scholarly journals Depression and antidepressants in Australia and beyond: A critical public health analysis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Raven
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Selective Reporting ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
Consumer Organisations ◽  
Critical Appraisal Skills ◽  
Critical Public Health ◽  
Analytical Approaches

In Australia and most developed countries, depression has vaulted from an obscure affliction to a high-profile modern epidemic, accompanied by a significant escalation in antidepressant prescribing. A strong orthodoxy has developed that depression is common, serious, and treatable, and that the appropriate treatment is antidepressants. However, there are public health and social grounds for questioning this orthodox story. Vastly more people are being diagnosed with depression, and treated with antidepressants, now than several decades ago. Yet diagnosis of depression is subjective, and is based on highly criticised criteria. Furthermore, the evidence that underpins the orthodoxy is weak and biased, and this is compounded by biased interpretation and selective reporting, particularly in relation to clinical trials of antidepressants.Two analytical approaches are used in this thesis. The first is critical analysis of the objective validity of specific claims and assumptions about depression and antidepressants, using a mixture of epidemiological analysis and critical appraisal skills from the evidence-based medicine field. The second approach is a broad analysis of strategies used by advocates of the orthodoxy. This includes an analysis of how claims about depression and antidepressants and related issues such as suicide are deployed in the depression arena, focusing on what claims have been made, by which players, in which contexts, for which reasons, and with what impact. Also analysed are pharmaceutical industry marketing strategies, and strategies used by other players such as psychiatrists and consumer organisations, all of which often utilise claims about depression and so on.The orthodox story has been promoted by many players, including psychiatrists, pharmaceutical companies, marketing companies, health professional organisations, consumer organisations, governments and government agencies, and the media. These players interact in complex ways, based on overlapping and synergistic agendas.Key players have strongly promoted the orthodox story, despite contrary evidence, systematically exaggerating the prevalence and severity of depression and the effectiveness and safety of antidepressants for both depression and suicide prevention. Pharmaceutical companies have played a key role in the establishment and maintenance of the orthodoxy, skilfully recruiting other players to their cause.A detailed case-study analyses how key players, including prominent psychiatrists and consumer advocacy organisations and pharmaceutical companies, have succeeded in making depression a central focus of Australian mental health policy, fuelling the boom in antidepressant prescribing. Not only have antidepressants been remarkably successfully and profitably sold in Australia, but also depression has been reified and marketed as an all-purpose explanation for distress. As well as exposing many thousands of people to adverse effects of antidepressants, this has deflected attention from social determinants of well-being.

scholarly journals Public health and corporate social responsibility: exploratory study on pharmaceutical companies in an emerging market

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Dănescu ◽  
Maria-Alexandra Popa
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pharmaceutical Companies ◽  
Awareness Campaigns ◽  
Corporate Social

Abstract Background Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is studied from many perspectives and has gained unprecedented importance in recent years, especially in emerging economies. Pharmaceutical companies play a very important role in a population’s well-being and health through the CSR and corporate governance practices that they apply. Methods We used an exploratory approach to measure compliance with the Corporate Governance Code of pharmaceutical companies listed on the Romanian capital market and with practices declared through CSR. Results The results show that pharmaceutical companies are involved in actions that consider the well-being of society by offering financial support and managing various sustainable projects, targeting social and economic issues, leading public health awareness campaigns, and investing in health projects. Conclusion This study highlights the increasingly important role played by corporate governance and corporate social responsibility in pharmaceutical companies in improving public health in countries with emerging economies.

scholarly journals From End Treatment to Source Prevention: Socio-Ecological Approaches to Promote Research on the Environment and Non-Communicable Chronic Diseases with Special Reference to China

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. 1900
Author(s):  
Xi-Zhang Shan ◽  
Yong Li ◽  
Kun Lai
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Environmental Interventions ◽  
Integrative Research ◽  
Critical Public Health ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Effective Source

