Pharmaceutical Market Europe • April 2023 • 27

THOUGHT LEADER

Changing behaviours is at the core of many public health challenges – applying behavioural science can help ensure effective, evidence-based programmes. However, it can be difficult to know where to begin and, in fact, many campaigns fail to effect change. But, there is hope! Here are four simple questions that can help you quickly and clearly identify your behaviour change objective, leading to more effective and impactful campaigns.

Many successful campaigns encourage the audience to begin with a single behaviour – such as visiting a general practitioner (GP) to discuss early cancer symptoms; there can be life-saving public health benefits with a (seemingly) simple one-time change. By contrast, stopping habitual behaviours – such as smoking or vaping – means identifying a range of behaviours, with interventions aimed at a variety of habits and social triggers.

Most behaviour change, such as calling 999 FAST in response to signs of a stroke, needs to be retained over time. However, interventions that require a change in duration or intensity – for example adopting 20-second hand washing during the COVID-19 pandemic – requires understanding and addressing nuanced trigger moments that feed those habits.

The profile and habits of the intended audience will help identify the most effective messages and channels to reach and engage with them and encourage action. But it is also important to consider how the actions of others might influence the end audience’s behaviour. For example, the intervention required to change the behaviour of a healthcare provider might be seeing it first role modelled by a senior colleague.

The environmental context and overall experience of a behaviour provides fertile ground for creative thinking. Are nudges and prompts needed in physical form in a GP’s consultation room? Would printed prompts on train tickets encourage safer behaviours on railways?

A few simple questions during planning can help cut through the complexity, lead to robust insights about the audience’s habits and ultimately towards executions that effectively change behaviours.

With your objective in hand, it’s time to design an effective behaviour change campaign that creates good in the world. Not sure where to go from here? We can help!

Evoke Mind+Matter and Evoke Kyne are part of Evoke, a global brand, experience, and communications platform, purpose built to make health more human. Find out more at www.evokegroup.com.

Samuel Hughes

Edward Brightman