This case study describes a multicomponent methodology for conducting national Behavioural and Cultural Insights (BCI) baseline assessment, illustrated through Ukraine's 2025 experience. The assessment addresses a gap where settings committed to systematic BCI integration lack foundational evidence necessary for strategic planning and targeted capacity development. The methodological framework combined three complementary components: (1) legislative analysis to examine how behavioural considerations are embedded in Ukrainian health policy from 2014 onwards across vaccination, antimicrobial resistance, and non-communicable diseases; (2) literature review to map research capacity and theoretical approaches relevant to behavioural health work through systematic searches of international and local databases from 2000-2024; and (3) stakeholder consultations across five professional groups to identify partnership networks, terminology use, and barriers to systematic BCI integration. All behavioural factors were analysed using the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation-Behaviour (COM-B) model, while intervention-development phases were examined through the Tailoring Health Programmes (THP) framework. The assessment produced three outputs: a Ukrainian-English BCI glossary, a legislation overview through COM-B and THP lenses, and stakeholder network visualisation. Together, these deliverables illustrate both the opportunities and constraints for systematic BCI integration in a multisectoral health context. Ukraine's post-2014 healthcare reform context and European Union candidacy create unique momentum for the evidence-based approaches to health behaviours. While this triangulated approach generates richer insights than isolated methods, it presents inherent constraints, including substantial resource requirements, skilled personnel needs, theoretical dependencies, and limited visibility of informal institutional practices.
Mazhnaya et al. (Thu,) studied this question.