Business and Health: An Insidious Mix

Abstract

Current threats to global health include the escalating burden of the climate emergency and the noncommunicable conditions driven by fossil fuels, deforestation, tobacco and processed foods. These threats translate into premature death, widespread disability and profound loss of productivity. Internationally, the powerful impacts of the social determinants on health are widely recognised yet the impact of commercial determinants of health are often less visible but exert an enormous and lasting impact. Recognising this influence should be a target for not just public health policies but purchasing policies, health information and professional education (Gilmore et al. 2023; Freudenberg et al. 2021).

The commercial determinants of health should be key a focus for nurses working in clinical practice, education, research and policy. To date, many health interventions in the nursing literature focus on the individual but it is important to recognise the complex interactions of factors driving optimal health outcomes. Increasingly, there is recognition of the importance of considering social and ecological factors contributing to health outcomes. Such an approach demonstrates the complex interplay of individual, interpersonal, organisational, community and societal factors that influence health outcomes (de Lacy-Vawdon and Livingstone 2020).