Proposed methods for evaluating efforts made by governments to prevent and mitigate corporate influence and conflicts of interest in public health policy [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
Background: There is evidence that corporations try to delay, weaken, and avoid the adoption of measures that would protect and improve population health. This is particularly true and problematic for health harming industries, such as those producing ultra-processed foods, alcohol, and cigarettes....
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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F1000 Research Ltd
2022-09-01
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| Series: | HRB Open Research |
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| Online Access: | https://hrbopenresearch.org/articles/5-41/v2 |
| _version_ | 1797773350426116096 |
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| author | Mélissa Mialon Lisa Bero Adam Bertscher Stefanie Vandevijvere |
| author_facet | Mélissa Mialon Lisa Bero Adam Bertscher Stefanie Vandevijvere |
| author_sort | Mélissa Mialon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: There is evidence that corporations try to delay, weaken, and avoid the adoption of measures that would protect and improve population health. This is particularly true and problematic for health harming industries, such as those producing ultra-processed foods, alcohol, and cigarettes. Financial conflicts of interest (COI) are also problematic in policy-making because they may compromise decision-makers’ loyalty and independent judgment. Public opinion is in favor of preventing and mitigating that influence from corporations and COI on public health policy. A scoping review recently identified twenty-three mechanisms that could be adopted with that purpose and which principally cover: i) transparency and disclosure; ii) identification, monitoring, and education; iii) management; iv) prohibition of interactions with the industry and/or COI. There is, however, limited knowledge on the adoption of such mechanisms by governments. We therefore propose new methods for evaluating that progress at the country level. Methods and expected results: The proposed evaluation comprises five steps: 1) Gathering information about the national context; 2) Gathering evidence on the implementation of mechanisms by national governments; 3) Verification of step 2 by government officials and policy experts and local public health experts; 4) Identification and prioritization of actions in a workshop; 5) Supporting the translation of findings into policy actions. Conclusions: The evaluation of progress made by governments in their implementation of mechanisms for preventing and mitigating the influence of corporations and COI in public health policy could help countries systematize their efforts, benchmark their progress internationally, and give perspective on particular weaknesses, approaches, and investment gaps needed for change. We will implement and validate our methods in Ireland, as a first case-study. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:04:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-86190f5f5e344808975fdafd4284dacb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2515-4826 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:04:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | F1000 Research Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | HRB Open Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-86190f5f5e344808975fdafd4284dacb2023-07-25T00:00:00ZengF1000 Research LtdHRB Open Research2515-48262022-09-01514867Proposed methods for evaluating efforts made by governments to prevent and mitigate corporate influence and conflicts of interest in public health policy [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]Mélissa Mialon0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9883-6441Lisa Bero1Adam Bertscher2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7786-1798Stefanie Vandevijvere3Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, D02 H308, IrelandCenter for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, 80045, USATobacco Control Research Group, Department of Health, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UKDepartment of Public Health and Surveillance, Sciensano, Brussels, 1050, BelgiumBackground: There is evidence that corporations try to delay, weaken, and avoid the adoption of measures that would protect and improve population health. This is particularly true and problematic for health harming industries, such as those producing ultra-processed foods, alcohol, and cigarettes. Financial conflicts of interest (COI) are also problematic in policy-making because they may compromise decision-makers’ loyalty and independent judgment. Public opinion is in favor of preventing and mitigating that influence from corporations and COI on public health policy. A scoping review recently identified twenty-three mechanisms that could be adopted with that purpose and which principally cover: i) transparency and disclosure; ii) identification, monitoring, and education; iii) management; iv) prohibition of interactions with the industry and/or COI. There is, however, limited knowledge on the adoption of such mechanisms by governments. We therefore propose new methods for evaluating that progress at the country level. Methods and expected results: The proposed evaluation comprises five steps: 1) Gathering information about the national context; 2) Gathering evidence on the implementation of mechanisms by national governments; 3) Verification of step 2 by government officials and policy experts and local public health experts; 4) Identification and prioritization of actions in a workshop; 5) Supporting the translation of findings into policy actions. Conclusions: The evaluation of progress made by governments in their implementation of mechanisms for preventing and mitigating the influence of corporations and COI in public health policy could help countries systematize their efforts, benchmark their progress internationally, and give perspective on particular weaknesses, approaches, and investment gaps needed for change. We will implement and validate our methods in Ireland, as a first case-study.https://hrbopenresearch.org/articles/5-41/v2commercial determinants of health corporate political activity ethics conflicts of interest industry eng |
| spellingShingle | Mélissa Mialon Lisa Bero Adam Bertscher Stefanie Vandevijvere Proposed methods for evaluating efforts made by governments to prevent and mitigate corporate influence and conflicts of interest in public health policy [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] HRB Open Research commercial determinants of health corporate political activity ethics conflicts of interest industry eng |
| title | Proposed methods for evaluating efforts made by governments to prevent and mitigate corporate influence and conflicts of interest in public health policy [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full | Proposed methods for evaluating efforts made by governments to prevent and mitigate corporate influence and conflicts of interest in public health policy [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_fullStr | Proposed methods for evaluating efforts made by governments to prevent and mitigate corporate influence and conflicts of interest in public health policy [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_full_unstemmed | Proposed methods for evaluating efforts made by governments to prevent and mitigate corporate influence and conflicts of interest in public health policy [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_short | Proposed methods for evaluating efforts made by governments to prevent and mitigate corporate influence and conflicts of interest in public health policy [version 2; peer review: 2 approved] |
| title_sort | proposed methods for evaluating efforts made by governments to prevent and mitigate corporate influence and conflicts of interest in public health policy version 2 peer review 2 approved |
| topic | commercial determinants of health corporate political activity ethics conflicts of interest industry eng |
| url | https://hrbopenresearch.org/articles/5-41/v2 |
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