Public Health Policy: An International Perspective

A special issue of Administrative Sciences (ISSN 2076-3387).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2011) | Viewed by 58602

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies, Rue de Lausanne 132, BP136, 1211 Geneva 21, Switzerland
Interests: governance for global health; health diplomacy; European health policy and governance; health promotion and literacy; innovation in health policy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Public health policy today has to deliver in an increasingly complex environment. As the world becomes more interconnected, we are challenged to develop comprehensive policy responses to the cross- border political, social and economic effects of globalization.

In search for sustainable solutions to some of the pressing challenges of our time, the purpose of this special issue is to invite multifaceted discussions across national borders and academic disciplines. Very welcomed are theoretical analysis papers as well as case studies exploring the complex issues that challenge policy makers.

Key question include: What have we learned from the global health debate of the last ten years? What new forms of governance for health are emerging at various levels of governance? What role does public policy play in the face of an increasing array of health actors, in particular the private sector and civil society? What is the global responsibility of the rising powers and emerging economies? What new issues of representation and legitimacy are emerging? How do national and international health policies interface – particularly with reference to global public goods?
What new role do regional organisations and “clubs” play? How do international organisations need to change to be relevant and effective? Can the lessons learned from addressing infectious diseases be applied to the global burden of non-communicable diseases? How can ethical, economic and political considerations be balanced as the basis of every health policy? What approaches have governments taken to increase coherence, transparency and accountability for health across different ministries? How should different stakeholders be involved in the process of preparation and implementation?

Together with the whole team of the Journal, we are looking forward to an interesting debate that will highlight multitude of perspectives and best practices!

Prof. Dr. Ilona Kickbusch
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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375 KiB  
Article
Global Health Governance: Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), the Doha Declaration, and Democratisation
by Belinda Townsend, Erik Martin, Hans Löfgren and Evelyne De Leeuw
Adm. Sci. 2012, 2(2), 186-202; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci2020186 - 29 May 2012
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 9205
Abstract
Global public health agreements are heralded as a success for the affirmation of the right to health within a complex and contested political landscape. However, the practical implementation of such agreements at the national level is often overlooked. This article outlines two radically [...] Read more.
Global public health agreements are heralded as a success for the affirmation of the right to health within a complex and contested political landscape. However, the practical implementation of such agreements at the national level is often overlooked. This article outlines two radically different global health agreements: The Doha Declaration on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement and Public Health; and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). We identify significant challenges in their implementation, particularly for low and middle income countries. Shifts in the policy network constellations around these two agreements have allowed for some positive influence by civil society. Yet industry influence at the national level constrains effective implementation and those affected by these policies have largely been left on the periphery. The broader provisions of these two agreements have been watered down by vested interests and donor conditions. We advocate for both activist and academic actors to play a significant role in highlighting the consequences of these power asymmetries. Deliberative democracy may be the key to addressing these challenges in a way that empowers those presently excluded from effective participation in the policy process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Public Health Policy: An International Perspective)
318 KiB  
Article
Past Fame, Present Frames and Future Flagship? An Exploration of How Health is Positioned in Canadian Foreign Policy
by Ronald Labonté, Vivien Runnels and Michelle Gagnon
Adm. Sci. 2012, 2(2), 162-185; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci2020162 - 11 Apr 2012
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 7455
Abstract
Canada has been regarded as a model global citizen with firm commitments to multilateralism. It has also played important roles in several international health treaties and conventions in recent years. There are now concerns that its interests in health as a foreign policy [...] Read more.
Canada has been regarded as a model global citizen with firm commitments to multilateralism. It has also played important roles in several international health treaties and conventions in recent years. There are now concerns that its interests in health as a foreign policy goal may be diminishing. This article reports on a thematic analysis of key Canadian foreign policy statements issued over the past decade, and interviews with key informants knowledgeable of, or experienced in the interstices of Canadian health and foreign policy. It finds that health is primarily and increasingly framed in relation to national security and economic interests. Little attention has been given to human rights obligations relevant to health as a foreign policy issue, and global health is not seen as a priority of the present government. Global health is nonetheless regarded as something with which Canadian foreign policy must engage, if only because of Canada’s membership in many United Nations and other multilateral fora. Development of a single global health strategy or framework is seen as important to improve intersectoral cooperation on health issues, and foreign policy coherence. There remains a cautious optimism that health could become the base from which Canada reasserts its internationalist status. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Public Health Policy: An International Perspective)
244 KiB  
Article
Global Responses to Chronic Diseases: What Lessons Can Political Science Offer?
by Chantal Blouin
Adm. Sci. 2012, 2(1), 120-134; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci2010120 - 20 Mar 2012
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6895
Abstract
Designing and adopting a global response to address the rise of chronic diseases in both the industrial and developing world requires policymakers to engage in global health diplomacy. In the context of the recent United Nations’ High-Level Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases, the paper [...] Read more.
Designing and adopting a global response to address the rise of chronic diseases in both the industrial and developing world requires policymakers to engage in global health diplomacy. In the context of the recent United Nations’ High-Level Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases, the paper first reviews the rationale for collective action at the global level to address the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), given the perceived limited cross-border dimensions of NCDs. Secondly, based on the social sciences literature studying policymaking at the domestic and international level, this article highlights recommendations on how to engage during the main phases of the policy process: agenda-setting, policy development and adoption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Public Health Policy: An International Perspective)
242 KiB  
Article
Regionalizing Immigration, Health and Inequality: Iraqi Refugees in Australia
by Katie Vasey and Lenore Manderson
Adm. Sci. 2012, 2(1), 47-62; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci2010047 - 16 Jan 2012
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 13347
Abstract
Humanitarian immigrants and refugees face multiple adjustment tasks and post-settlement support services concentrated in metropolitan areas play an important role. As part of an ongoing commitment, the Australian Government has increasingly supported resettlement in rural and regional areas of the country. Drawing on [...] Read more.
Humanitarian immigrants and refugees face multiple adjustment tasks and post-settlement support services concentrated in metropolitan areas play an important role. As part of an ongoing commitment, the Australian Government has increasingly supported resettlement in rural and regional areas of the country. Drawing on the experience of Iraqi migrants in Victoria, Australia, we examine some of the conditions that characterize regional resettlement and raise key questions for public health policy. Structural vulnerabilities and discriminations impact upon physical, mental and social wellbeing, leading to further exclusion, with negative long-term implications. The discussion throws light on the issues that migrants and refugees may encounter in other parts within Australia, but are also germane in many countries and highlight the resulting complexity for policy-making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Public Health Policy: An International Perspective)

