SHBC Plenary - Building a Healthier Society: Harnessing Behavioural Science for Healthy Populations

This plenary examines how behavioural sciences can close the distance between theory, evidence, policy and practice to improve population health. Its premise is a two-way one: behavioural theory sharpens the design and implementation of health interventions, and what practitioners learn in the field strengthens and refines the theory in turn. The plenary includes two talks that, on one side, consider how behavioural insights become practical actions, policies and programmes that encourage healthier choices and create supportive environments for sustained behaviour change, while on the other, drawing on international research and policy experience, highlight opportunities and challenges in moving from understanding behaviour to achieving meaningful population health outcomes.

The plenary concludes with a panel discussion, Behavioural Science for Healthy Populations, on how behavioural sciences can be embedded more deliberately in the health ecosystem, and how healthcare practitioners and researchers can work together to translate evidence and insights into better health for all.