Maximising Public Support for Health Policies

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Non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease account for approximately 70% of global deaths each year. Modifiable behaviours such as a poor diet, excessive alcohol use, tobacco use, and physical inactivity all increase the risk of developing these diseases. As a result, considerable resources are put into public health policies that target each of these behaviours, such as taxes on less healthy products, restrictions on advertising, and creating protected bicycle lanes. However, public support for these and other policies is consistently low which creates a barrier to policy implementation. Investigating how to increase public support for health policies is being hindered by a lack of a cohesive framework, unvalidated measures, key evidence gaps, and a lack of clarity for applying insights into practical guidance.This proposal describes an international, multidisciplinary investigation of how to increase public support for health policies. The objectives are: (i) to reshape the field's methodology (ii) develop and test interventions for increasing support for health policies, (iii) to identify characteristics of popular policies, and (iv) to advance the theory and practical applications of the field. Achieving these objectives will transform the field and lead to a step change in our understanding of when and why the public support health policies. This will therefore form a key component of wider efforts to ensure that effective health policies are implemented and ultimately save millions of lives every year.