and individual, social, and environmental factors that can affect the individual behaviors in relation to their healthy choices, as mentioned above.…”

Segmenting Adolescents Around Social Influences on Their Eating Behavior: Findings From Italy

“…However, also peer-to-peer actions should be implemented considering the domains in which peer influence better works and identifying those peers within the network being good at promoting the program (Luca et al, 2016; Scott, 2000). For example, after an “enabling” work on skills, knowledge, and capabilities development (Pennucci et al, 2019) with teenagers like the Cluster #5 ones, these latter could be effective at persuading and supporting other teenagers—similar to Cluster #1 teenagers—in doing healthier activities or in improving their self-esteem.…”

“…This implies a cultural rethinking of the doctor’s role, overcoming the traditional idea of the health-care service provider in an asymmetric patient–doctor relationship. The family doctor can be a facilitator of teenagers’ education and activation and a source of positive lifestyle-related nudges (Pennucci et al, 2019).…”

“…Teenagers were clustered around three food socialization factors, according with Block and colleagues' food-well-being (FWB) framework of (2011). The study uses data from a very large survey to late adolescents, 1 conducted within the beFood project (Pennucci, De Rosis, Murante, & Nuti, 2019).…”