ABSTRACT
Public health attention in most developed nations has moved from protection to prevention, with a particular focus on lifestyle behaviours and individual responsibility for health and wellbeing. This book has explored these developments in a range of behaviours—both promoting and damaging health. This concluding chapter will explore the role of psychological interventions within a political and social context. Although the techniques, research and evidence presented in this book will be useful to the individual health care professional, the policy framework must be recognised. While it is beyond the scope of this text to explore all of these elements, the health care professional must appreciate the context in which they work. Consequently, this chapter will outline the lifestyle policy in the UK since the 1990s and how this has impacted the ethics of intervention and individual practice.
