scholarly journals A comparison of stakeholder networks across two pricing policy debates using discourse analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Hilton ◽  
C Buckton ◽  
G Fergie ◽  
T Henrichsen ◽  
P Leifeld
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
News Media ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Pricing Policy ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Similar Range ◽  
Unit Pricing ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Discourse Coalitions

Abstract Background Public health policy development is subject to a large number of stakeholders seeking to influence government thinking on policy options. One approach is via the news media. We compare the competing discourse coalitions evident in the UK public debate across two pricing policies, Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol and the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL). Methods Existing discourse network analyses (DNA) for MUP and SDIL were harmonised in Visone to allow direct comparison. We applied a common tie-weight threshold to reduce ties to robust argumentative similarities and to maximise the identification of both network structures. We used network measures (size, density and EI index) to compare the two networks and principal coalitions. Results Both networks involve a similar range of stakeholder types and form two discourse coalitions representing proponents and opponents of the policies. The SDIL network is larger, particularly the proponents coalition with over three times as many nodes and a lower EI index. Both networks show tight discourse coalitions of manufactures and commercial analysts acting in opposition to policy supporters. The only actors that appear in both debates are politicians, government advisors, commercial analysts and supermarkets. While public health actors appear in both debates they appear siloed in their interests. Conclusions DNA enabled direct comparison of the discourse coalitions across two highly contested pricing policy debates, visualising the complex network of actors and relationships operating to influence policy-making via the media. Use of comparative DNA across policy debates shows promise for better understanding the common tactics of different unhealthy commodity industries (UCIs) to disrupt public health policies. Public health actors could improve their response to UCIs by seeking to work across policy and commodity arenas. Key messages We compared the competing discourse coalitions across two pricing policy debates, MUP and SDIL. Public health advocates could improve their response by working across policy arenas.

scholarly journals Willingness of the UK public to volunteer for testing in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tushna Vandrevala ◽  
Amy Montague ◽  
Philip Terry ◽  
Mark D. Fielder
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
News Media ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
World Health ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
The World ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background: The World Health Organization declared the rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world to be a global public health emergency. The spread of the disease is influenced by people’s willingness to adopt preventative public health behaviours, such as participation in testing programmes and risk perception can be an important determinant of engagement in such behaviours. Methods: In this study, we present the first assessment of how the UK public (N=778) perceive the usefulness of testing for coronavirus and the factors that influence a person’s willingness to test for coronavirus.Results: None of the key demographic characteristics (age, gender, education, disability, vulnerability status, or professional expertise) were significantly related to the respondents’ willingness to be tested for coronavirus. However, closely following the news media was positively related to willingness to be tested. Knowledge and perceptions about Coronavirus significantly predicted willingness to test, with three significantly contributing factors: worry about the health and social impacts to self and family; personal susceptibility; and concerns about the impacts of coronavirus on specific demographic groups. Views on testing for coronavirus predicted willingness to test, with the most influential factors being importance of testing by need; negative views about widespread testing and mistrust in doctor’s advice about testing. Conclusions: Implications for effective risk communication and localised public health approach to encouraging public to put themselves forward for testing are discussed. We strongly advocate for effective communications and localised intervention by public health authorities, using media outlets to ensure that members of the public get tested for SARs-CoV2 when required.

scholarly journals Understanding commercial actors’ engagement in policy debates on proposed e-cigarette regulation in Scotland

2021 ◽  
pp. tobaccocontrol-2020-056084
Author(s):  
Theresa Ikegwuonu ◽  
Shona Hilton ◽  
Katherine E. Smith ◽  
Christina H. Buckton ◽  
Mark Wong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Policy Influence ◽  
Business Interests ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Public Health Advocacy ◽  
Proposed Regulation