Globally, the pandemic of non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs) has become a critical public health problem. Although NCD prevention has been shifting from individual behavioral interventions to broad environmental interventions, it is still necessary to promote research on the environment and NCDs as a whole. Therefore, this conceptual paper aimed to develop a general and novel framework to advance this line of research. The framework uses socio-ecological approaches that emphasize source prevention rather than the end treatment. Specifically, this framework comprehensively covered integrative research approaches, prioritized areas, urgent efforts, innovative methodologies, and improved funding. The framework used China as a typical context, where its public health policies, similar to other nations, still focus on the end treatment of NCDs, placing emphasis on biomedical approaches and technologies. China’s relevant efforts may furnish new insights and approaches concerning NCD prevention, and these efforts may benefit the improvement of global health and well-being. Such social-ecological research efforts can help to accelerate a shift from existing individual interventions to environmental interventions, thereby ultimately achieving the effective source prevention of NCDs in China and around the globe.

Prevention and Mental Health Policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 155-176
Author(s):  
Paul Cairney ◽  
Emily St Denny
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
Public Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Preventive Mental Health ◽  
Relative Neglect ◽  
Policy Agendas

In health and public health policy in general, the conditions to support prevention policy are not yet apparent. Attention is low or fleeting, ambiguity is high, and debates on the meaning and application of prevention policies are wide. A supportive policymaking environment, producing regular windows of opportunity for specific policy changes, is difficult to identify. Such problems are accentuated when prevention and public health meet mental health. Recently, there have been meaningful calls for greater attention and resources to mental health policy, to pursue ‘parity’ between mental and physical health, and to stress the need for ‘public mental health’ to play a larger part in the public health agenda. However, this agenda remains in its infancy following decades of relative neglect, low public and policymaker attention, and uncertainty about what public mental health means (beyond the vague aim to promote mental well-being and prevent mental illness). At the same time, other policy agendas may undermine these fragile developments, such as when employment policy reforms affect the ability of people with mental ill health to receive social security benefits. In that context, we show that a firm and sincere commitment to public health and mental health is not enough to guarantee the success of preventive mental health initiatives.

Organizational Downsizing: Implications for the Health of Survivors

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Campbell ◽  
Lewis Pepper
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Organizational Downsizing ◽  
Area Of Concern ◽  
Critical Public Health ◽  
The Impact

Public health has a long-standing interest in the adverse consequences of unemployment and job loss upon the physical and emotional health of those who lose their jobs. In recent years, the emergence of organizational downsizing as a commonplace phenomenon directs attention to an entirely new area of concern: the impact of downsizing on those who keep their jobs and continue to work in the new work environment. In this article, we examine the multi-dimensional ways in which downsizing affects the survivors of downsizing and changes their working conditions, social relationships, and emotional well-being. We draw upon qualitative results from research with survivors of downsizing undertaken by the U.S. Department of Energy to highlight survivors' own accounts of the downsizing experience. These experiences suggest that a greater voice in workplace affairs is a critical public health intervention.

scholarly journals Making the Case for “Whole System” Approaches: Integrating Public Health and Housing

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 2345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Sharpe ◽  
Tim Taylor ◽  
Lora Fleming ◽  
Karyn Morrissey ◽  
George Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Sustainable Housing ◽  
Public Health Activity ◽  
Health Challenge ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Health And Well Being

Housing conditions have been an enduring focus for public health activity throughout the modern public health era. However, the nature of the housing and health challenge has changed in response to an evolution in the understanding of the diverse factors influencing public health. Today, the traditional public health emphasis on the type and quality of housing merges with other wider determinants of health. These include the neighbourhood, community, and “place” where a house is located, but also the policies which make access to a healthy house possible and affordable for everyone. Encouragingly, these approaches to policy and action on housing have the potential to contribute to the “triple win” of health and well-being, equity, and environmental sustainability. However, more effective housing policies (and in public health in general) that adopt more systemic approaches to addressing the complex interactions between health, housing, and wider environment are needed. This paper illustrates some of the key components of the housing and health challenge in developed countries, and presents a conceptual model to co-ordinate activities that can deliver the “triple win.” This is achieved by offering a perspective on how to navigate more effectively, inclusively and across sectors when identifying sustainable housing interventions.

