The impact of access to information
I'm writing in relation to 2: Improving the availability and use of reliable healthcare information would lead to substantial improvements in quality of care and health outcomes
Behavioural science tells us that knowing something is not necessarily going to prompt action. So, improvement in access to reliable information is not necessarily going to improve quality of care. We need to focus on what that information is and how it is presented.
Evidence - and it is not definitive and particularly is not based on samples and populations in the Global South - would propose that effective written information contains both statistics and stories. We need to understand more about this for patient, public and health workforce health information (https://sk.sagepub.com/books/writing-health-communication).
Further, evidence and theory indicate that in order to cause activity, a person needs capability, opportunity and motivation. For health information to have behavioural impact therefore, it should address these influences (https://implementationscience.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1748-59... ).
How we present information is likely to have a large effect. We urgently need to research the best ways to present health information to cause action and thereby improve health outcomes.
Lucie
Prof Lucie Byrne-Davis PhD CPsychol FAcSS PFHEA FEHPS
Professor of Health Psychology | Health Psychologist
Chair of the BPS Division of Health Psychology
Director of International Education Partnerships | School of Medical Sciences | Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
The University of Manchester
Tel:(+44) 161 275 1856(not active currently)
Twitter: @luciebd | web: www.thechangeexchange.org
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HIFA profile: Lucie Byrne-Davis is a Health Psychologist at Manchester Medical School in the United Kingdom. Professional Interests: Research into health professional practice, and the psychological determinants of change in practice. lucie.byrne-davis AT manchester.ac.uk
