Anna Gilmore

A couple of episodes back, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rob Moodie, who led a project to examine commercial determinants of health in more detail. The result was a three-paper series published in The Lancet. The project produced a model that illustrates the intricate interrelationships among the various commercial actors, their drivers, and the environments in which this all plays out. Some of the consequences of commercial interests are very good, while others are well-known as having negative effects on individuals and societies.

In this episode, I spoke to the model’s architect and visionary, Anna Gilmore. Anna is professor of public health, director of the Tobacco Control Research Group, and Co-director of the Beacon for 21st Century Public health at the University of Bath. She is a highly-regarded thinker and advocate in national, regional, and global circles. She is the recipient of the Public Health Advocacy Institute Award, the WHO World No Tobacco Day Medal, the inaugural European Health Leadership Award for pioneering change makers, and has received a Special Recognition Award from the WHO Director General. Anna is also a member of the World Health Organization’s international expert group on the commercial determinants of health.

In this episode, we discussed a wide range of issues including commercial practices like financial, political, scientific, and reputational management, and how all of this fits together. She reiterates that looking at commercial interests and determinants this way is actually very pro-health, not anti-commercial. These, along with sector-specific public policies, and regulatory approaches intersect to create systems that have immense impact on personal, public, and global health. Sometimes the impact is empowering, and other times it is severely limiting.

The upshot of all of this is that while it may be almost incomprehensible to think about how to improve health in this complex environment, Anna and many others are working to address the question: “How can we make our systems better?” This model is just a starting point, and should give any organization a solid starting point to reflect on the health impact of its interests and activities. As Anna notes, the only way to really address this issue is through a multidisciplinary, multi-sector approach.

We can all participate in making change. From my perspective, it starts with our priorities and values. We must believe that human and planetary health are priorities. That these are baseline values. If we honestly apply those values to all we do, we can improve our systems. When we respect ourselves, each other, and the planet, the health of everyone, and everything, improves.

The link above will take you to the entire Lancet series, as well as related graphics and a version of the model to peruse.

I hope you enjoy this episode!

Rod

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:44 — 32.8MB)

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