Mainstreaming behavioural sciences into institutions responsible for public health: monitoring framework and indicators

Overview

Advancing people-centred public health starts with strengthening how policy makers understand and enable health-related behaviours.  The RECAPPS indicators support public health institutions to assess, strengthen, and track their ability to generate and use behavioural evidence. They help answer key questions, such as: Do systems have the right skills, data, and structures? Where are the gaps? What needs to change, and how can progress be measured? Without this capacity, truly people-centred policies and programmes are difficult to achieve.

This behavioural insights tool supports the implementation of resolution WHA76.7 on Behavioural sciences for better health. Linked to broader commitments such as WHA69.1, it connects behavioural science capacity with Essential Public Health Functions (EPHFs) and institutional strengthening—helping countries build more responsive, resilient and equitable systems, accelerating progress toward Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the SDGs.