WHO/Europe is pleased to announce that 16 experts have been appointed to serve as members of the Technical Advisory Group on Behavioural and Cultural Insights for Health (TAG-BCI). Behavioural and cultural insights (BCI) refers to exploring the factors that affect health behaviours and using this insight to improve the outcomes of health policies, services and communication, thus delivering better health and reducing inequity.
Gathering such evidence and data requires expertise from fields as diverse as psychology, sociology, economics, anthropology, political science and cultural studies, as well as multiple methods and theory-driven approaches. To inform this multisectoral field of work, which aims to supplement medical and epidemiological considerations, WHO/Europe needs support from leading experts.
Building on diverse areas of expertise
The 16 experts selected to serve on the TAG-BCI represent a broad range of disciplines and bring together extensive experience in designing, implementing and evaluating health policies and programmes informed by BCI.
“We are a very diverse group of experts, and our aspiration is to create a space for open, inspiring and useful discussions where we come together to share and welcome different perspectives and hear from everyone, with the ultimate aim being to advise WHO/Europe and support its work in the area of BCI,” explains Diane Levin-Zamir, Chair of the TAG-BCI.
The TAG-BCI members will provide expert advice to inform WHO/Europe’s ongoing work, which includes country projects, an annual progress report on BCI in the WHO European Region, and an annual meeting of Member States and partners related to BCI. They will also be invited to co-author joint publications and be consulted regarding resource mobilization for BCI.
“We look forward to working together with the TAG-BCI and building on their precious expertise to scale up BCI approaches in the European Region and globally,” says Katrine Bach Habersaat, Regional Adviser, BCI.
BCI in the WHO European Programme of Work
The BCI Unit at WHO/Europe is a flagship initiative of the WHO European Programme of Work 2020–2025 – “United Action for Better Health in Europe”. It was established in 2020 to lead efforts, advance evidence and provide technical guidance to countries in this field.
As part of this flagship, WHO provides support for BCI work in countries, capacity-building through online and face-to-face trainings, an online BCI knowledge hub for evidence and case examples, guidance documents, and other tools.
The BCI Unit has also established platforms to facilitate interaction among Member States, WHO, and regional organizations and actors. It has been engaging extensively with countries and partners to develop a shared vision, targets and commitments to BCI for health in the Region.