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Background: Spokespeople play a significant role in communicating public health information yet there is little research understanding the characteristics of those who provide such messaging. Methods: One hundred and four health professionals (70% female) recruited through professional association mailing lists in Australia completed a brief online quantitative and qualitative survey. Results: Participants reported characteristics they believed to be important for spokespeople, those that they believed their organisation considered important, and those they thought engendered public trust. Knowledge of public health issues, public speaking skills, and willingness to speak on behalf of the organisation were identified as important characteristics (by at least 70%). Qualitative results showed some participants distinguished between perceived, as well as actual, expertise, and described the potential for public health university programs to include public speaking and communication skills. Participants also identified an individual's role in the organisation was considered important in their organisation's selection of a spokesperson, particularly in relation to seniority and leadership. Conclusions: The study provides an initial description and priority considerations from health professionals about key characteristics of effective spokespeople. Findings suggest possible avenues for training and support for spokespeople and the need for further research regarding the characteristics of who are effective spokespeople. So What?: Findings suggest possible avenues for training and support for spokespeople and the need for further research regarding the characteristics of who are effective spokespeople. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

: Objective: Media framing of nutrition policy issues has been said to play a critical role in influencing public and political support for these issues. We examined the coverage of nutrition policy issues in the Australian news media to determine the key frames and expert sources used by the media. Methods: News articles published in Australia between 2008 and 2018 were retrieved from key media databases. Content analysis was used to identify nutrition policy issues reported and expert sources used. Frames were identified using a theoretical framework. Results: Seven nutrition policy categories were identified. Expert sources included representatives from public health, food industry and politicians. Six dominant frames were identified: government responsibility, industry responsibility, societal frame, individual responsibility, parental responsibility and nanny state frame. Nutrition experts tended to use thematic frames while government and food industry sources used episodic frames to deflect responsibility onto individuals. Conclusions: Despite high media representation of thematic frames and government responsibility in addressing nutrition policy issues, limited regulatory policy action has occurred in Australia. Implications for public health: Further research is needed to better understand different frames and their effectiveness in influencing public and political opinion. Greater coherence amongst health advocates would be beneficial to ensure a collective, recognised voice on issues., Poor diet is one of the leading causes of illness, disability and death internationally.[sup.1] Governments around the world have been encouraged to implement evidence‐based population‐level nutrition policies, such as sugar‐sweetened [...]

