Which measures are most effective for improving public health?

Many diseases are caused by our lifestyle. Wallenberg Academy Fellow Pol Campos-Mercade will use large-scale experiments to evaluate the effects of various interventions that aim to improve public health. Do people from different backgrounds have different reactions to a specific intervention? Does it lead to unintended side effects? And how is it perceived by the public?

Changing the lifestyle of a population is difficult. Additionally, there is a lack of knowledge about which types of interventions can be effective for different groups. In most scientific studies, researchers analyzed the average effect of an intervention, but people with different backgrounds and educations can react very differently to, for instance, an anti-smoking campaign.

Dr Pol Campos-Mercade at Lund University will conduct experiments in which he will randomize a large number of people to different public health interventions. Initially, he will focus on promoting vaccinations and cancer screening, but he also plans to explore interventions relating to smoking, alcohol, physical activity and dietary habits.

Campos-Mercade will use a variety of registers to evaluate the intervention’s impact on different groups. For example, what role did age, gender or socio-economic background play? He will also investigate whether there were any unexpected side effects and what the public thought about the intervention. The aim is to guide decision-makers so they can design health policies that are effective, equitable and have the support of the population. 

Photo: Patrik Lundin