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FOREWORD

The evolving landscape of public health calls for a deeper understanding of the human experience.
A transformative shift toward the biopsychosocial model, one that thoughtfully integrates biological,
psychological, and social dimensions of health in a cohesive and evidence-informed manner, is
essential in understanding human health behaviour.

Behavioural science provides valuable tools to understand and influence the human factors that
shape health outcomes. Whether addressing risk behaviours, improving treatment adherence, or
promoting preventive actions, evidence shows that health systems are more effective when
designed around how people actually behave, not just how we expect them to. This requires
embedding behavioural insights at the core of health policy, planning, and service delivery at every
level of the system.

The adoption of behavioural science must now progress from inspiration to implementation. It is time
we institutionalise behavioural science as a core function of our health governance and operations.
This involves building the capacity of our health workforce to apply behavioural tools, integrating
behavioural insights into programme design, implementation and evaluation, and collaborating
across sectors to co-create environments that make healthy choices easy,
attractive, and sustainable. We must act with urgency and unity, drawing
upon our collective commitment to delivering health services that are
people-centred, resilient, and responsive to the evolving needs of our
communities.

We are thankful to the former Director General of Health for the
leadership in driving behavioural science to strengthen our health
system. Moving forward, let this National Blueprint be more than a
plan. It must be a catalyst for system transformation that puts people
and behaviour at the centre of everything we do.

D Dr. M har b Abd W

Director-General of Health Malaysia

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