Health Behaviours and Inequalities

Theme leader: Professor Anne Ludbrook

Public health issues such as obesity, smoking and alcohol misuse are of increasing concern and are factors contributing to inequalities in health.  The aim of this theme is to contribute to the development of the evidence base for public health interventions and to the understanding of inequalities in health and health behaviour. 

The specific objectives are:

• To contribute to the evidence base relating to the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health improvement interventions.

• To contribute to the understanding of health behaviour from an economic perspective.

• To increase the understanding of mechanisms underlying inequalities in health and health behaviour using economic analysis

The research is driven by an understanding of key policy issues.  Research includes the application of economic analysis to individual choices relating to lifestyle factors likely to impact on health, most notably smoking, alcohol consumption, diet and physical activity; to the contextual factors, such as income and education, influencing these choices; and to the barriers to and facilitators of behaviour change.  The theme has a particular focus on evaluating policy interventions and individual interventions aiming to change behaviour with respect to lifestyle choices and their impact on health and health inequalities.