WHO confronts critical health challenges with new policy brief on maximizing public support for health policies

Health policies play a crucial role in enabling or restricting health-related behaviours, such as smoking in public places, eating healthily, getting vaccinated, or attending screening services. However, the importance of public support for these measures is often not considered in the policy-making process. Predicting how new policy measures will be perceived by the public can also be challenging.

WHO/Europe's Behavioural and Cultural Insights (BCI) Unit has introduced a new policy brief that explores how to measure and maximize public support for health policies, drawing on behavioural and cultural science and evidence.

"BCI offers tools for exploring how public support can be measured and maximized to enable more evidence-based and effective health policies," says Katrine Bach Habersaat, WHO/Europe's Regional Advisor for BCI. "As one part of a wider set of strategies, the considerations in this policy brief play a key role in supporting governments to implement policies that can improve health and well-being for all, as well as build trust between governments and citizens."

Tiina Likki, Technical Officer for WHO/Europe's BCI Unit, adds, "We know that policies and measures that are more effective tend to be less popular among the public. For example, information campaigns and calorie labels receive higher public support than measures based on taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages or meat. Public authorities need more tools and evidence on strategies to increase support for effective policies. We hope this policy brief can fuel this conversation."

Practical tools and considerations for policy-makers

Drawing on ideas and methods from BCI, the policy brief provides considerations for researchers, policy-makers, and public health authorities to integrate public support principles throughout the policy cycle. It focuses on three considerations:

1. why public support matters for policy adoption, trust in government, and improving adherence to policies;
2. how to measure and understand the drivers of public support for a particular policy, for example, through surveys, interviews and focus groups; and
3. how to maximize the effectiveness of policies through a 5-step process that includes measuring support, involving the public in policy design, developing communication strategies, introducing policies through multiple channels, and conducting evaluations.

James Reynolds, a Lecturer in Psychology at Aston University, United Kingdom, and lead author of the policy brief, notes, "Studying what the public think and feel is essential for health policy moving forwards. Integrating the public at the heart of policy-making and working with them is the only way we can improve population health. This policy brief is one piece of a wider puzzle that aims to accomplish this."

Case example: tobacco regulation in the United Kingdom (England)

In 1996, only 48% of the English public supported a smoking ban in pubs, which was part of broader legislation aimed at banning smoking in indoor public spaces. Despite initial resistance, public support rose to approximately 66% over 10 years, allowing the government to proceed with extensive public consultations and ultimately implement a policy on banning smoking in pubs in 2007. Following the implementation, cigarette sales dropped by 6.3%, exposure to secondhand smoke decreased significantly among children and bar workers, and hospital admissions for myocardial infarctions fell by 2.4% in just one year. The implementation and success of this policy underscored the importance of continued public support.

"The importance of public support cannot be overstated," emphasizes Robb Butler, Director, Division of Communicable Diseases, Environment and Health at WHO/Europe. "By listening to the public and using insights and methods from behavioural science, we can make sure that effective policies resonate with the population and get the support they need for maximum impact."

The BCI Unit hosted a webinar on 5 June 2024 to launch the policy brief, highlight case examples for increasing public participation in health policy design and implementation, and discuss ways to apply the policy brief.

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