Promoting Healthy Behavior

Published by the Population Reference Bureau, this 29-page Health Bulletin discusses the role of human behaviour in many of today's leading causes of death and disability, and outlines the tools that health-promotion programmes have used to address these behavioural issues.

The author argues that not only do individual actions, such as smoking or failing to get one's child immunised, put health at risk, but so do the behaviours of policy makers, health workers or others who have influence over the social and physical factors that influence health.

Murphy agues that global "life expectancy could be increased by five to 10 years if health-promoting decisions by individuals, communities, health systems, and governments reduced these risks". Further, she states that it is more cost-effective to address risky behaviour than specific diseases, because a single risk factor can contribute to development or worsening of several
diseases.

Murphy outlines the behavioural theories upon which today's health promotion programmes are built. The emphasis, she points out, has moved from simple
one-direction messages which tell people what behaviours they should adopt, to a recognition of the "social ecology" in which people live. Current
theories, she says, recognise the "multiple levels of influence" on an individual's behaviour.

These theories, according to Murphy, have been adopted by those working to promote healthy behaviour. Practitioners have applied this understanding of the social complexity behind behaviour to a series of promotional tools,
including mass media, social marketing, community mobilisation, health education and improved communication in both the health and policy
fields.

Murphy presents a number of case studies which have successfully applied these behaviour-change theories. These programmes, she says, can act as
promising models for future work. Some of the case studies in this report include:

• Micronutrient International's efforts to distribute supplements and fortified
  foods to reduce malnutrition
• Uganda's success in reducing HIV infection rates
• WHO's work to encourage use of bednets to fight malaria, and their
  attempt to stimulate
  commercial investment in producing these nets
• Worldwide efforts to help mothers use breast feeding and simple medical
  techniques to increase their children's chances of survival

The report concludes with a series of recommendations for creating effective
health promotion programmes. Murphy recommends understanding both the
problems you plan to address and the behaviours that contribute to these
problems. She advises thorough research and active participation of
stakeholders. Practitioners should also, according to Murphy, understand and use
behavioural change theories and create a multifaceted intervention to address
both specific behaviours and the wider contextual factors contributing to those
behaviours.

Click here to access a related peer-reviewed summary on the Health e Communication website, and to participate in peer review.