Abstract

 
 
 In the effort to address behavioural risk factors – which contribute significantly to the global burden of disease – there is a growing movement in public health towards the use of interventions informed by behavioural science. These interventions have the benefit of being amenable to testing in randomised controlled trials, are cost-effective and, when scaled up, can have significant public health benefits. A subset of these interventions attempts to change behaviour by shifting social norms perception (what I think everyone else does and thinks). We surveyed the work on social norms intervention and considered its applicability to issues of public health in South Africa. Social norms interventions have widespread and significant potential to address issues of public health in South Africa; policymakers should look to these interventions as cost-effective tools to address key issues. More broadly, we advocate for an expansion of the use of behavioural science in developing public policy in South Africa.
 
 
 
 
 Significance: 
 
 
 
 The application of behavioural science to issues of public health will contribute to evidence-based policy efforts in South Africa.
 
 
 
Highlights
South Africa faces a number of significant public health crises
We have argued that there is significant potential for such an approach to be tested and adopted locally
Here we attempt to advocate for an expansion of the use of behavioural science in developing public policy in South Africa
Summary
South Africa faces a number of significant public health crises. While much has been done over the past decades to address the quadruple disease burden, we have, witnessed a rise in non-communicable diseases (responsible for 39% of deaths in 2010) and a failure to curb HIV/AIDS infection rates (35% of deaths in 2010).[1,2,3] Given that behavioural risk factors contribute significantly to the global disease burden, there is a growing movement towards the application of evidence-based behavioural science interventions to issues of public health; public health in South Africa would greatly benefit from joining this movement.[4,5] These interventions have the benefit of being amenable to testing in randomised controlled trials, are relatively cheap and cost-effective, and even when they yield only small effects they can have significant positive impacts on public health when scaled up.[4,6] A subset of these interventions focuses on changing behaviour through shifting social norms perception. We focus on social norms as an important site for behavioural change interventions, and consider its applicability to issues of public health in South Africa
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
