BSPHN 2024 Conference: Using Behavioural Science to Address Shared Challenges for Prevention
BSPHN 2024 Conference: Using Behavioural Science to Address Shared Challenges for Prevention
By BSPHN on
Nov 7, 2023
Join us on our Behavioural Science and Public Health (BSPHN) Annual conference as we showcase and learn from a wide range of experts, optimising and demonstrating the impact of behavioural and social science, to create healthy environments and healthy people.
This year, our theme focuses on using behavioural science to address shared challenges for prevention.
When and where
Date: Tuesday 20th February 2024 09:00–16:30 GMT
Venue: Liverpool John Moores University, Tithebarn Building, L2 2ER
About this event
This conference is bigger and better than before with double the content and choice, than previous years.
With 4 renowned keynote speakers, an open panel discussion, parallel oral presentation sessions and interactive workshops, there is a lot to get involved in and take away from the day.
Keynote speakers include:
– Professor of Epidemiology at University College London, Director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity, and Past President of the World Medical Association
– Programme Director, Behavioural Science Unit, Public Health Wales
– Director of Public Health, Liverpool City Council
– Head of Behavioural Insight & Change, Public Health Liverpool
Professor Sir Michael G Marmot CH, MBBS, MPH, PhD, FRCP, FFPHM, FMedSci, FBA
Professor of Epidemiology at University College London, Director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity, and Past President of the World Medical Association
Sir Michael Marmot has been Professor of Epidemiology at University College London since 1985, and is Director of the UCL Institute of Health Equity. He is the author of The Health Gap: the challenge of an unequal world (Bloomsbury: 2015), and Status Syndrome (Bloomsbury: 2004). Professor Marmot is the Advisor to the WHO Director-General, on social determinants of health, in the new WHO Division of Healthier Populations; Distinguished Visiting Professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong (2019-), and co-Director of the of the CUHK Institute of Health Equity. He is the recipient of the WHO Global Hero Award; the Harvard Lown Professorship (2014-2017); the Prince Mahidol Award for Public Health (2015), and 20 honorary doctorates. Marmot has led research groups on health inequalities for nearly 50 years. He chaired the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health, several WHO Regional Commissions, and reviews on tackling health inequality for governments in the UK. He served as President of the British Medical Association (BMA) in 2010-2011, and as President of the World Medical Association in 2015. He is President of Asthma + Lung UK. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Honorary Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and of the Faculty of Public Health; an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy; and of the Royal Colleges of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Paediatrics and Child Health, and General Practitioners. He is an elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine and of the Brazilian Academy of Medicine. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution for six years and in 2000 he was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen, for services to epidemiology and the understanding of health inequalities. Prof Marmot was appointed a Companion of Honour for services to public health in the King’s 2023 New Year Honours.
Ashley Gould MFPH
Programme Director, Behavioural Science Unit, Public Health Wales
Ashley is a Consultant in Public Health and Programme Director of the Behavioural Science Unit at Public Health Wales. He is responsible for the strategic leadership and work of the Unit – providing specialist policy, technical and ad-hoc support and developing capability and system capacity in using behavioural science to improve and protect health and well-being and reduce inequity.
He is currently involved in work to optimise policy, services and communications across communicable disease control, health harming behaviours, active travel, cancer screening and vaccine uptake, and in response to the climate crisis. Ashley is a Co-Investigator in BR-UK, the UKRI funded leadership hub for behavioural research and an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology and Sport Science, Bangor University. He is current Co-Chair of the Risk Communication and Behavioural Insights Sub-Group of the Welsh Government’s Technical Advisory Group.
Previously he led the Wales tobacco control system, developing behaviourally-informed campaigning and systems improvement to support five years of consecutive growth in the proportion of smokers choosing to quit with NHS support. Before becoming a Consultant in Public Health, he worked in Environmental Health and policy roles, in local government and the NHS, in England and Wales.
Professor Matt Ashton
Director of Public Health, Liverpool City Council
Prof Ashton was appointed Director of Public Health for Liverpool City Council in April 2020 in a joint appointment with the University of Liverpool, where he is an Honorary Professor in the Department of Public Health and Policy.
He leads a team of 30 people in the local authority, covering a range of public health activities including the commissioning of public health services, health protection, health improvement, health care public health, embedding health in all policies approaches and addressing the wider determinants of health.
Matt led on the response to the Covid-19 pandemic for Liverpool, and his efforts have been recognised nationally through the award of the Faculty of Public Health’s presidential medal in 2021, and also the Chief Medical Officers National Impact Award in 2022.
Matt is passionate about bringing together the best people and partnerships in the region to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities in the communities we serve.
Sue Cumming
Head of Behavioural Insight & Change, Public Health Liverpool
Sue Cumming heads an award-winning Behavioural Insight & Change team for Public Health in Liverpool. She has over 30 years behaviour change and insight experience working for a leading FTSE 100 Company, with current experience developing insight within the public sector. She has expertise in developing innovative behavioural insight techniques designed to drive strategy, behaviour change, market services more effectively, allocate resources, measure satisfaction of services and drive service design.
