BUU44704 The Commercial Determinants of Health

(20 ECTS)

Lecturer: 

Dr Norah Campbell

Email: norah.campbell@tcd.ie

Phone: 01 - 896 3609

Office Hours: Monday 12 - 1 PM

Pre- Requisite: None

Module Description

How do policy makers understand and measure the health and environmental consequences of business on states? This module introduces students to the commercial determinants of health – “the systems, practices, and pathways through which commercial actors drive health and equity” (Lancet 2023). It traces the history of negative commercial impacts on human health, beginning with tobacco, and following eight industry cases in depth and breadth. As each case unfolds, learners will grasp theoretical concepts that straddle other disciplines – corporate political activity, epidemiology, revolving door to name a few. Each case will also introduce learners to different methods for measuring health impacts, and challenge learners to conceive of how future policy makers can safeguard human and planetary health, while still valuing the important work of enterprise, exchange, and choice in society.

This module facilitates a different approach to business and (planetary) health that will allow learners to work with more impact and insight in the policy-business nexus. Graduates from this Capstone be well-positioned for careers in policy-making, (local) government, civil service, thinktanks, academia, or civil society.

Learning And Teaching Approach

Michaelmas term: Immersion

Students will spend the first semester immersed in the medical, business, historical, policy, and public-facing literature of 8 industries and become increasingly technically and conceptually competent.

This will be done through a weekly reading group of key texts, in a lecturer-assigned group of 10. Students begin to get to grips with the problematic impacts of business on health by discussing and debating with their peers in a deeply engaged, but informal and enjoyable way. Each week there will be a focus on a different industry, but with cross-industry mechanisms that apply across many.

Students will incrementally come to decide an area for an applied case study they will do over Hilary term. They will also attend 3 events in public health from within College or outside, to deepen their knowledge and begin to network.

Learning Outcomes

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

• Explain the history, frameworks and contestations about the commercial vectors of disease from different perspectives (commercial actor, civil society actor, government actor);
• Analyse corporate political activities among major health-harming industries such as tobacco, alcohol, food and beverage, fossil fuel, and gambling;
• Identify and critically assess key sources of qualitative and quantitative evidence used to explain the commercial strategies which influence population health;
• Assess the strengths and weaknesses of existing policies to minimise harmful effects of unhealthy commodities;
• Propose creative and robust policy innovations;
• Network with key actors nationally and internationally in the field of policy, advocacy and public health.
• Read and write with depth and interdisciplinary breadth, making insightful connections between concepts.

Assessment

The course takes a case study approach to the field, offering students a deep dive that will incrementally expose them to a wide range of scientific concepts, social science theories, health impact methods, and policy approaches. Students will choose an industry to focus on over the course of the first semester.

By the end of the first semester, students will have submitted 10 ‘blue sheets’ – one-page reflections that prepare for the reading group, and a proposal submission for the case they will be researching and writing in Hilary term.

Because of the intersection of many disciplines in the commercial determinants of health – spanning from food law to addiction studies to medicine to public relations – students will be required to go to 3 talks held within College or equal in different departments, and submit 3 reflections. The students’ networking with guest speakers, other departments and contacts will build confidence and experience to choose, research and write a 5k case study that will be published by the cohort in book format in the summer of 2025.

Semester 2 puts the theory into practice:

• Write a 5,000 word case study on the chosen product/industry. The best graded case studies will be published.
• The case study will have components to make it multi-dimensional, and with a strong element of primary research:
  • Contextualisation
  • Interview excerpts with key informants
  • Primary research aspect
  • Policy comparisons/benchmarking

Each student also has a choice this semester to either (i) demonstrate how they are moving into a career in public administration/public health or (ii) present their case study to a panel of experts chosen by the module leader. Details on each of these will be given early in the year.

Relation to Degree

Business degrees in Trinity have 5 goals – learning at the frontier, taking a deep and responsible view of business, exploring one’s personal and professional potential, engage with grand challenges and undertake research that informs management.

This module is an ideal Capstone to deepen and solidify these goals. It is a radically interdisciplinary field at the frontier of knowledge, it offers learning and experience of public management, it rewards students to network and develop their career, it is focused on the biggest challenges of our age, and it is a research-led pedagogy.

Workload

This is a 20 credit module, meaning 500 hours of work is needed over the course of the year.

Textbooks And Required Resources

All material will be available on BlackBoard. Multiple copies of required textbooks will be in the library.

Student Preparation For The Module

All students will have read the material and submitted their blue sheet in advance of each class.

Biographical Note

Norah Campbell is an Associate Professor of Marketing in Trinity Business School, and co-lead of Trinity’s Commercial Determinants of Health Lab. She have advised government and public health on the commercial determinants of health in Ireland. Her research has been authored with medical doctors, economists and policy makers on the food industry lobby. Norah has written for newspapers on the global food industry.