IntroductionThere is growing concern about transnational tobacco corporations’ (TTCs) and other commercial actors’ involvement in e-cigarette policy development. Previous analyses suggest that TTCs used e-cigarette debates to demonstrate alignment with public health and re-gain policy influence. Less is known about the engagement of other types of commercial actors in e-cigarette policy debates.MethodsThis paper is the first to empirically analyse commercial actors’ engagement in an e-cigarette policy consultation process and to examine their views on proposed regulation. It applies mixed methods, drawing on policy consultation submissions (n=32), semi-structured interviews (n=9) and a social network analysis of website links among 32 commercial actors.ResultsThe results show that commercial actors’ positions on e-cigarette regulation aligned with business interests. TTCs, independent e-cigarette manufacturers and other non-licensed commercial actors were opposed to most aspects of potential e-cigarette regulation (except for age of sale restrictions), whereas licensed commercial actors, including pharmaceutical companies, supported more stringent regulation. While collaboration was viewed as strategically important to gain policy influence, distinct commercial interests and concerns about TTC credibility led to strategic distancing and to collaboration being largely confined to sector boundaries. In addition to reiterating arguments employed by TTCs in previous regulatory debates, commercial actors focused on highlighting the technical complexity and harm reduction potential of e-cigarettes.ConclusionAwareness of the various commercial interests and strategic positioning of commercial actors in e-cigarette policy should inform public health advocacy and policy development, including managing conflicts of interest in the context of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Article 5.3.

scholarly journals Following in the footsteps of tobacco and alcohol? Stakeholder discourse in UK newspaper coverage of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 2317-2328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shona Hilton ◽  
Christina H Buckton ◽  
Chris Patterson ◽  
S Vittal Katikireddi ◽  
Ffion Lloyd-Williams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Soft Drinks ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Policy Objective ◽  
Sugar Sweetened Beverage ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Vested Interests ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Newspaper Articles

AbstractObjective:In politically contested health debates, stakeholders on both sides present arguments and evidence to influence public opinion and the political agenda. The present study aimed to examine whether stakeholders in the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) debate sought to establish or undermine the acceptability of this policy through the news media and how this compared with similar policy debates in relation to tobacco and alcohol industries.Design:Quantitative and qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles discussing sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxation published in eleven UK newspapers between 1 April 2015 and 30 November 2016, identified through the Nexis database. Direct stakeholder citations were entered in NVivo to allow inductive thematic analysis and comparison with an established typology of industry stakeholder arguments used by the alcohol and tobacco industries.Setting:UK newspapers.Participants:Proponents and opponents of SSB tax/SDIL cited in UK newspapers.Results:Four hundred and ninety-one newspaper articles cited stakeholders’ (n 287) arguments in relation to SSB taxation (n 1761: 65 % supportive and 35 % opposing). Stakeholders’ positions broadly reflected their vested interests. Inconsistencies arose from: changes in ideological position; insufficient clarity on the nature of the problem to be solved; policy priorities; and consistency with academic rigour. Both opposing and supportive themes were comparable with the alcohol and tobacco industry typology.Conclusions:Public health advocates were particularly prominent in the UK newspaper debate surrounding the SDIL. Advocates in future policy debates might benefit from seeking a similar level of prominence and avoiding inconsistencies by being clearer about the policy objective and mechanisms.

scholarly journals The Scottish case: minimum unit pricing for alcohol

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Hilton ◽  
S V Katikireddi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Unit Price ◽  
Policy Network ◽  
Pricing Policy ◽  
Licensed Premises ◽  
Vested Interests ◽  
Unit Pricing

Abstract There have been longstanding social and public health concerns about the levels of harmful alcohol consumption in Scotland. The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 targets all alcohol sold through licensed premises in Scotland by ensuring it cannot be sold below a set minimum unit price. The pricing policy is currently set at 50p per unit of alcohol. Following a legal challenge and a vote in the Scottish Parliament, minimum unit pricing was implemented in Scotland on 1 May 2018. The aim of the Scottish alcohol policy has been to reduce the adverse public health consequences of alcohol consumption. It has also been identified as a potential measure for reducing health inequalities since alcohol-related harms are strongly socially patterned. The Scottish alcohol policy is important case to consider for a number of reasons. First, the nature of the policy differs. Rather than the introduction of a variable floor price, which may encourage switching in consumption from one product to another to maintain alcohol intake, minimum unit pricing introduces a price threshold that is uniform across all alcohol products. Second, minimum unit pricing is being introduced into a competitive commercial environment with strong vested interests, rather than a government-controlled monopoly. Third, the policy has been framed as a public health intervention, rather than primarily for revenue-raising reasons. Research on its development and evaluation will be considered to inform broader discussions on policy advocacy. Here we show a visualisation of the minimum unit pricing policy network to highlight how the public health community could work in more coordinated manner to support alcohol policy interventions.

