Cashing in on health: the Commercial Determinants of Health explained

The social determinants of health is a concept that is widely understood in public health circles – access to education, housing, healthcare and income can have a profound impact on the health of individual and societies. But what are commercial determinants of health? In today’s piece, VicHealth (@VicHealth) Research Fellows Alexandra Chung (@Chung_Alexandra) of Monash University, Florentine Martino (@fp_martino) of Deakin University, and Jennifer Lacy-Nichols (@JLacyNichols) of the University of Melbourne explain how commercial actors influence health and argue for prioritisation of health over profits.

How can power theories be applied to public health nutrition? An exploration using ChatGPT

Good nutrition is a requisite for good health; examining the systems that enable some populations to eat well while others struggle has traditionally been examined using a social determinants of health lens. In today’s post, VicHealth postdoctoral researcher Christina Zorbas (@CZ_Christina) of Deakin University (@IHT_Deakin) teams up with Chat GPT to propose how power theories may illuminate inequities in food access and nutrition.

Racial Justice: Local action is key

Marcella Brassett from Democracy in Colour argues the national anti-racism strategy cannot be just another tick-a-box, saying “Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) have done our bit for diversity and inclusion ‘way out’ for white people with power. We need to act on every level to make Australia a safe place to live, work, build families and futures for everyone, not just Anglos.”

Australia’s education system is one of the most unequal in the OECD. But we know how to help fix it

IssuesPower to Persuade3 March 2022education, social inequalities

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT OUR CHILDREN AFTER 2021

Remote learningPower to Persuade28 February 2022education, social inequalities

“I am dirt poor”: reflections on poverty, homelessness and welfare

In the wake of anti-poverty week Joey King, a community services professional and student living with mental illness, details the systemic pressures that keep her ‘dirt poor’ and homeless.

Do you know what you don’t know? Aboriginal people on the problem of ignorance

‘Closing the gap’ is a major, and highly visible, government policy goal, with the intention of reducing disparities between Australia’s First Nations peoples and White communities. Despite many years, however, there has been little demonstrable progress. Today’s analysis utilises critical race theory, with important lessons for intersectional feminism. Penny Skye Taylor (@PennySkyeTaylor) and Daphne Habibis (@dhabibis), both of the University of Tasmania (@UTAS_), identify white ignorance as an overlooked key factor. This analysis is drawn from their research into Aboriginal views of White Australians and the dominant culture.

New report: COVID-19 widens Australia's stark health income gap

Accessibility, IssuesPower to Persuade19 August 2021health, social inequalities, COVID-19

India's COVID-19 divide in digital learning

Issues, Remote learningPower to Persuade17 August 2021COVID-19, education, social inequalities

COVID-19 has made us more averse to both income and health inequalities

In this post, Miqdad Asaria, Joan Costa-Font and Frank Cowell (London School of Economics) present their research on a seldom discussed topic - people’s aversion to income and health inequality in society. They argue that COVID-19 has made people more averse to inequalities, particularly if they have had COVID-19 themselves.

IssuesPower to Persuade27 April 2021social inequalities, health, income

Changing cultural norms is important – but it’s not a panacea for eliminating violence against women

It has been a massive step for Australian policy to recognise that domestic and family violence is underpinned by social norms, and there is an attendant increase in government programs aiming to change the narrative. In today’s analysis, Ella Kuskoff (@EllaKuskoff) and Cameron Parsell (@CameronParsell), both of University of Queensland (@HASSUQ), explain how such initiatives, while important, will ultimately come up short if they do not also address embedded structural inequalities. This analysis draws on their recently-published article, Preventing Domestic Violence by Changing Australian Gender Relations: Issues and Considerations.

COVID and Suicide Prevention: Perspectives from Social Media

There is increasing cross-sectoral unease about the mental health impact of COVID-19 and the lockdown put in place to combat it. A recent commentary in the Lancet suggested that “suicide is likely to become a more pressing concern as the pandemic spreads and has longer-term effects on the general population, the economy, and vulnerable groups” (Gunnell et al. 2020). While a relationship between COVID and suicide is not clearly established, Dr Anna Lavis argues that the key to forging understandings of their potentially complex connections is an attention to the many suicide-related discussions currently happening on social media.

COVID-19 and BAME Communities

In today’s post, David Hildebrand from the Immigration Advice Service in the UK breaks down some of the reasons why people from BAME communities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

AdvocacyPower to Persuade16 June 2020COVID-19, social determinants of health, health, social inequalities

People with a disability are more likely to die from coronavirus – but we can reduce this risk

Prior research has shown that health inequities worsen during pandemics. In this blog piece Professor Helen Dickinson and Professor Anne Kavanagh highlight the health inequities already faced by people with disability and how the Covid-19 pandemic could make these worse. They outline steps the Government urgently needs to implement to protect people with disability as the pandemic progresses.

Poverty in Australia 2020: What does a gendered analysis reveal?

Today marks the release of the second ACOSS and UNSW Poverty in Australia report, an important document to keep civil society and government accountable to those who are being left behind in one of the most prosperous countries on Earth. In today’s analysis, Policy Whisperer Susan Maury (@SusanMaury) of Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand (@GoodAdvocacy) provides a gendered analysis of the Poverty in Australia report.

Reducing financial risks by looking at financial capabilities as a structural issue

Problems with making financial decisions are often presented as individual issues, but Dr Jeremiah Brown (@JeremiahTBrown) of the Brotherhood of St Laurence argues they are often better understood as instance of structural failure. He illustrates with an example of an aged pensioner trying to change energy providers.

Finance and economicsPower to Persuade28 June 2019finance, Disadvantage, social inequalities

What Australians think about poverty – and how it can change (part 1)

Maiy Azize of Anglicare Australia explains how her recent study of social attitudes shows that Australians are surprisingly empathetic towards people in poverty - and how anti-poverty advocates can campaign and win.

Loneliness and living with mental health problems

December being a difficult month for many people who feel under pressure to socialise and be merry whilst feeling lonely, was an apt time to launch UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) cross-disciplinary Loneliness and Social Isolation Mental Health Network, of which the University of Birmingham is a part. Dr Sarah Carr explores the theme of loneliness and living with mental health problems in a re-posted blog originally hosted on the Institute for Mental Health website.

Issues, Policy and governancePower to Persuade1 March 2019mental health, Research, social inequalities

Asians out! Not in this suburb. Not in this apartment

Originally posted in The Conversation (November 22nd), Alanna Kamp, Ana-Maria Bliuc, Kathleen Blair and Kevin Dunn (Western Sydney University) present some startling statistics on racism experienced by Asian Australians. Approximately 85% of the 6000 people surveyed had faced some form of racism and for almost 6 in every 10, this racism has prevented access to housing. The authors put forward several explanations ranging from a perceived loss to Anglo-Australia hegemony to generalised sinophobia, and conclude with a call to action grounded in Australia’s laws against racial discrimination.

IssuesPower to Persuade28 November 2018housing and homelessness, social inequalities

Don’t believe what they say about inequality. Some of us are worse off

Professor Peter Whiteford examines the Productivity Commission research paper Rising inequality? A stocktake of the evidence released last week and cautions us not to believe the media spin that all Australians are better off. To tackle inequality, he argues, we need both policies that generate economic growth and policies that ensure it’s well spread. This piece was originally published in The Conversation on 31 August 2018.

Finance and economics, IssuesPower to Persuade4 September 2018social inequalities

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