The Behavioural Science Unit at Public Health Wales has produced a new suite of resources designed to help public health communicators optimise the impact of their work using behavioural science.

These tools centre around the ‘Behaviourally Informed Communications Initiative (BICI)’ launched last year, including a learning and development report, an interactive workbook, a collection of case studies and a refreshed communications toolkit. The collection provides practical tools, resources and activities to support the application of behavioural science within communications.

Dr Alice Cline, Principal Behavioural Science Specialist, said:

“Each of these publications has been developed to help make the most of the learning and insight gathered as part of the BICI initiative: the report provides the background and process, the co-produced case studies demonstrate real-world application, the workbook offers an interactive tool to help optimise communications, and the communications guide serves as a quick reference for daily practice.”

The initiative has already generated a diverse range of case studies written with practitioners from across the health sector in Wales, demonstrating how behavioural science principles have been applied to improve communications in areas including: vaccination programmes, cancer screening services, smoking cessation support and health appointment reminders.

One case study shows how Help Me Quit SMS messaging was redesigned using behavioural insights, addressing barriers like lack of immediate prompts and motivational framing that had previously limited engagement. The revised messages included clear calls-to-action prompting immediate responses and used positive health-focused language to maintain user motivation, which has led to improved engagement.