Intervention

How it is used

Anything from a sugar tax to a school handwashing project can be an intervention. Researchers design, implement, scale up and evaluate interventions and compare an intervention group with a control group. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) include masks and school closures.

Example sentences

1. The intervention reduced smoking among pregnant women by 15 percent.

2. We need evidence that the intervention is cost-effective before we scale it up.

Common collocations

• public health intervention
• evaluate an intervention
• intervention group
• non-pharmaceutical interventions
• scale up an intervention

Related terms

• randomized controlled trialA study in which participants are assigned by chance to receive an intervention or a comparison, such as a placebo or usual care, so that the outcomes of the groups can be fairly compared.
• health promotionThe process of enabling people and communities to increase control over their health and improve it, through education, supportive environments, healthy policies and community action.
• behaviour changeThe process of people adopting healthier habits or giving up harmful ones, and the methods used to help them, such as information, support, incentives and changes to their surroundings.
• community engagementWorking with communities as partners, so that local people help to identify problems and plan, deliver and evaluate the health programmes that affect them.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• intervention · Social Work

More terms: Health Promotion and Behaviour

• health literacy
• harm reduction
• risk communication
• health education
• tobacco control