Changes in population structure, environments, lifestyle behaviours, and patterns of disease have led to growing public health challenges. These include, but are not limited to, increasing rates of non-communicable disease (NCD), poor mental health, air pollution as well as the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Such challenges are both a health and economic burden. For example, treating diseases related to overweight and obesity is expected to cost OECD countries, on average, USD 209 per person per year, which equates to 8.4% of total health spending (OECD, 2019[1]).
In response to these public health challenges, policy makers across the world are experimenting with different interventions that improve population health in a sustainable way. To assist the spread of interventions with a robust evidence‑base, this guidebook outlines the steps policy makers can follow to select, implement and evaluate best practice public health interventions in their own country or region (Figure 1).
The three‑step guide is based on the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) framework and can help reduce waste by encouraging policy makers not to “reinvent the wheel” (Ng and de Colombani, 2015[2]):
Step 1: Select (Plan)
1a: identify best practice interventions using a multi-criteria decision analysis framework
1b: assess whether the best practice intervention can be transferred to a different context
Step 2: Implement (Do)
2a: prepare to implement the intervention
2b: implement the intervention
Step 3: Evaluate (Study & Act)
3a: execute an evaluation by collecting and analysing data
3b: act on evaluation results.
The contents of the guidebook are applicable to all public heath challenges. For this reason, it is important that policy makers review and adapt material in the guidebook to suit their specific needs. Further, although designed for policy makers, the guidebook is a useful reference for other stakeholders including those involved in planning, delivering and supporting the intervention.