scholarly journals Active Commuting: An Opportunity to Fight Both Climate Change and Physical Inactivity

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4290
Author(s):  
Nuno Figueiredo ◽  
Filipe Rodrigues ◽  
Pedro Morouço ◽  
Diogo Monteiro
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Physical Inactivity ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Active Commuting ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2

Global health, climate, and ecological conditions cannot be dissociated, and over the last decade, the impacts of climate change on health have been profoundly felt. In 2010, the transport sector has been responsible for the direct emission of 6.7Gt of carbon dioxide (CO2), and these numbers are expected to double by 2050. Additionally, physical inactivity rates have been growing over the last years, with most individuals in developed countries still relying on their cars for daily transportation, despite the unexplored potential of daily commuting in the promotion of physical activity. Given the well-known link between chronic diseases and sedentary lifestyles, addressing both the upward tendency of public health costs and energy consumption obtained from fossil fuels can be, possibly, one of the greatest public health opportunities over the last century. In this paper, we explore the potential of active commuting as a contemporary approach to address both global issues, considering its benefits on several indicators of health, quality of life, and well-being, as well as environmental-friendly behaviors.

Using Public Health Approaches to Optimize Child Well-Being

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara R. Robinson ◽  
Camille Smith ◽  
Jennifer W. Kaminski ◽  
Rebecca H. Bitsko ◽  
Angelika H. Claussen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Well Being

Eating NAFTA

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyshia Gálvez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Food System ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The North ◽  
The World

In the two decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) went into effect, Mexico has seen an epidemic of diet-related illness. While globalization has been associated with an increase in chronic disease around the world, in Mexico, the speed and scope of the rise has been called a public health emergency. The shift in Mexican foodways is happening at a moment when the country’s ancestral cuisine is now more popular and appreciated around the world than ever. What does it mean for their health and well-being when many Mexicans eat fewer tortillas and more instant noodles, while global elites demand tacos made with handmade corn tortillas? This book examines the transformation of the Mexican food system since NAFTA and how it has made it harder for people to eat as they once did. The book contextualizes NAFTA within Mexico’s approach to economic development since the Revolution, noticing the role envisioned for rural and low-income people in the path to modernization. Examination of anti-poverty and public health policies in Mexico reveal how it has become easier for people to consume processed foods and beverages, even when to do so can be harmful to health. The book critiques Mexico’s strategy for addressing the public health crisis generated by rising rates of chronic disease for blaming the dietary habits of those whose lives have been upended by the economic and political shifts of NAFTA.

Examining the accuracy of estimated smartphone use: How well-being and usage level predict discrepancies between estimated and actual use

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Sewall ◽  
Daniel Rosen ◽  
Todd M. Bear
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Mobile Device ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Smartphone Use ◽  
Usage Level

The increasing ubiquity of mobile device and social media (SM) use has generated a substantial amount of research examining how these phenomena may impact public health. Prior studies have found that mobile device and SM use are associated with various aspects of well-being. However, a large portion of these studies relied upon self-reported estimates to measure amount of use, which can be inaccurate. Utilizing Apple’s “Screen Time” application to obtain actual iPhone and SM use data, the current study examined the accuracy of self-reported estimates, how inaccuracies bias relationships between use and well-being (depression, loneliness, and life satisfaction), and the degree to which inaccuracies were predicted by levels of well-being. Among a sample of 393 iPhone users, we found that: a.) participants misestimated their weekly overall iPhone and SM use by 22.1 and 16.6 hours, respectively; b.) the correlations between estimated use and well-being variables were consistently stronger than the correlations between actual use and well-being variables; and c.) the amount of inaccuracy in estimated use is associated with levels of participant well-being as well as amount of use. These findings suggest that estimates of device/SM use may be biased by factors that are fundamental to the relationships being investigated. **This manuscript is currently under review**

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