"Who wants to eat in a toilet?" A social marketing approach to breast-feeding in public places and at work.

A public health project is described which used social marketing philosophy and techniques to find out how to help facilitate breast-feeding in public places and for mothers returning to work. As part of a strategy to increase local breast-feeding rates, Brighton and Hove Healthy City Partnership, representing the local Primary Care Trust, City Council and the business, academic and voluntary sectors, worked with a social marketing consultancy. The consultancy carried out a literature review and qualitative research that used creative engagement methods to consult with local people. The consultations were with key stakeholders, mothers, and groups traditionally less interested in the subject of breast-feeding, such as employers, elderly people, teenage boys, and fathers. The qualitative research generated in-depth insight and soundly-based, practical recommendations for facilitating breast-feeding. The social marketing approach helped to establish that any ensuing policies and practices would be acceptable to a wide range of the local population.

A programme for Health Impact Assessment in Brighton and Hove.

HIA is based on the theory of health determinants, which recognizes that well-being is determined by a wide range of economic, social and environmental factors, by heredity and medical intervention. The intended HIA procedure represents a new approach to the evaluation of all local authority policies in order to assess their potential health impacts and to improve the quality of governmental decisions, through recommendations to enhance predicted positive health impacts and minimize negative ones.