Engaging Consumers in Changing Health Behaviors

Like the saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”

You can give employees information about healthy lifestyles but you can’t make them change their behaviors. You must move beyond communication, education and empowerment to a state of effective engagement.

Our quest for a deeper understanding of engagement takes us to three disciplines–psychology, decision theory and social marketing—and ultimately to the best practices that foster health care engagement.