Behavioural Insights Research This programme aims to support research over a two to three year timeframe that designs, tests and evaluates behavioural interventions that can improve efficiency and reduce waste within health care services in the UK

Our Behavioural Insights Research programme is supporting research over a two to three year timeframe that designs, tests and evaluates behavioural interventions that can improve efficiency and reduce waste within health care services in the UK.

The programme also seeks to support research that increases our understanding of how to better implement and spread behavioural interventions in a UK health care context.

Aims

We invited researchers to submit ideas rooted in ‘behavioural insights’ or ‘nudge theory’ across three key areas of interest:

• Patient pathways eg. improving patient flow within the system, improving coordination and transfer of care, as well as expediting discharge.
• Procurement, pharmacy and medicines optimisation eg. minimising cost and waste in procurement and prescribing, as well as improving medication adherence.
• Care best practice eg encouraging attendance, uptake of screening and health promotion by making every contact count; reducing unnecessary or ineffective care; better demand management and reducing harms.

Projects

We are working with and supporting eight multidisciplinary research-led teams that demonstrated strong collaborations between academics and researchers in psychology and behavioural economics, health care professionals, support-staff and managers, patients and those with design expertise.

The projects will:

• strengthen understanding of the potential for low-cost behavioural interventions in improving quality
• test different approaches across different settings and services to examine how interventions work and for whom, in what circumstances
• provide lessons on spread in a UK health care services context.

More information on the programme aims and funding priorities is available in the Notes for applicants.