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Making Every Contact Count (MECC)

Table of contents:

What is MECC?

MECC is an approach to behaviour change that utilises the millions of day-to-day interactions that organisations and individuals have with other people to support them in making positive changes to their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

The MECC approach recognises that individuals across health, local authority and the voluntary sector, have thousands of contacts every day and are ideally placed to promote health and wellbeing.

MECC focuses on the following key behaviours that, when addressed, can make the greatest improvement to an individual’s health:

  • Stopping smoking
  • Drinking alcohol only within the recommended limits
  • Eating Healthily
  • Being physically active
  • Improving mental health and wellbeing
  • Being up to date with immunisations and vaccinations
  • Taking up screening offer when eligible

What MECC means:

For organisations

Providing staff and volunteers with the leadership, environment, training and information that they need to deliver the MECC approach effectively.

For staff and volunteers

Having the competence and confidence to deliver health messages, to help encourage people to change their behaviour and to direct them to local, regional and national services that can support them.

For individuals

Seeking support and taking action to improve their own health and wellbeing.

What MECC is not

MECC is not about:

  • adding another job to already busy working days
  • becoming specialists or experts in health-related behaviours
  • becoming counsellors or providing ongoing support to particular individuals
  • telling somebody what to do and how to live their life

What are the benefits of MECC?

There are benefits to applying the MECC approach across a range of settings including where we are born, grow up, live, work and age. By using everyday interactions to have conversations about health behaviours, the MECC approach can positively impact individuals, professionals, organisations and communities.

Organisational benefits

  • The MECC approach helps to meet responsibilities for improving population health and wellbeing.
  • The MECC approach supports staff development by boosting awareness, skills, confidence, and motivation.
  • The MECC approach can be integrated into existing health or workforce improvement initiatives.

Community and local health economy benefits

  • Improves access to healthy behaviour advice.
  • Can reduce illness and save costs across the local health system.
  • Encourages community engagement and collaboration.

Staff and volunteer benefits

  • Empowers staff and volunteers to confidently and routinely share health behaviour messages.
  • Enables staff and volunteers to signpost people to local, regional or national support services.

National and population benefits

  • Makes better use of existing resources to improve public health.
  • Offers the potential to contribute to reducing health inequalities by supporting behaviour change.
  • Reaches people who might not otherwise seek health advice or guidance.

Individual benefits

For individuals, the MECC approach can support people to take action to improve their own health and wellbeing. This includes eating healthily, being physically active, drinking alcohol only within the recommended limits, stopping smoking, improving mental health and wellbeing, taking up screening offer when eligible and being up to date with immunisations and vaccinations.

Health board contacts

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board

The Gwent Public Health team are currently developing a new Generic MECC Level 2 package. The team are in the early stages of setting up this programme and courses are not advertised but please do email if you’re interested in training.

For more information, please contact: [email protected]

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

Making Every Contact Count (MECC) is about using everyday conversations to support people to improve their health and wellbeing. It’s not about long discussions or giving advice – it’s about small, supportive conversations that can make a real difference.

Why it matters

Brief, timely conversations can help people think differently about their health and feel more confident taking positive steps. MECC supports prevention, wellbeing, and compassionate care – and it fits naturally into the work you already do.

What MECC looks like in practice

  • A short, compassionate conversation (often 30 seconds to 2 minutes)
  • Raising health and wellbeing topics when it feels appropriate
  • Listening first — not judging or lecturing
  • Offering simple information or signposting
  • Supporting choice, not telling people what to do

MECC is everyone’s role

MECC is for everyone, regardless of whether you work in healthcare or not. You don’t need specialist knowledge – knowing where to signpost is often enough. MECC can happen anywhere e.g. in clinics, offices, meetings, corridors, or community settings.

Where to find help and support

You don’t need to know everything – these resources can support your conversations:

  • Training is available via the E-Learning pages
  • Local services; Health Advice – Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
  • Self-care while you prepare for treatment
  • Self-care while you prepare for treatment – Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
  • National resources; 7 key messages and please check out the resources page.
  • For Health Board staff, please have a look on the staff intranet page which contains links to compassionate conversations and the Staff Living Well, Working Well Handbook.

For more information, please contact: [email protected]

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

MECC is an approach to embedding prevention into everyday interactions which aims to empower staff to appropriately and confidently discuss lifestyle issues and signpost to appropriate support. In Cardiff and Vale, MECC training has been offered since 2012 and has been delivered to staff from health services, local authorities, third sector and wider across partnership organisations.

We currently offer face to face Level 2 MECC training.

For more information, please contact: [email protected]

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

For more information, please contact: [email protected]

Hywel Dda University Health Board

Hywel Dda University Health Board has pledged a commitment to promoting and supporting MECC for the benefit of its staff and population. It is currently developing its MECC online presence with supporting resources available soon.

At present, training is available online only for those in Hywel Dda. Health Board staff can access two levels of training through ESR.

For further information on MECC in Hywel Dda please contact:
[email protected] or [email protected]

Powys Teaching University Health Board

The Public Health team promotes the delivery of MECC in PTHB and strives to ensure staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills and resources necessary to embed MECC in everyday practice.

The Public Health team promotes MECC training opportunities and works with colleagues and partners to develop a needs based approach to local training.

PTHB promotes the National online eLearning modules, but in addition to this, PTHB provides bespoke face to face or TEAMS MECC training  or shorter refresher MECC training to specific staff groups or as requested.

For more information, please contact: [email protected] or Powys PHT admin: [email protected]

Public Health Wales

For more information, please contact: Annie Petherick at [email protected]

Swansea Bay University Health Board

Health Board staff are able to access E-learning modules via ESR.

For more information, please contact: [email protected]

Further information

Resources

Reports

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