From February 2025, I spent three months working as a temporary advisor at the Behavioural and Cultural Insights (BCI) unit in Copenhagen. This multi-disciplinary unit seeks to understand the individual and contextual barriers and drivers to health behaviours through research, capacity building, advocacy and policy making. I was drawn to the team’s approach to making the social sciences relevant and applicable to policy making, and the diversity of health areas and geographies that they work with.
My position started just ten days after Donald Trump had signed an Executive Order to withdraw the United States from the WHO. This triggered a considerable funding loss for the WHO, including teams in the Regional Office for Europe. Fortunately, I had been awarded funding from the Grand Union Doctoral Training Pathway (GUDTP) and the Open University, allowing me to relocate (with my family!) to the Copenhagen area for two months of this placement. The funding enabled me to spend time in-person with the team to join meetings and events in the UN City. My aim for this placement was to explore the intersection of research and policy making by developing policy briefs in collaboration with experts in migration and HIV and by lending my research and writing skills to priority projects.
I was thrilled to be able to get to know the BCI Unit and the diverse team of researchers and technical specialists they collaborate with. I worked with people with backgrounds in social sciences, behavioural science, medical humanities, epidemiology, creative arts, development and public health management. During my placement, I joined colleagues for informal breakfasts, team meetings and one-on-one sessions to discuss my work. For example, I had weekly calls with a BCI senior consultant with expertise in HIV prevention, Martha Scherzer, to get input and feedback on two policy briefs on: 1) improving access to health services for refugees in the WHO European region and 2) PrEP service delivery and uptake in eastern Europe and central Asia.
We discussed relevant articles, explored case studies and discussed how best to present the evidence in a useful and applicable way for national health authorities. Martha’s mentorship and guidance was an invaluable gift and elevated my confidence to seek a future career in evidence-based policy making.
I also met with Robb Butler, Director of the Division of Communicable Diseases, Environment and Health to discuss the remit of my work and the focus of the department. I regularly met with my supervisor Katrine Bach Habersaat to discuss the direction and ways of communicating my work with others. Through informal interactions, I got to know others in the department working in communications, immunization, HIV, the One Health programme and in the prevention of antibiotic resistance. I attended online, or in-person talks on, for example, building trust and confidence in health authorities.
A second area of focus for me was to explore research methods that the BCI Unit employs to inform and evaluate BCI interventions. I focused on the rapid analysis procedure (RAP) for conducting framework analysis of qualitative data. Alongside Siff Malue Nielsen, I developed a RAP sheet tool / guide for broad audiences, applicable to data collected with a wide range of contexts, theoretical models and target populations.
Lastly, to facilitate the dissemination of research findings on a project on hypertension in Türkiye, I wrote a summary of findings and considerations for government stakeholders. Together with senior consultant, Veerle Snjiders, I reviewed a research report and co-developed an impactful 25-page summary that maintained the level of detail required to inform policy. I used my qualitative research skills to further analyse the data by behaviours and sub-groups to ensure that each section held useful insights for stakeholders in Türkiye.
Despite the financial difficulties that the WHO and wider sector is facing, this proved to be an enriching three-month placement. I was able to connect with co-workers, develop impactful outputs and see the policy brief process through review and development. On my last day in the office, we had a final farewell breakfast, and I received WHO themed gifts to bring the hub of public health home with me. The teams are making final edits to the policy briefs that I worked on before publishing on the BCI Unit’s external website. Advice for others doing placement with UN agencies is to be proactive with making introductions and identifying colleagues that can help you navigate complex systems and ways of working. Once all set up, there will be plenty of opportunities to apply your technical skills, research expertise and fresh perspectives from your PhD!
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