Behavioural Sciences for Better Health

WHO Technical Advisory Group on behavioural sciences

Behavioural Sciences for Better Health is the World Health Organization's Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Behavioural insights, created in July 2020 based on the ideas in Cass Sunstein's book "Nudge".

Susan Michie is chair and Fadi Makki is co-chair. The initial chair was Cass Sunstein, who left in August, 2022.

'Nudge' Goes Mainstream

Cass Sunstein's Wife Samantha Power tweets Feb 8, 2023 in favor of "Nudge" adoption at World Health Assembly

In February, 2023, the World Health Organization Executive Board recommended that the World Health Assembly "adopt a resolution to strengthen the use of social and behavioral science for better health outcomes", as tweeted out by the Rockefeller Foundation.

The Rockefeller Foundation's thread, contains a second Tweet featuring the Mercury Project:

Lifesaving public health tools only save lives when people use them. To make progress, we must better understand human behavior, so that programs are responsive, accessible, and equitable to the needs of the community.

The Mercury Project funds efforts globally to combat "disinformation" and increase vaccination rates.

Cass Sunstein's Wife Samantha Power tweeted Feb 8, 2023 in favor of the "Nudge" adoption at World Health Assembly

Susan Michie and Fadi Makki

The World Health Organization's Tedros Ghebreyesus praised Susan Michie and Fadi Makki's WHO Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Behavioural insights and Sciences, on September 30, 2022 which "has made great achievements since its creation in July 2020." Further, "WHO extended the mandate of the TAG for the next two years and nominated Professor Susan Michie as chair and Dr Fadi Makki as co-chair to lead the advisory group."

30 September 2022 Departmental news Reading time: 1 min (353 words)

The WHO Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Behavioural insights and Sciences for health met in Geneva for a three-day consultation from August 29 to September 1 which resulted in recommendations relating to WHO’s work in behavioural sciences.

The consultation focused on reviewing WHO’s strategy in behavioural insights and discussing key behavioural considerations that can be applied to the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases. Different technical programmes from across WHO as well as country teams from the African region interacted with the TAG during the consultation in sessions related to capacity building and the development of behavioural components as part of NCDs’ in-country workplans, among others.

During his opening remarks at the meeting, WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said “Your work is important because behavioural science remains an under-utilized resource in most public health work. Despite many advances in the field, we have found that many policymakers lack confidence in these interventions.” He added that the advisory group has made great achievements since its creation in July 2020.

Prior to the consultation, WHO extended the mandate of the TAG for the next two years and nominated Professor Susan Michie as chair and Dr Fadi Makki as co-chair to lead the advisory group. Under their leadership, the TAG will continue to provide strategic advice and direction to WHO’s Behavioural insights for better health initiative, as well as to WHO technical programmes and pilot projects implemented by Member States.

More about the TAG

The TAG consists of 19 members, and was established following a global call for experts that received more than 200 applicants. In the two years since its formation, the group has advised WHO on a range of health topics and activities including: antimicrobial resistance, COVID-19 vaccinations, risk taking behaviours by youths during the pandemic. In addition, the TAG supported the development of a training curriculum and tools to help both WHO and Member States add a behavioural science component in public health.

The TAG, with support from the WHO secretariat, has issued several publications and outlined key principles and steps for the application of behavioural and social sciences within public health.

Departure of Cass Sunstein

Excerpt of remarks on Behavioural Sciences for Better Health on 30 August 2022 by Tedros Ghebreyesus: .

"I would first of all like to start first of all by expressing my deep appreciation for our founding and outgoing chair, Professor Cass Sunstein, for his contagious enthusiasm and inspiring commitment.

The advisory group was created just one month after the pandemic began, as a new area of work for WHO.

As Gabby was saying, this is part of what we call crazy ideas that I asked for from colleagues.

Elena Altieri, in one of our Thursday open-hour slots – which is for staff every Thursday afternoon, they come to tell me crazy ideas, and she used one afternoon to come and tell me about introducing behavioural insights in our organization.

I remember when she walked into my room she had a red book, like this. You know the book, Nudge, a red paperback, very visible, and I was looking at her hand and the book, wondering what she was holding.

The discussion was all about that, and I was convinced, I didn’t even say I would think about it, I said we should start.

That’s when we were doing our transformation, so I thought it was one of the good transformation ideas for WHO. Then of course Gabby agreed to incubate it, and it’s where it is now.

So I would like to thank both Professor Cass Sunstein, Elena Altieri, but also Gabby for taking the challenge to incubate it.

