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Background: Despite their important role in breastfeeding promotion, there is a lack of research regarding professionals’ attitudes towards breastfeeding, and the impact these may have on breastfeeding promotion. Aim: To investigate health professionals’ views regarding breastfeeding, the influences on those views, and how they impact the breastfeeding promotion. Methods: In this qualitative study, 10 focus groups were carried out with health professionals involved with breastfeeding promotion. Results: Several themes emerged. These were: powerlessness and pessimism, breastfeeding promotion vs coercion/education, and the function of breastfeeding promotion. Professionals felt positively towards breastfeeding, but saw their influence as minimal due to an array of external influences on the mothers’ decision. They felt that promotion was not always carried out appropriately, and were wary of moralising breastfeeding. Professionals felt their role was one of informing, rather than promotion.

The Programme of Community Action on Health Promotion, Information, Education and Training 1996-2000 was administered by the European Commission's Services in DGV Luxembourg. The programme was a consequence of a decision of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union in March 1996. Middlesex University Health Research Centre won the tender to evaluate this programme. In this paper the evaluation team disseminate some of the findings that are pertinent to the international health promotion community. Key findings include significant differences in number of applications and in acceptance rates for different Member States. The expert assessors' opinions of the programme suggest a number of problems with its administration. Some projects were awarded commendably high ratings and others were very weak. The most serious weakness of many of the supported projects is lack of any internal evaluation. In order to broaden the scope of the second phase of the evaluation of this programme, more open communication and dialogue will be needed between all of the stakeholders. This implies a change in the culture of the European Commission's Services which, in the case of the units involved with this evaluation, are lacking in efficiency, openness and transparency.

BackgroundPublic health services implement individual, community and population level interventions to change health behaviours, improve healthy life expectancy and reduce health inequalities. Understanding and changing health behaviour is complex. Integrating behaviour change theory and evidence into interventions has the potential to improve services.MethodsHealth Psychologists apply evidence and theories aimed at understanding and changing health behaviour. A Scottish programme is piloting the training of Health Psychologists within NHS contexts to address prominent public health challenges.ResultsThis article outlines the details of this novel programme. Two projects are examined to illustrate the potential of partnership working between public health and health psychology.ConclusionIn order to develop and improve behaviour change interventions and services, public health planners may want to consider developing and using the knowledge and skills of Health Psychologists. Supporting such training within public health contexts is a promising avenue to build critical NHS internal mass to tackle the major public health challenges ahead.

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