DoH Builds Life Stage Segmentation Model

In the UK, the Department of Health (DoH) has created a new 'life stage segmentation model' to provide a 360-degree picture of the population and categorise individual behaviour across issues including obesity, drug and alcohol misuse, and smoking.

The model, which aims to reflect the journey that people take through life, has been developed by a team which includes the department's public health, social marketing, mental health policy, and communications teams, along with representatives from the National Social Marketing Centre.

Categories included for analysis vary from childhood, 'discovery teens', 'younger settlers', 'younger jugglers', to 'alone again', and 'active retirement'. Attitudes towards health issues are also included.

The segmentation model is part of a new framework for action on social marketing and public health called Ambitions for Health, which sets out how the organisation will use evidence of what motivates people to help them lead healthier lives through targeted action.

Under its Health Insight banner, the DoH will also be setting up a 'one-stop market research shop' where it will bring together a huge variety of data in one place.

Public Health Minister, Dawn Primarolo commented: 'Social marketing puts people at the heart of policy-making and is vital to improving public health. This framework illustrates our long-term commitment to a new way of working, and will help the commercial, public and third sectors to deliver health-related behavioural interventions.'

Web sites: www.dh.gov.uk and www.nsms.org.uk .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.