Other

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224 KiB  
Commentary
Urban Governance of Disease
by Rebecca Katz, Sangeeta Mookherji, Morgan Kaminski, Vibhuti Haté and Julie E. Fischer
Adm. Sci. 2012, 2(2), 135-147; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci2020135 - 5 Apr 2012
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 11644
Abstract
Rapid population growth, urbanization, and the growing challenges faced by the urban poor require redefining the paradigm for public health interventions in the 21st century, creating new approaches that take urban determinants of health into consideration. The widening disparity between the urban poor [...] Read more.
Rapid population growth, urbanization, and the growing challenges faced by the urban poor require redefining the paradigm for public health interventions in the 21st century, creating new approaches that take urban determinants of health into consideration. The widening disparity between the urban poor and the urban rich further exacerbates health inequities. Existing tools for global governance of urban health risks fall short, particularly in the lack of formal mechanisms to strengthen collaboration and communication among national and municipal agencies and between their local and international non-governmental partners. There is also a clear disconnect between governance strategies crafted at the international level and implementation on the ground. The challenge is to find common ground for global goods and municipal needs, and to craft innovative and dynamic policy solutions that can benefit some of the poorest citizens of the global urban network. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Public Health Policy: An International Perspective)
248 KiB  
Commentary
Leprosy: International Public Health Policies and Public Health Eras
by Niyi Awofeso
Adm. Sci. 2011, 1(1), 32-44; https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci1010032 - 26 Sep 2011
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 9351
Abstract
Public health policies continue to play important roles in national and international health reforms. However, the influence and legacies of the public health eras during which such policies are formulated remain largely underappreciated. The limited appreciation of this relationship may hinder consistent adoption [...] Read more.
Public health policies continue to play important roles in national and international health reforms. However, the influence and legacies of the public health eras during which such policies are formulated remain largely underappreciated. The limited appreciation of this relationship may hinder consistent adoption of public health policies by nation-states, and encumber disinvestment from ineffective or anachronistic policies. This article reviews seven public health eras and highlights how each era has influenced international policy formulation for leprosy control—“the fertile soil for policy learning”. The author reiterates the role of health leadership and health activism in facilitating consistency in international health policy formulation and implementation for leprosy control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Public Health Policy: An International Perspective)
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