MECHANISMS OF BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS AS A PREDICTOR OF HEALTHY LIFESTYLE (RESEARCH BASED ON A SURVEY OF STUDENT YOUTH)

Abstract

The study is devoted to the topical issue of determining the relationship between behavioral economics and health with an emphasis on the choice of factors that influence individual decisions and behaviour regarding their health, which was conducted by self-assessment by 376 first-year medical students. The following mechanisms of behavioral economics that can influence the health-saving behaviour of young people are studied: the impact of rising costs of certain goods, the impact of advertising of unhealthy products, the impact of encouragement to change bad habits. Respondents also assessed the impact of such socio-political determinants as government strategies and health education on human behaviour. When comparing the answers of all respondents and dividing them into two groups (smokers, non-smokers), a higher percentage of respondents stated that the increase in price would ‘rather not affect’ their behaviour than ‘rather affect’ it (p<0.001). Thus, an increase in the cost of tobacco products will not have a significant impact on people's behaviour to reduce their purchases of these products. Advertising of the so-called ‘cost-effective’ products such as cigarettes is not an absolute factor of influence on human behaviour: only 23.40±2.18% of students' statements indicated that it could influence their intention to buy, and 76.60±2.18% of respondents said that advertising did not matter (p<0.0001). The mechanism of influencing behaviour through encouraging a healthy lifestyle can be applied and recommended for wider implementation. Thus, the majority of respondents noted that ‘Encouragement’ to change their attitude to a healthy lifestyle could change their attitude to this - 64.89±2.46% indicated ‘Yes’ and ‘Rather yes’ (p<0.0001). Thus, studying the impact of self-esteem on people's ability to make healthy decisions, such as quitting bad habits (in our study, smoking), can influence economic decision-making by individuals and, as a result, affect market changes in the country. The survey on the influence of such socio-political determinants as government strategies and health education on human behaviour showed that 73.85±5.45% of respondents preferred the influence of targeted government strategies. At the same time, the majority of respondents in both groups of our study believe that the most effective way to combat smoking is to make people aware of its harmful effects on their health. This statement was made by 75.80±2.21% of respondents (p<0.001). Thus, the study of behavioral economics mechanisms for health promotion among young people showed the importance of such elements as ‘encouragement’ and the impact of such socio-political determinants as state anti-smoking strategies. However, the most important factor in achieving positive health outcomes is the level of self-awareness. Awareness of all responsibility, including for a personal positive example of a healthy lifestyle, is a sufficient motivation to quit smoking forever.