New WHO web-based knowledge hub unravels the myriad of influences behind our health behaviours
Ever wondered why we don’t just eat and drink what is good for us, take regular exercise or follow the advice of public health authorities on getting vaccinated? The new WHO web-based knowledge hub on behavioural and cultural insights (WHO BCI-Hub) provides a one-stop-shop for those interested in the complex question of how our health is impacted by who we are, what we know and what we do. It also provides background on the barriers and drivers to healthy behaviours and practices.
“The Knowledge hub is a great resource that will allow country stakeholders, colleagues and partners to understand behavioural and cultural insights. A one-stop-shop for all those interested in our area of work has not been available before, and we are happy to close this gap” said Katrine Bach Habersaat, Regional Advisor, BCI.
As well as inspirational videos, podcasts, reports, toolkits, and more, users of the WHO BCI Hub can search for specific products and case examples from research to implementation. The hub provides an opportunity to show how BCI can be used across a range of areas to improve health and wellbeing. We need your help to grow the site even bigger, so please reach out to the us at info@bci-hub.org with any reports, videos, podcasts or more that you think deserve a space on the site. Over time, as the content featured on the site grows, there will be more opportunities to explore how BCI has been used in focus areas, countries, or resources that particularly appeal to you!
Behavioural factors, including social and cultural aspects, account for an overwhelming 60% of the determinants of health, compared to medical care which accounts for just 11%. [1] Insights into BCI are significantly changing the way we work with public health issues such as antimicrobial consumption, vaccine acceptance, mental health and health literacy. Furthermore, we have seen the application of BCI in real time as a complement to medical and epidemiological sciences in the response to the Covid pandemic.
The first phase of the ‘Behavioural and Cultural Insights Knowledge Hub’, developed by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Culture and Health at the University of Exeter in collaboration with the Behavioural and Cultural Insights Flagship at WHO/EURO, goes live this week. Watch this short video to find out more about the BCI-Hub. Or just come and visit us at www.bci-hub.org!
[1] Sources include Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, an independent population health research centre at the University of Washington Medicine: see https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/# and GoInvo: see: determinantsofhealth.org.