WHO/Europe has launched a new guide, providing support to countries on how to apply behavioural and cultural insights (BCI) for health. It presents a simple step-wise approach, complemented by a rich collection of detailed considerations, tools and exercises. The guide is the first of its kind, spec...ifically developed for use by public health professionals developing policies, services and communications informed by BCI across health topics.
Some of the most persistent public health challenges involve human behaviour. Using a BCI lens means that health policies, services and communications can be tailored to the needs and circumstances of people and communities, and thereby help combat these challenges. The new Tailoring Health Programmes (THP) guide describes how this can be done.
Building on several topic-specific guides that focused on applying BCI to routine and influenza vaccination and tackling antimicrobial resistance, as well as external evaluations and a rigorous peer-review process, this guide is the result of over a decade of work by WHO/Europe. The THP approach has already been adopted in over 20 countries and has received positive feedback from public health agencies.
“This guide is the culmination of a decade of work involving many colleagues at country, regional and global levels. The guide is our “BCI bible”, guiding our work with and in countries to help tackle persistent health challenges,” said Katrine Bach Habersaat, Regional Advisor for BCI at WHO/Europe.
Karina Godoy, Senior Analyst and National Focal Point for Behavioural Insights at the Public Health Agency of Sweden, who is employing the approach described in the guide across several health projects, comments: “The THP guide is easy to use and at the same time provides detailed guidance and inspiration where needed. We have decided to translate the document into Swedish and use the approach widely”.
more
One billion people around the world live with disabilities. This report makes the case that they are being “left behind” in the global community’s work on health. This lack of access not only violates the rights of people with disabilities under international law, but UHC and SDG 3 cannot be a...ttained without better health services for the one billion people with disabilities.
more
A key purpose of the Recovery Toolkit is to support countries in the reactivation of health services which may have suffered as a result of the emergency. These services include ongoing programmes such as immunization and vaccinations, maternal and child health services, and noncommunicable diseases....
more
This brochure presents a summary of the situation of health systems and services in the Americas as they progress toward the achievement of universal access to health and universal health coverage (universal health). The information provided presents an overview of the situation before the COVID-19 ...pandemic, how the pandemic has impacted health systems, and recommendations to address current and future challenges for building resilient health systems to advance toward universal health in the Americas.
more
Over the past few decades and throughout the world, the landscape of adolescent health has been altered dramatically. Currently, the total population of adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 years is 1.2 billion – the largest generation of young people in history. The vast majority of adolesce...nts (85%) live in developing countries where, in many areas, they make up more than a third of the population. They face a variety of different experiences given the diverse political, economic, social and cultural realities within their communities. Although, for many, adolescence is a period of learning and building confidence in a nurturing environment, for others it is a period of heightened risk and complex challenges.
more
Community health worker teams are potential game-changers in ensuring access to care in vulnerable communities. Who are they? What do they actually do? Can they help South Africa realize universal health coverage? As the proactive arm of the health services, community health workers teams provide ho...usehold and community education, early screening, tracing and referrals for a range of health and social services. There is little local or global evidence on the household services provided by such teams, beyond specific disease-oriented activities such as for HIV and TB. This paper seeks to address this gap.
more
The mission of the Women’s Health Council is to inform and influence the development of health policy to ensure the maximum health and social gain for women in Ireland.
Its membership is representative of a wide range of expertise and interest in women’s health.
The Women’s Health Council ...has five functions detailed in its Statutory Instruments:
1. Advising the Minister for Health and Children on all aspects of women’s health.
2. Assisting the development of national and regional policies
and strategies designed to increase health gain and social gain for women.
3. Developing expertise on women’s health within the health services.
4. Liaising with other relevant international bodies which have similar functions as the Council.
5. Advising other Government Ministers at their request.
more
This document provides training and guidance on the key standards related to the physical and social environment within mental health and related services that need to be met to promote good outcomes, independent living and community inclusion.
This is the story of how an experiment in the north of Ghana changed the health of a nation. How health staff in remote and rural areas are working tirelessly to prevent the deaths of mothers and children. How a radical approach to health research, known as embedded research, has revolutionized how ...the government delivers health services under difficult circumstances.
more