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ObjectivesThis paper explores industry influence on public health using a specific case study and applies an established ethical framework based on eleven principles to explore Commercial Determinants of Health (CDoH). It demonstrates an application of these principles to evaluate the ethical integrity of industry strategies and practices and their impacts on public health.MethodsUsing eleven a priori, deductive, ethical principles as codes, this paper conducted an in-depth analysis of 19 e-mail chains and accompanying documents made publicly available through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from U.S. Right to Know (USRTK) sent between Coca-Cola representatives, lobbyists, academics, and the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), founded by former Coca-Cola executives.ResultsThe three principles violated most frequently amongst the documents were consumer sovereignty (n = 22), evidence-informed actions (n = 21), and transparency (n = 20). Similarly, codes that featured most regularly across documents were transparency (13 out of 19 documents), consumer sovereignty (13 out of 19 documents), evidence-informed actions (9 out of 19 documents), and social justice and equity (9 out of 19 documents). All eleven principles were applied at least four times throughout the documents; however, responsiveness (z = 12), moral responsibility (z = 16), and holism (z = 30) were the least relevant to the data set.ConclusionsThis case study of Coca-Cola demonstrates the usefulness of this ethics framework in reviewing actions of corporate actors in the promotion of products that are harmful to human health. It shows that the industry at times has low ethical integrity in their various strategies and practices to promote their products despite the negative impacts of these products on public health.

This is a scoping review protocol aimed at understanding the beliefs and values and how mothers in Africa are influenced by relational normative motivations (as “hidden” barriers and facilitators) to the utilisation of Skilled Birth Attendance (SBA) in health facilities. Google Scholar, PubMed, EBSCOhost, SCOPUS, Embase and WEB of Science will be searched for articles that meet the eligibility criteria. The primary search will include peer-reviewed articles Study selection will conform to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines, and the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool will determine the quality of the included studies. Content analysis will be used to present the narrative. The review will complement evidence base on normative beliefs and values shaping care seeking behaviours for Skilled Birth Attendance by mothers in Africa.