| Institute for Planetary Health Behaviour, Seminar für Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft, Education, School, and Behaviour, Research

How our behaviour influences our health – and what makes prevention more successful

Why do people behave in a health-promoting way in some situations and not in others? And how can prevention approaches be adapted – or even "customised" - to the needs, requirements and living conditions of the population groups we want to reach? The September issue of the Bundesgesundheitsblatt "Behavioural and cultural insights: Insights into behavioural and cultural factors as an opportunity for public health". The issue is aimed primarily at public health professionals and scientists. It was coordinated by scientists from the Robert Koch Institute and the University of Erfurt/the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine.

The majority of common diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are preventable. Prevention is therefore crucial to improving the health of the population and reducing healthcare costs. One of the basic principles of prevention is to focus not only on individual health-related behaviour, but also on social and cultural conditions. This is what the interdisciplinary concept of "Behavioural and Cultural Insights" (BCI) stands for. By signing the WHO resolution "European regional action framework for behavioural and cultural insights for equitable health, 2022–2027", Germany has committed to integrating this approach into public health practice.

In addition to a theoretical overview, the articles in the new “Bundesgesundheitsblatt” also provide concrete examples from areas such as nutrition and climate change and show how BCI findings can be used to design effective political measures – approaches that, according to the coordinators, should encourage the further expansion of the BCI approach and establish it as a pillar for prevention and public health measures in Germany. A contribution by Dominik Daube, Mirjam A. Jenny and Sarah Pelull from the Institute for Planetary Health Behaviour (IPB) at the University of Erfurt deals specifically with the question of how behavioural data can be used to better understand individual routines and structural framework conditions and to design effective measures based on evidence. The authors explain how psychological, social and cultural factors influence human behaviour and what role systematic behavioural data collection plays in promoting climate-healthy routines. The HEATCOM and PACE projects based at the IPB are used as examples to illustrate how heat protection and climate-smart behaviour is investigated in line with the BCI concept. At the same time, ethical issues and aspects of data protection are discussed and it is shown how allegations of manipulation can be countered through transparency and scientific evidence. In addition, the article discusses challenges in political implementation and formulates recommendations for decision-makers on how to successfully integrate behavioural data into climate adaptation and health promotion measures.

Read this article here.

Read the entire September issue of the Bundesgesundheitsblatt “Behavioural and cultural insights: Behavioural and cultural insights as an opportunity for public health”.

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