BUU44704 The Commercial Determinants of Health

(20 ECTS)

Lecturer: 

Dr Norah Campbell

Email: norah.campbell@tcd.ie

Phone: 01 - 896 3609

Office Hours: Monday 12 - 1 PM

Pre- Requisite: None

Not Available to Exchange Students

Module Description

How do policy makers and politicians understand and measure the health consequences of business on nation states? This module introduces students to the commercial determinants of health – “the systems, practices, and pathways through which commercial actors drive health and equity” (Lancet 2023). It traces the history of negative commercial impacts on human health, beginning with tobacco, and following eight industries in depth and breadth. As each case unfolds, learners will grasp theoretical concepts that straddle other disciplines – corporate political activity, law, medicine and economics, to name a few. Each case will also introduce learners to different methods for measuring health impacts, and challenge learners to conceive of how future policy makers and politicians can safeguard human health, while still valuing the important work of enterprise, exchange, and choice in society.

This module facilitates a different approach to business and health that will allow learners to work with more impact and insight in the policy-business nexus. Graduates from this Capstone be well-positioned for careers in policy-making, government, civil service, thinktanks, academia, or civil society leadership.

 

Learning And Teaching Approach

Michaelmas term: Immersion

You will spend the first semester immersed in the medical, academic, scientific, policy and public-facing literature of 8 industries, becoming increasingly technically and conceptually competent.

This will be done through a weekly reading group of key texts, in a lecturer-assigned group. You will begin to get to grips with the problematic impacts of business on health by discussing and debating with peers in a deeply engaged, but informal and enjoyable way. Each week there will be a focus on a different industry, but with cross-industry mechanisms that apply across many.

You will incrementally come to decide an area for an applied case study they will do over Hilary term. You will also attend 3 events in public health, to deepen your knowledge and begin to network.

This is the class structure of Michaelmas term:

4-4.05	Room set up
4.05-5.00	Reading Group
5-5.10	BREAK
5.10-5.30	Facilitated discussion
5.30-5.50	Extending concepts
5.50	END

Hilary term: Experience and Action

Hilary term introduces students to public health management in many aspects, where a weekly slot is spent listening to a lecture from a guest expert discussing policies and possible solutions to disease, and tutorials discussing methods and insights on your case. You will continue to network in incrementally writing your applied case over the semester, aided by one-to-one meetings with the lecturer and facilitator. 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the module, you will be able to:

1. Explain the history, frameworks and contests about the commercial vectors of disease from different perspectives (commercial actor, civil society actor, government actor);
2. Analyse corporate political activities of major health-harming industries such as tobacco, alcohol, food and beverage, fossil fuel, and gambling;
3. Identify and critically assess sources of qualitative and quantitative evidence used to explain the commercial vectors of disease;
4. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of existing policies to minimise harmful effects of unhealthy commodity industries;
5. Propose creative and robust policy innovations;
6. Network with actors nationally and internationally in the field of policy, advocacy and public health;
7. Read, write and present with depth and interdisciplinary breadth, making insightful connections between concepts[1].

[1] Adapted from Freudenberg and Crosbie (2023) Teaching the Commercial Determinants of Health https://academic.oup.com/book/44473/chapter-abstract/376467382?redirectedFrom=fulltext

Assessment

The course takes a case study approach to the field, offering you a deep dive that will incrementally expose you to a wide range of scientific concepts, socio-economic theories, health impact methods, and policy approaches. You will choose an industry to focus on over the course of the first semester.

By the end of the first semester, you will have submitted 10 ‘blue sheets’ – one-page reflections that prepare for the reading group, and a proposal for the case you want to research in Hilary term.

Because of the intersection of many disciplines in the commercial determinants of health – spanning from law to addiction to medicine to public relations – you will be required to go to 3 talks held and submit 3 reflections. Your networking with guest speakers, other departments and contacts will build confidence and experience to choose, research and write a 5k case study the best of which will be published in the summer of 2026.

Semester 2 puts the theory into practice:

• Write a 5,000 word case study on the chosen product/industry.
• The case study will have components to make it multi-dimensional, and with a strong element of primary research:
  • Contextualisation
  • Primary research aspect
  • Policy comparisons/benchmarking

Each student also has a choice this semester to either (i) demonstrate how they are moving into a career in public administration/public health or (ii) present their case study to a panel of experts chosen by the module leader. Details on each of these will be given early 2026.

‘Blue sheet’ Submit 10 x 1 page discussion points in advance of reading group	20%	Every week in Michaelmas term by Monday at 3pm
Submit draft proposal of an applied case study	12%	15 December, to be agreed with lecturer and class reps
Attend 3 events and submit 3 one page reflection	5%	01 December, to be agreed with lecturer and class reps
5k word case study	55%	30 March 2026, to be agreed with lecturer and class reps
Case presentation OR career journal	7%	30 March 2026 to be agreed with lecturer and class reps

Repeat Protocol

Students must pass (40%) each element of the Capstone. In the case of a fail of any component, that component will be reassessed.

Relation to Degree

Business degrees in Trinity have 5 goals – learning at the frontier, taking a deep and responsible view of business, exploring one’s personal and professional potential, engaging with grand challenges and undertaking research that informs management.

This module is an ideal Capstone to deepen and solidify these goals. It is a radically interdisciplinary field at the frontier of knowledge, it offers learning and experience of public management, it rewards students to network and develop their career, it is focussed on the biggest challenges of their age, and it is a research-led pedagogy.

Workload

This is a 20 credit module, meaning 500 hours of work is needed over the course of the year.

Textbooks And Required Resources

All material will be available on BlackBoard. 

Student Preparation For The Module

You will have read the material and submitted a blue sheet in advance of each class.

Biographical Note

Norah Campbell is an Associate Professor of Marketing in Trinity Business School, and co-lead of Trinity’s Commercial Determinants of Health Lab. I have advised government and public health on the commercial determinants of health in Ireland. My research has been authored with medical doctors, economists and policy makers on the food industry lobby. I have written for newspapers on the global food industry.