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Systematic public monitoring of the practices of corporations that harm health is a necessary but not sufficient measure to reduce the adverse impact of these practices. By supporting social movements and health activist campaigns that seek to modify the corporate structures, systems and practices that harm health, public health professionals and researchers can bring powerful new voices into this crucial public health task. Partnerships between the public health organizations and social movements and activists who seek to make human and planetary well-being more important objectives than higher corporate profits can help to achieve this aim. Public health professionals can play an important role in supporting such partnerships.

In response to growing concerns about chronic diseases, food insecurity, low-wage food labor, and global warming, the food industry has developed new strategies to respond to its critics and pursue its business and political goals. As Lacy-Nicholas and Williams described in a recent review, the food industry has expanded its repertoire from opposition to critics to appeasement, co-option, and partnerships.1 Defining themselves as \"part of the solution,\" the food industry seeks to disarm its opponents, shift policy debates to favor its interests, or delay decisions that jeopardize its profits or power. This commentary explores how health professionals, can respond to this changing repertoire. Lessons from previous campaigns to control harmful industry practices,2 suggest that no single strategy will counter changing food industry efforts to achieve its goals. Thus, advocates must consider a portfolio of approaches that can be deployed in response to changing circumstances, industry tactics, and threats to health.

This paper is about the future role of the commercial sector in global health and health equity. The discussion is not about the overthrow of capitalism nor a full-throated embrace of corporate partnerships. No single solution can eradicate the harms from the commercial determinants of health—the business models, practices, and products of market actors that damage health equity and human and planetary health and wellbeing. But evidence shows that progressive economic models, international frameworks, government regulation, compliance mechanisms for commercial entities, regenerative business types and models that incorporate health, social, and environmental goals, and strategic civil society mobilisation together offer possibilities of systemic, transformative change, reduce those harms arising from commercial forces, and foster human and planetary wellbeing. In our view, the most basic public health question is not whether the world has the resources or will to take such actions, but whether humanity can survive if society fails to make this effort.

Understanding the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on students’ health and financial stability is important to establish effective interventions to mitigate these effects, which may have long-term consequences on their health and well-being. Public universities in urban centers represent a substantial proportion of college students in the USA. We implemented a cross-sectional population-based online survey of 2282 students in a large, public university in New York City in April 2020. We created weights to account for non-response and used Poisson regression with robust standard errors to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) for factors associated with mental health outcomes. Students experienced high rates of anxiety/depression and financial instability due to the pandemic. Half of the students reported anxiety/depression (54.5%) and an increased need for mental health services (49.0%) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority (81.1%) reported loss of household income, and half (49.8%) reported worries about losing housing. High levels of food (aPR  = 1.4, 95% CI 1.2, 1.6) and housing (aPR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.2, 1.4) insecurity were the strongest predictors of anxiety/depression. Household and personal experiences with possible COVID-19 symptoms were also associated with anxiety/depression or the need for increased mental health services. Addressing student needs at public urban universities requires an integrated holistic approach that targets urgent mental health and economic needs related to the impact of COVID-19. Students who become infected need mental health services as well as health monitoring.

Introduction The concept of the commercial determinants of health (CDH) is used to study the actions of commercial entities and the political and economic systems, structures, and norms that enable these actions and ultimately influence population health and health inequity. The aim of this study was to develop a typology that describes the diverse set of activities through which commercial entities influence population health and health equity across industries. Methods We conducted a scoping review to identify articles using CDH terms ( n  = 116) published prior to September 13, 2022 that discuss corporate activities that can influence population health and health equity across 16 industries. We used the qualitative constant comparative method to inductively code descriptions and examples of corporate activities within these articles, arrange the activities into descriptive domains, and generate an overarching typology. Results The resulting Corporate Influences on Population Health (HEALTH-CORP) typology identifies 70 corporate activities that can influence health across industries, which are categorized into seven domains of corporate influence (i.e., political practices, preference and perception shaping practices, corporate social responsibility practices, economic practices, products & services, employment practices, and environmental practices). We present a model that situates these domains based on their proximity to health outcomes and identify five population groups (i.e., consumers, workers, disadvantaged groups, vulnerable groups, and local communities) to consider when evaluating corporate health impacts. Discussion The HEALTH-CORP typology facilitates an understanding of the diverse set of corporate activities that can influence population health and the population groups affected by these activities. We discuss how the HEALTH-CORP model and typology could be used to support the work of policy makers and civil society actors, as well as provide the conceptual infrastructure for future surveillance efforts to monitor corporate practices that affect health across industries. Finally, we discuss two gaps in the CDH literature that we identified based on our findings: the lack of research on environmental and employment practices and a dearth of scholarship dedicated to investigating corporate practices in low- and middle-income countries. We propose potential avenues to address these gaps (e.g., aligning CDH monitoring with other occupational health monitoring initiatives).