Panel Discussion
Join us for an open panel conversation with our keynote speakers and co-founder and chair of the BSPHN trustees, on using behavioural science to change behaviours of system actors e.g., clinicians or policymakers.
Prof Jim McManus
Jim McManus is National Director of Health and Wellbeing for Public Health Wales and a Visiting Professor at the University of Hertfordshire and an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Bristol. In 2022 he was made a Doctor of Science Honoris Causa by the University of Hertfordshire and elected a Fellow of the International Society for Science and Religion for his work on health, psychology and faith. He was presented with the President’s Medal from the Faculty of Public Health. Jim is a co-founder of the Behavioural Science in Public Health Network and a co-author of the National Strategy for Behavioural Science in Public Health (2018). Outside work Jim is a Trustee of the Behavioural Science and Public Health Network, a Trustee of St Joseph’s Hospice, Hackney and a pro-bono adviser to PositiveFaith, an HIV peer-support charity and the Prison Advice and Care Trust which provides support and care in two thirds of prisons in England and Wales.
Workshops
Workshop 1 – COM-B and the Theoretical Domains Framework: Practical applications
Workshop Convener –
and
Dr Lou Atkinson
Dr Lou Atkinson is an applied behavioural scientist specialising in the development and evaluation of real world behaviour change interventions to improve population health for over 15 years. During that time she has supported many public health teams to implement behavioural science into services and practice, as well as teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students about behaviour change theory and intervention development frameworks. Lou is currently Head of Research at EXI: Exercise Intelligence, a digital exercise prescription platform for individuals with long term health conditions. She also holds honorary academic positions at Aston University, University of Warwick and UHCW NHS Trust, and continues to undertake freelance consultancy work in health related behavioural science.
Dr Grainne Dickerson
Grainne is a Health Psychologist and Chair of the BSPHN Committee. Grainne's career within Public Health and Behavioural Science has spanned 20 years. Grainne is currently Director of Behavioural Insights at Magpie; a small company that creates behavioural science based interventions for social good. Prior to this role Grainne worked in various roles within Local Authorities. Grainne has a great deal of experience in applying psychological models, including the COM-B model to various issues including; clean air, mental health, wellbeing, reducing antimicrobial resistance, increasing vaccination uptake and increasing protective behaviours during weather warnings. Grainne is also an honorary behavioural science lecturer on the Masters in Public Health at Bradford University.
Description – The Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour (COM-B) model, and the more detailed Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) are useful tools for identifying the determinants of behaviour, which is the starting point for developing behaviour change interventions. Facilitated by two behavioural scientists with extensive experience of working with COM-B and TDF in a range of contexts, this interactive workshop will provide an opportunity to explore how these tools can be used in your own work, with the aim of identifying a real-world application for attendees to take forward.
Workshop 2 – Introduction to Behavioural Systems Mapping in Public Health
Workshop Convener –
Dr Paul Chadwich
Dr Paul Chadwick is a Consultant Clinical and Health Psychologist and Honorary Associate Professor at the UCL Centre for Behaviour Change, where he led on the development of Behavioural Systems Mapping. He is a leading expert on the integration of systems thinking and behavioural science and has worked with national and local government, governmental Arm’s Length Bodies, NGO’s and private organisations to apply BSM to issues such as decarbonisation, gender-based violence, food waste, and bullying in organisations.
Description – Behaviour is strongly influenced by the systems in which it is embedded. The impact of behaviour change interventions are greatly enhanced by considering the systems within which they are embedded. Behavioural Systems Mapping (BSM) is an evolving method for understanding where and how to change behaviour within complex systems.
This practical workshop will introduce participants to the key concepts and methods of Behavioural Systems Mapping, using examples drawn from public health policy and practice. By attending this workshop, participants will be able to:
Identify public health issues where behaviourally focussed systems thinking would be useful
Understand the process of developing a behavioural systems map
Draw a simple behavioural systems map to represent complex, non-linear causality
Use a simple behavioural systems map to devise a behaviour change intervention
Due to the highly interactive nature of this workshop, places will be limited to 20 delegates
Workshop 3 – Training to change practice: using behavioural science in education and training
Workshop Convener –
and
Dr Eleanor Bull
Dr Eleanor Bull is a health psychologist working in public health in Derbyshire and clinical health in Liverpool, and honorary senior lecturer at University of Manchester. She has interests in making health education and training for health professionals and the public engaging and impactful.
Prof Lucie Byrne-Davis
Prof Lucie Byrne-Davis is a health psychologist and a professor of health psychology at University of Manchester. She is interested in the improvement of health and health services through global partnerships, and working within existing training systems to use and generate evidence from behavioural research.