scholarly journals Willingness of the UK public to volunteer for testing in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tushna Vandrevala ◽  
Amy Montague ◽  
Philip Terry ◽  
Mark D. Fielder
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
News Media ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
World Health ◽  
Public Health Approach ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
The World ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background: The World Health Organization declared the rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world to be a global public health emergency. The spread of the disease is influenced by people’s willingness to adopt preventative public health behaviours, such as participation in testing programmes and risk perception can be an important determinant of engagement in such behaviours. Methods: In this study, we present the first assessment of how the UK public (N=778) perceive the usefulness of testing for coronavirus and the factors that influence a person’s willingness to test for coronavirus.Results: None of the key demographic characteristics (age, gender, education, disability, vulnerability status, or professional expertise) were significantly related to the respondents’ willingness to be tested for coronavirus. However, closely following the news media was positively related to willingness to be tested. Knowledge and perceptions about Coronavirus significantly predicted willingness to test, with three significantly contributing factors: worry about the health and social impacts to self and family; personal susceptibility; and concerns about the impacts of coronavirus on specific demographic groups. Views on testing for coronavirus predicted willingness to test, with the most influential factors being importance of testing by need; negative views about widespread testing and mistrust in doctor’s advice about testing. Conclusions: Implications for effective risk communication and localised public health approach to encouraging public to put themselves forward for testing are discussed. We strongly advocate for effective communications and localised intervention by public health authorities, using media outlets to ensure that members of the public get tested for SARs-CoV2 when required.

scholarly journals ‘Tied up in a legal mess’: The alcohol industry's use of litigation to oppose minimum alcohol pricing in Scotland

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Hawkins ◽  
Jim McCambridge
Keyword(s):  
Policy Process ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Alcohol Policy ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Pricing Policy ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
Scottish Government ◽  
Unit Pricing ◽  
The Uk

This article examines the alcohol industry's legal challenges to minimum unit pricing (MUP) in Scotland through the stages heuristic of the policy process. It builds on previous studies of alcohol pricing policy in Scotland and across the UK, and of the use of legal challenges by health harming industries to oppose health policy globally. Having failed to prevent MUP passing into law, industry actors sought to frustrate the implementation of the legislation via challenges in the Scottish, European and UK courts. However, the relevance of legal challenges is not limited to the post-legislative stage of the policy process but was foreshadowed in all earlier stages of the policy process. The potential for a legal challenge to MUP, and the alcohol industry's clearly articulated intention to pursue such action, was used by industry actors to seek to prevent the adoption of MUP in the agenda setting, policy formulation and legislative stages and created significant ‘regulatory chill’ in other areas of Scottish and UK alcohol policy. Litigation, and the prospect of it, was thus part of a coherent and integrated long-term strategy which adapted to changes in the political climate and to different stages in the policy process. While both the rhetoric and reality of litigation failed to prevent policy implementation, it succeeded in causing a delay of six years, imposing significant costs on the Scottish government and creating policy inertia in Scottish alcohol policy subsequently. Moreover, the inclusion of a ‘sunset clause’ in the legislation, requiring ongoing evaluation of the policy's effects, presents additional opportunities for the industry to reverse MUP. Thus, industry strategies to undermine MUP and delay further alcohol policy developments require ongoing attention by policy actors and scholars.

The political economy of and practical policies for inclusive growth—a case study of Scotland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Houston ◽  
Georgiana Varna ◽  
Iain Docherty
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Inclusive Growth ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
Inclusive Governance ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Civic Institutions

Abstract The concept of ‘inclusive growth’ (IG) is discussed in a political economy framework. The article reports comparative analysis of economic and planning policy documents from Scotland, England and the UK and findings from expert workshops held in Scotland, which identify four key policy areas for ‘inclusive growth’: skills, transport and housing for young people; city-regional governance; childcare; and place-making. These policies share with the ‘Foundational Economy’ an emphasis on everyday infrastructure and services, but add an emphasis on inter-generational justice and stress the importance of community empowerment as much as re-municipalisation. Factors enabling IG policy development include: the necessary political powers; a unifying political discourse and civic institutions; and inclusive governance and participatory democracy.

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