Time for Public Health to talk About Capitalism?

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

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A cascade of health crises—from the covid-19 pandemic to our climate emergency, and a rise in “deaths of despair”—are contributing to growing global health burdens, making this the time for health professionals to seek the common causes of these catastrophes. Despite the influence of dominant political and economic structures and health, health professionals are often reluctant to use the word capitalism when analyzing the world’s current health problems and proposing solutions. Is now the time for public health researchers, professionals , and activists to focus our attention on the role of 21st century capitalism in creating these crises, asks Nicholas Freudenberg in a BMJ First Opinion post? Read more.

Air pollution and the noncommunicable disease prevention agenda

Posted on by Corporations and Health Watch

Air pollution is a major environmental risk factor and contributor to chronic, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). However most public health approaches to NCD prevention focus on behavioral and biomedical risk factors, rather than environmental risk factors such as air pollution. In this article, Eloise Howse et al. discuss the implications of such a focus. They urge those in public health and environmental science to work together to acknowledge the shared drivers, including corporate determinants of air pollution; take a ‘co-benefits’ approach to NCD prevention; and expand prevention research through systems thinking and intersectoral, cross-disciplinary collaboration.  Read more.