Business practices have influenced human health for centuries, yet an overarching concept to study these activities across nations, time periods, and industries (called 'the commercial determinants of health' (CDH)) has emerged only recently. The purpose of this review was to assess the descriptive characteristics of CDH research and to identify remaining research gaps. We systematically searched four databases (Scopus, OVID Medline, Ovid Embase, and Ovid Global Health) on Sept 13, 2022 for literature using CDH terms that described corporate activities that have the potential to influence population health and/or health equity (n = 116). We evaluated the following characteristics of the literature: methods employed, industries studied, regions investigated, funders, reported conflicts of interest, and publication in open-access formats. The characteristics of the articles included that many were conceptual (50/116 articles; 43%) or used qualitative methods (37; 32%). Only eight articles (7%) used quantitative or mixed methods. The articles most often discussed corporate activities in relation to the food and beverage (51/116; 44%), tobacco (20; 17%), and alcohol industries (19; 16%), with limited research on activities occurring in other industries. Most articles (42/58 articles reporting a regional focus; 72%) focused on corporate activities occurring in high-income regions of the world. Our findings indicate that literature that has used CDH terms and described corporate practices that influence human health has primarily focused on three major industries in higher-income regions of the world. Qualitative methods were the most common empirical method for investigating these activities. CDH-focused investigations of corporate practices conducted by less-studied industries (e.g., social media) and in lower-income regions are recommended. Longitudinal quantitative studies assessing the associations between corporate practices and a range of health outcomes is also a necessary next step for this field.

Environmental exposures impose a disproportionate health burden on low-income populations and communities of color. One contributing factor may be the obstacles such communities face to full participation in making policy decisions about environmental health. This study described and analyzed the characteristics that contributed to communities' capacity to participate in making environmental decisions and suggested steps public agencies could take to achieve more meaningful participation. By strengthening community capacity, advancing authentic participation, and building democratic power, it might be possible to alter current patterns of health inequities. Strengthening participation by working with communities to develop the capacities needed to be effective in such processes is a key role for local, state, and national environmental agencies.

Background Media representations play a crucial role in informing public and policy opinions about the causes of, and solutions to, ill-health. This paper reviews studies analysing media coverage of non-communicable disease (NCD) debates, focusing on how the industries marketing commodities that increase NCD risk are represented. Methods A scoping review identified 61 studies providing information on media representations of NCD risks, NCD policies and tobacco, alcohol, processed food and soft drinks industries. The data were narratively synthesized to describe the sample, media depictions of industries, and corporate and public health attempts to frame the media debates. Results The findings indicate that: (i) the limited research that has been undertaken is dominated by a focus on tobacco; (ii) comparative research across industries/risk-factors is particularly lacking; and (iii) coverage tends to be dominated by two contrasting frames and focuses either on individual responsibilities (‘market justice’ frames, often promoted by commercial stakeholders) or on the need for population-level interventions (‘social justice’ frames, frequently advanced by public health advocates). Conclusions Establishing the underlying frameworks is crucial for the analysis of media representation of corporations, as they reflect the strategies that respective actors use to influence public health debates and decision making. The potential utility of media research lies in the insights that it can provide for public health policy advocates about successful framing of public health messages and strategies to counter frames that undermine public health goals. A better understanding of current media debates is of paramount importance to improving global health.

Policy Points The commercial determinants of health (CDH) framework can inform public health policy, practice, and research in ways that contribute to overcoming the world's most serious public health challenges. By documenting the pathways by which commercial actors shape health, the CDH framework can provide a unifying focus for collective action to prevent and ameliorate global health crises. To realize these opportunities, CDH proponents need to find synergies in the multiple emerging streams of research, practice, and advocacy and create a body of scientific evidence, methodologies, and ideas that can inform a public health practice for the 21st century.

In the past 20 years, the United States has experienced a cascade of public health crises causing millions of premature deaths and preventable illnesses. Several intersecting health problems define this cascade both nationally and globally. These issues include the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate emergency, the failure of the global food system to adequately nourish the world's population, a growing burden of mental health problems, and the rise of precarious, underpaid, and unsafe work, as shown in Figure 1. Absent intervention, the next decade may be even more perilous. In past health calamities, social movements have mobilized to improve urban living conditions, reduce environmental pollution, and make food safer.4 A first step toward building a public health movement that can take on today's threats to public health is to define a shared agenda that could bring together the many constituencies harmed by the perilous status quo.