Behavioural insight is very important, as you know. Of course, it’s better late than never, but for WHO I believe we should have even had it earlier, meaning your work is very, very important for WHO, and I would like to assure you of that.

Professor Sunstein was instrumental in defining the pace at which it worked, with short, targeted meetings on issues that required immediate attention.

Immediately after it was established, it started to produce results because of that approach, but it’s with your support, with your full engagement, and I would like to thank you for that.

I remember he kept asking what more could be done, and pushed towards having the advisory group’s first publication in just six weeks.

Professor Sunstein, although he’s not with us today, please accept my deep appreciation for everything you have done. Surely, you will be missed.

I also welcome our new chair, Professor Susan Michie, and co-chair, Dr Fadi Makki, for this second phase of the Technical Advisory Group's mandate. We look forward to your leadership. Thank you so much for accepting the challenge.

I thank the members of this advisory group for your dedication and commitment. In the last two years you have met over 20 times, I think.

Your work is important because behavioural science remains an under-utilized resource in most public health work.

Despite many advances in the field, we have found that many policy-makers lack confidence in these interventions.

Investment in behavioural science research is disproportionately low compared to other sciences.

Low- and middle-income countries, in particular, often do not have access to context-specific evidence relevant to health challenges facing their communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a powerful demonstration of the need to engage communities, understand the challenges they face, their concerns and motivations, and work with them to adapt strategies accordingly.

Governments have faced the challenge of trying to persuade their populations to accept new behaviours and conditions in the context of rapidly evolving evidence.

We need a clearer understanding of health-related behaviours, and of how and why people make health-related decisions.

One of the most important lessons of this pandemic is that we cannot afford to be disconnected from the people we serve.

We need more research, more investment, more capacity-building, and improved collaboration between policy makers, practitioners, public health experts and behavioural and social scientists.

We also need better linkages with other areas of work such as health promotion and social determinants, so that these can be informed by behavioural evidence.

This is why your work is so important – and you have already accomplished a lot.

We have defined a road map and approved a strategy.

Our behavioural insights unit is staffed and funded, and is interacting with teams across the organization.

The team is providing technical support on a range of areas such as COVID-19, immunization, youth health, antimicrobial resistance, nutrition in schools and sporting events, hand hygiene, and caesarean sections.

At this year’s World Health Assembly, we held a strategic roundtable discussion with our Member States, and we’re now working with Malaysia on a resolution for next year’s Health Assembly, and we are very glad to see growing interest of our Member States. They see the importance. So, your work is important...

Cass Sunstein

In his opening remarks on Behavioural Sciences for Better Health on 30 July 2020, Tedros Ghebreyesus said in part:

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries are using a range of tools to influence behaviour: information campaigns are one tool, but so are laws, regulations, guidelines and even fines.

We are learning what works, and what doesn’t.

That’s why behavioural science is so important – it helps us to understand how people make decisions, so we can support them to make the best decisions for their health.

Today I’m proud to announce that WHO has created a Technical Advisory Group on Behavioural Insights and Sciences for Health.

This broadens and deepens WHO’s existing work on behavioural science, and will support our work to offer health advice that is not only stronger, but more effective.

The technical advisory group consists of 22 outside experts from 16 countries, with expertise in areas including psychology, anthropology, health promotion, neuroscience, behavioural economics, social marketing and more.

This new group will advise WHO on how to increase and improve the use of behavioral and social sciences in a range of health areas, including COVID-19.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my colleague Elena Altieri, who proposed this idea a year ago and has worked hard to make it happen.

Today I’m delighted to be joined by the chair of the technical advisory group, Professor Cass Sunstein.

Professor Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley Professor at Harvard University, and the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School.

Professor Sunstein, welcome. You have the floor. Thank you for your commitment, and thank your for joining, and thank you for this pathfinding work that will help WHO.

Members

From the Behavioural Sciences for Better Health website as of May 1, 2024:

Chairperson

• Professor Susan Michie

Co-chair

• Dr Fadi Makki

Members

• Dr Maria Augusta Carrasco
• Dr Gavin George
• Professor Ross Gordon
• Professor David Houeto
• Professor Ruth Kutalek
• Dr Shahinaz Ibrahim Mekheimar
• Dr Iveta Nagyova
• Saad Omer
• Professor Rajiv Rimal
• Ms Jana Smith
• Professor Cass Sunstein
• Dr Beena Thomas
• Dr Chiara Varazzani
• Ms Archna Vyas
• Dr Joyce Wamoyi