Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia strengthen health communications through behavioural science

Calling on the public to adopt protective measures-such as wearing masks, avoiding crowds, keeping distance, cleaning hands, opening windows and getting vaccinated-has been at the heart of calls to action by governments and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the COVID-19 pandemic. However, getting people to perform these actions more than two years into the pandemic is becoming more complex, and requires more than simply providing information.

People may receive important public health advice, but it does not always mean they will follow it. Rather, people take actions that are influenced by complex individual, social and environmental factors.

"In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, around the world we have seen great efforts made to influence people's behaviour to better protect their health. But we have also seen campaigns and measures that have not achieved the desired impact," said Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO Representative to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam and Singapore. "To understand why, we need to delve into factors such as convenience, social pressure, religion, trust, cost and other factors which affect what people do. Understanding this human element remains crucial as we work to sustainably manage COVID-19 in Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and across the globe," he said.

Uncovering new ways to change behaviours

At the end of 2021, ministries of health in Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia wanted to identify new and more effective ways of influencing behaviours around COVID-19 through communication, and requested WHO to host specialized Communication for Health (C4H) workshops to build capacities for the application of behavioural science.

Utilizing the C4H approach, WHO hosted a three-day virtual workshop in Malaysia to train participants to draw on theories and methods from behavioural and social sciences to inform communications and tailor messaging based on identified barriers, needs and preferences of the target population.

More than 50 participants attended from the Malaysian Ministry of Health including social science researchers, public health experts, risk communications and media relations officers, health educators and health promoters. WHO experts from country, regional and headquarters teamsworked with participants to understand how to generate evidence on what influences behaviours and use this to design more effective health communications, programmes and policies.

"Data speaks to the brain, but it does not speak to the heart. We have to distil data in ways that speak to the heart," said the Honourable YB Khairy Jamaluddin, Minister of Health in Malaysia and a strong advocate of strategic communications.

The workshop was planned in collaboration with the Ministry's Institute for Health Behavioural Research and was funded by the European Union, through the "Southeast Asia Health Pandemic Preparedness and Response project".

Not long after, WHO held a similar workshop for participants in Brunei Darussalam, working closely with the Ministry of Health's Corporate Communications Division. Speakers at the workshop included Awang haji Maswadi bin Haji Mohsin, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health as well as Dr John Kinsman, a social and behaviour change expert from European Centres for Disease Control who provided insights on promoting COVID-19 vaccination acceptance and uptake.

"I strongly believe that this is a good opportunity for us to share and learn, and ensure that communication plans and strategies are aligned, evidence-based and most importantly, reach out to the target audience with the right call to action," said Awang haji Maswadi bin Haji Mohsin, Permanent Secretary of the Brunei Darussalam Ministry of Health. "For this to happen effectively, we must harness behavioural insight tools and empower the public to make informed decisions to better manage their health."

Both workshops focused on the foundational concepts of behavioural science for health communications and provided participants with tools and tips on how to integrate behavioural science into the early stages of health programme planning and design, with an emphasis on strategies for adherence to COVID-19 protective behaviours and vaccine uptake.

Skills gained during the workshop are now being put into practice through WHO-supported, pilot behavioural insight interventions in both countries. In Malaysia, this has involved applying rigorous behavioural science methods to develop and test new, evidence-based communications materials that support the sustained management of COVID-19.

"Insights from behavioural science are uncovering yet another layer of complexity pertaining to people's choices and the decisions they make around health, but are also offering solutions to help overcome barriers and achieve better health outcomes, not only in responding to COVID-19 but increasingly in delivery of routine health services," said Dr Abeyasinghe.

Learn more about this work in Malaysia.

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