Search

The commercial determinants of health (CDoH) have a significant impact on the health and well-being of children and young people (subsequently referred to as young people). While most research has focused on the influence of harmful industry marketing on young people, more recent CDoH frameworks have emphasized that a range of commercial systems and practices may influence health and well-being. Focusing on the impact of traditional and digital media, contemporary marketing strategies and corporate production and consumption processes, the following article outlines the impact of the CDoH on the health and wellbeing of young people. The article also provides evidence about how young people conceptualize the impact of corporate actors on health, and their involvement in advocacy strategies to respond. The article recommends that when collaborating with young people to understand the impacts of and responses to the CDoH, we should seek to diversify investigations towards the impact of a range of corporate tactics, systems and structures, rather than simply focusing on the impacts of advertising. This should include considering areas and priorities that young people identify as areas for action and understanding why some young people are more vulnerable to commercial tactics than others. Youth are powerful allies in responding to the CDoH. Public health and health promotion stakeholders could do more to champion the voices of young people and allow them to be active participants in the decisions that are made about harmful commercial practices and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is potential for societal benefit from linkage and integration of large datasets, there are gaps in our understanding of the implications for children and young people, and limited inclusion of their views within this discourse. We aimed to understand the views and expectations of children, young people and their parents/caregivers in Aotearoa New Zealand regarding child health data storage, linkage and consent for use. This qualitative study included 24 Māori and non-Māori children, young people and their families across five focus groups, recruited from a community-based health service. A mixed Māori and non-Māori research team facilitated participant recruitment and data collection. Child, adolescent and parent/caregiver groups were held separately. Sessions were audio-recorded and the verbatim transcripts were analysed thematically. We identified three themes: (i) I am more than a number: seeing patients as people; (ii) In safe hands: data as power; and (iii) What are your intentions with my data? Consent as an active relationship. A key challenge was the reductive and stigmatizing potential of data integration for minoritised groups. Hypothetical discussions of data sharing and linkage were contingent on trust between the participant and the health professional, with negotiated data ownership. Consent was conceived as an active relationship needing renewal and renegotiation as children reached adulthood. Current consent processes for ongoing use of child data require further deliberation. Without a strong ethical and child rights-based approach to issues of child health data management, consent and linkage, we risk exacerbating health inequities and experiences of breach of trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the world, children are being exposed to intensive marketing for gambling products. This normalizes perceptions that gambling is essentially a harmless form of entertainment, despite mounting evidence of the harms it causes. Young people and their parents are supportive of strategies to protect children from being exposed to gambling marketing. Yet existing regulatory efforts are inconsistent and inadequate, and have not protected children from exposure to the many forms of marketing now being developed and exploited by the gambling industry. We outline existing knowledge about strategies used by the gambling industry to market its products, with a specific focus on the potential impact of gambling marketing on young people. We provide a definition of gambling marketing and outline the different forms of promotion that are currently used to market gambling, current regulatory responses, and the impact of marketing on children and young people. We then argue that a comprehensive public health approach to gambling is urgently required, which must include effective action to limit the influence of marketing for gambling products, while recognizing that it is never possible to insulate children entirely from their reach. Lay Summary: • Gambling marketing has become particularly pervasive and aligned with major cultural activities such as sport. • Evidence clearly shows the normalizing impact of marketing on children and young people's gambling attitudes and consumption intentions. • Current regulatory efforts are inadequate and have not protected children and young people from exposure to a range of different forms of marketing. • Young people and their parents support the implementation of significant restrictions on gambling marketing. • The array of marketing mechanisms used by the gambling industry should be addressed as part of a comprehensive public health policy approach to protect children from gambling harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing (MHWB) have received greater attention in recent years due to increases in mental ill health and reports of decreasing subjective wellbeing. The School Health and Wellbeing Improvement Research Network (SHINE) was established to create a national infrastructure to support Scottish schools to collect and use health and wellbeing (HWB) data to inform school improvement action planning. This study aimed to evaluate a pilot of SHINE's provision of school-level HWB data reports from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey and their impact on school action planning. Using a qualitative case study design, we collected data in four local authorities across Scotland via pupil and school staff focus groups (n = 23 groups), and from interviews with senior leaders, school SHINE Leads, other relevant school-level stakeholders, local authority (LA) HWB and data leads (n = 30 interviews). Data analysis was supported using Normalisation Process Theory as a guiding framework. Implementation was at an early stage. Participants indicated that the data reports were an accessible and valuable source of local information to support the improvement agenda. SHINE's expertise supported the lack of research capacity and strengthened HWB data literacy skills in schools. At the point of interview, data reports had not been shared widely within the school community, but there was some limited use of the reports to inform action planning around HWB. Through close working and further engagement with schools, SHINE has the potential to support them to deliver national commitments to improving HWB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]