Oral Health Inequalities and the Corporate Determinants of Health: A Commentary

Lisa Jamieson, Barry Gibson and W. Murray Thomson
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Lisa Jamieson: Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide SA 5005, Australia
Barry Gibson: School of Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Broomhall, Sheffield S10 2TG, UK
W. Murray Thomson: School of Dentistry, University of Otago, North Dunedin, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-6

Abstract: Empirical research critically examining the role of the corporate determinants of health has gained traction in the past few years. Many of these reports have received strong, sometimes litigious, backlash from the corporations exposed. The aim of this paper is to provide a critical commentary on existing literature, policies, procedures and observations of issues, especially regarding the use of the corporate determinants of health as a research construct, in the persistence and flourishing of oral health inequalities at a global level. We discuss theoretical frameworks that underpin the power constructs of the corporate determinants of health, including Lukes “three faces of power” theory. This theory posits that power is exercised in three ways: through decision-making, through non-decision-making and ideologically. We will demonstrate, using examples of corporate determinants of health and oral health inequalities from several countries, how intervening at key leverage points is a crucial strategy for improving oral health inequalities at a global level.

Keywords: corporate determinants of health; international oral health inequalities; Lukes “three faces of power” theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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