Introduction to b ehavioural insight in DH and uses in hospital vending machines

1. Introduction to behavioural insight in DHand uses in hospital vending machines

2. Presentation Outline • Introduction to behavioural insights • Behavioural insights expertise across the health sector • Behavioural insights and hospital vending • Other projects and opportunities for BI in the health sector DH – Leading the nation’s health and care

3. Understanding how people actually behave helps us design effective policy and implementation programmes. • What is Behavioural Insight? Conscious, planned, reflective behaviour Subconscious, automatic behaviour DH – Leading the nation’s health and care

4. Who’s doing this in health and care • Pockets of expertise across the Health sector • DH established a small in-house team in 2012 • Public Health Englandteam • Behavioural Insights Team • A DH led network of colleagues from the national health bodies • Academic teams, notably a team at Imperial College • The Health Foundation is funding behavioural insights trials

5. Behavioural Insights and Hospital Food • Programme of hospital food and drink behavioural insight trials, jointly between DH, PHE and NHS England • Aim = to improve the food and drink environment for visitors and staff in hospitals • One element = hospital vending machines • Government buying standards key elements of trials

6. Hospital Vending Trials - Aims • Does changing the positioning of ‘healthier’ products in hospital vending machines encourage customers to make healthier product choices? • Does making the content of hospital vending machines ‘healthier’ have an impact on vending machine revenue and sales?

7. Trial Design Intervention 1 GBS compliant and “healthiest” products in least prominent position Intervention 2 GBS compliant and “healthiest” products in most prominent position Baseline Sales data Pilot (12 weeks each phase) Follow up trial (3 months each phase)

8. Results and Key learning • Pilot: Not enough data to robustly make conclusions; indicative data suggests changes to products and placing didn’t negatively impact sales volume (but does improve the food environment) • Ongoing trial: Results expected in Autumn 2016 • Engagement process is as important as the trial results • Permanent changes to selection of products stocked in hospital vending machines already implemented by supplier (contributing to improved hospital food environment) • Trials involving purchasing behaviours need sufficient time period to detect effect (at least 3 months for each intervention) • Possible to work effectively with commercial partners on trials despite barriers they cited such as limited range of “healthy” products available to vending suppliers DH – Leading the nation’s health and care

9. Opportunities for behavioural insight Adherence Overtreatment Hospital acquired infections Attendance Shared decision making Discharge DH – Leading the nation’s health and care

10. Opportunities for behavioural insight: Examples of other DH trials DH – Leading the nation’s health and care

11. What we covered • Introduction to behavioural insights • Behavioural insights expertise across the health sector • Behavioural insights and hospital vending • Other projects and opportunities for BI in the health sector DH – Leading the nation’s health and care