Why is changing health related-behaviours so challenging? What does it mean to incorporate a behavioural perspective to a public health problem? What behavioural theories and frameworks should be used and when?
Capacity building workshop on behavioural insights
To answer these questions and more, a capacity building workshop on behavioural insights was organized by WHO together with its regional office for Africa in June 2022.
The workshop - held in Nairobi - aimed to equip participants with knowledge on the importance of behavioural sciences and how insights to human behaviour can be applied successfully to WHO's work in public health.
Training of Trainers approach
The training focused on sharing practical and relevant information on theories, methods, approaches and evidence in behavioural insights, using the Training of Trainers (ToT) model to coach participants into master trainers who can then train other WHO staff or health workers on the subject.
Additionally, the workshop provided the opportunity to test and adapt the global training curriculum developed by the behavioural insights unit at WHO headquarters which aims to meet the needs of public health experts at regional and country levels.
The hands-on training workshop involved participants holding debates, running role plays and sharing local examples of challenges faced when trying to change people's behaviour. Following the workshop, survey data from participants showed a significant increase in their understanding of behavioural science concepts.
The WHO training package on behavioural insights combines a variety of existing curricula and experiences from different organizations. It also includes inputs from the WHO Technical Advisory Group for Behavioural Insights and Sciences for health. The training package is now available for use in other WHO regions and country offices.
In the months following the workshop, participants have had the opportunity to share what they've learned with partners in countries and have created new opportunities for the inclusion of behavioural sciences approaches in several Ministries of health and programmes.
