This guide outlines how the science of behaviour can help people to self-manage their health and wellbeing.

Key findings

• The guide uses the EAST framework to organise ideas and examples. The core message of EAST is that if you want to encourage a behaviour, you should make it Easy, Attractive, Social and Timely.
• The guide features a number of low-tech, pragmatic and manageable activities which can increase the spread of person- and community-centred health and wellbeing programmes.

This action-focused guide is part of the NHS England-funded Realising the Value programme, which seeks to develop person- and community-centred approaches for health and wellbeing. The programme is doing so by building the evidence base and developing tools, resources and networks to support the spread and impact of these approaches.

This guide offers two things: a framework for understanding and changing behaviour, and real-world examples of how these changes happen in practice

It is written for people who support those living with long-term conditions, or who help people avoid these conditions using person- and community-centred approaches. This group may include health, care and wellbeing professionals, people in voluntary or community groups, peer supporters, carers, patient leaders and people living with long-term conditions themselves.

The guide is supplemented by a second action-focused guide: Spreading Change which was written for people who champion these approaches in health and social care, in other statutory bodies and in community-based organisations.