Description – When we want to improve health services we tend to deliver education and training to health workers. Education and training tends to focus predominantly on increasing what people know and can do. Behavioural science tells us that just because someone can do something it doesn't mean that they will. In this workshop, we will talk about how some changes in the way we develop and deliver education and training can align better to behavioural evidence and theory and therefore make training more likely to lead to the changes in practice that will improve services.
We also have a dedicated space for delegates to share their work on poster displays and network among each other.
Join us to learn from experts using behavioural and social sciences to enhance population outcomes, network with like minded colleagues, and share best practice!
Abstracts
Calls for oral and poster presentations!
As a network the BSPHN is keen to provide ample opportunities at our annual conference for members and delegates to share their work, to learn from others, and to build relationships.
This call for abstract submissions is aimed at showcasing how behavioural science has been used to address shared challenges for prevention and where there have been opportunities of creating healthy outcomes for the environment and for people.
Authors are asked to submit abstracts that address any of the following sub-themes:
Prevention – content focused on sustainability, long-term conditions, primary and secondary prevention strategies.
Shared challenges – content focused on key policy changes, implementation, health inequalities.
Submissions do not have to relate to traditional research studies, although these are welcome. Submissions could describe any project that has sought to apply and/or evaluate the impact of behavioural or social science. We welcome abstracts from academia, public and private sectors.
We are particularly keen to receive submissions from private and public practitioners, commissioners, and other professionals, as well as students and academics. We are also keen to include work that is still in progress.
Oral presentations
Oral speakers will be given 15 minutes (10 minutes to present and 5 minutes for questions).
Poster presentations
Accepted posters will be showcased during the conference and will be available online on the BSPHN website after the event.
Submit an outline of the project, in no more than 350 words, using the following headings (as appropriate):
Aim(s)
Methods / Implementation
Results / Impact / Learning
Conclusions / Implications for practice
Abstract submissions are now closed.
Key submission dates
8th November 2023 – Online submission for abstracts open
22nd December 2023 – Deadline for abstract submissions for oral and poster presentations
w/c 22nd January 2024 – Notification of submission outcomes
Top tips for writing an abstract
Follow the BSPHN abstract guidelines and keep to the word count. Only abstracts that meet the guidelines will be considered for selection.
Tailor the abstract so it is related to the conference theme and ensure it is relevant to behavioural science and public health.
Write clearly and concisely, avoid jargon and acronyms. Assume you are writing to an audience who know nothing about your work area.
Ensure you have a balance between what you did (methods) and what you found (results).
Highlight the implications of your work, which can be for research, policy, and/or practice. For work-in-progress, highlight the expected implications.
Thank you for considering the BSPHN conference to present your work. If you have any inquiries relating to submission or the conference, please email events@bsphn.org.uk
Tickets
Registration for the conference is now closed and all tickets are sold out.
Registration for the conference is online –
Our ticket prices are as follows:
Early bird
Student: £80
Public sector / academia / charities: £180
Private sector: £220
General admission
Student: £120
Public sector / academia / charities: £195
Private sector: £270
Please note early bird tickets end at 11.59pm on 28th January 2024 and all tickets are non-refundable.
Bursary
We are offering two bursaries for attendance at the conference, which covers the event registration fee (including catering) and travel costs for the recipient to attend the full event (excluding accommodation). If you wish to apply for a bursary you will need to tell us why you should be awarded the bursary (maximum 500 words).
The BSPHN Committee will judge the application. The successful bursaries will need to attend the full day of the conference and will be required to write an article for the BSPHN publication. BSPHN will reimburse travel costs for bursary winners which will be paid following attendance at the conference and submission of a write piece for BSPHN publication. Receipts for travel will be required.
If your application is unsuccessful, we will still offer you the opportunity to purchase a ticket to attend the conference at the early bird rate.
Bursary applications are now closed.
Travel
The conference is located at the Tithebarn Building, Liverpool John Moores University. It is 13 minute walk from Liverpool Lime Street train station, 10 minutes from Liverpool One bus station and a short distance from the city centre.
Tithebarn Building, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L2 2ER
Travelling to Liverpool by train
Liverpool is easily accessible by train from all major cities in the UK, the journey from London will take just over two hours (National Rail Enquiries). Visitors from Greater Manchester, TransPennine Express has an hourly service between Manchester Victoria and Liverpool which only takes 32 minutes.
Travelling to Liverpool by car
Liverpool city region is well connected to the UK motorway network. From the M6 take the M62, M58 or M56 to reach the city centre.
Sat nav coordinates
For users of satellite navigation equipment, simply enter the coordinates 53.4095,-2.98558 or the postcode L2 2ER.
Car parking facilities
Liverpool Moorefields (L2 2AY) NCP has 577 spaces and you can pay for parking using card or cashless via the NCP app. There are no electrical charging points at this car park.
Alternatively, visit NCP for full details of city car parking facilities.
Accommodation
Accommodation is not included in the ticket price, you may wish to check accommodation platforms such as booking.com to compare local availability and cost.
Contact us
If you have any queries regarding the conference, please email us at events@bsphn.org.uk