Introduction: A consequence of corporate influence on public policy is the potential for negative impacts on population health. Consequently, it is imperative that public health advocates and scholars stay abreast of emerging corporate practices designed to influence regulatory measures aimed at safeguarding health. To identify these emerging practices, we attended a national corporate affairs conference to identify tactics and gain insights from the range of commercial actors presenting at the event. Method: An observational design was used for the research. This involved observation of senior executives presenting at a national corporate affairs conference in Australia in 2023. The collected data was inductively and thematically analyzed by the authors. Results: Our findings revealed that the foremost concern for corporations was maintaining a "social license to operate." Notably, corporate actors perceived social media as a critical threat to social license as it can rapidly sway public opinion against them. Strategies identified for preserving social license included building relationships with the public and civil society, leveraging AI-driven data services to monitor and effectively respond to perceived threats, to convert dissenters into advocates, and applying the narrative of value creation and stakeholder capitalism. Conclusion: This study contributes valuable insights for public health advocates and scholars by shedding light on the mechanisms employed by corporations to counteract regulatory measures. These mechanisms include using stakeholder capitalist narratives to frame and reframe discussion and debate, engaging dissenters to convert them into advocates, and leveraging partnerships to camouflage actions and build social license halos. It also revealed the unprecedented power and new platforms that previously weak actors now have via social media. The observations from the conference offer a nuanced understanding of corporate strategies, enabling advocates to effectively challenge prevailing narratives that may undermine public health initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To understand the rewards university students associate with two key decisions shaping food choices. Participants: Thirty-eight university students. Methods: In this exploratory research, we conducted focus groups to identify the rewards students associated with choosing to eat at the campus dining hall and their specific food choices within that venue. We also obtained feedback on reward nomenclatures identified via a content analysis of health and business literature. Results: Students primarily chose the dining hall due to its convenience, foods offered, and the social aspects of the venue. Rewards associated with food choice included freshness, customization, variety, local foods, healthy foods, convenience, and portion size. Nomenclatures were relevant and meaningful. Conclusions: These students associate food choice decisions with rewards. Universities should consider whether dining halls and menu items link healthy foods to the rewards prioritized by students. Reward nomenclatures may be useful for researchers investigating the drivers of food choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy PointsOur research reveals the similarities and differences among the lobbying activities of tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and ultraprocessed food industries, which are often a barrier to the implementation of public health policies.Over 23 years, we found that just six organizations dominated lobbying expenses in the tobacco and alcohol sectors, whereas the gambling sector outsourced most of their lobbying to professional firms.Databases like OpenSecrets are a useful resource to monitor the commercial determinants of health. Context: Commercial lobbying is often a barrier to the development and implementation of public health policies. Yet, little is known about the similarities and differences in the lobbying practices of different industry sectors or types of commercial actors. This study compares the lobbying practices of four industry sectors that have been the focus of much public health research and advocacy: tobacco, alcohol, gambling, and ultraprocessed foods. Methods: Data on lobbying expenditures and lobbyist backgrounds were sourced from the OpenSecrets database, which monitors lobbying in the United States. Lobbying expenditure data were analyzed for the 1998–2020 period. We classified commercial actors as companies or trade associations. We used Power BI software to link, analyze, and visualize data sets. Findings: We found that the ultraprocessed food industry spent the most on lobbying ($1.15 billion), followed by gambling ($817 million), tobacco ($755 million), and alcohol ($541 million). Overall, companies were more active than trade associations, with associations being least active in the tobacco industry. Spending was often highly concentrated, with two organizations accounting for almost 60% of tobacco spending and four organizations accounting for more than half of alcohol spending. Lobbyists that had formerly worked in government were mainly employed by third‐party lobby firms. Conclusions: Our study shows how comparing the lobbying practices of different industry sectors offers a deeper appreciation of the diversity and similarities of commercial actors. Understanding these patterns can help public health actors to develop effective counterstrategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes are present in many countries with evidence that they are effective in decreasing purchases of SSBs. However, in Australia where SSB consumption per capita is high, and calls for an SSB tax are frequent, there is no SSB tax and policymakers have stated their lack of support for such a tax. We examined whether political party voting preference and sociodemographic factors affect individuals' support for an SSB tax, and whether message framing affects this support. A nationally representative sample of 1519 Australian adults was recruited for an online experimental survey. Three persuasive frames and one control frame were randomly provided to participants and measures of agreement towards an SSB tax were assessed. Sociodemographic factors and political party preference were also captured. Message framing had minimal effect on the level of support for the tax. However, participants who received the 'supportive of food and drink companies frame' showed the highest positive feelings towards the tax, and participants in rural areas had higher levels of support for an SSB tax when receiving the 'protecting teenagers' frame. Participants who voted for conservative (right-leaning) parties and for Labour (a centre-left party) had similar levels of support towards the tax, which was considerably lower than Greens voters. Undecided voters had the lowest levels of support for the tax, and the frames had limited impact on them. These findings highlight the potential role of message framing in shaping public support for an SSB tax in Australia, particularly in the context of voting preference and sociodemographic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the lack of political transparency in Australia and the potential influence of commercial actors on public health policy decisions. Lobbying is identified as an important strategy used by both health advocates and business sector actors to influence policy making. However, the extent of public health lobbying is overshadowed by the business sector, leading to stalled or weakened public health policies. The article highlights the need for improved transparency in lobbying and other political practices to hold governments accountable and ensure that public health voices are not drowned out. The limitations of current data sources on commercial political activities in Australia are also discussed. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of making information about commercial political activities more accessible and transparent to challenge undue influence and promote government accountability. [Extracted from the article]

This scoping review examined peer-reviewed and gray literature to explore what a "no-to-low external input" statement means for regenerative agriculture. Five organic amendment inputs (compost extract, manure, mulch, biochar, food systems waste) and four land management processes (livestock management and integration, crop diversity, tillage reduction, comprehensive approach) were identified. Findings include "no-to-low external input" models arising from processes which function to displace external inputs (e.g., synthetic fertilizer). Organic amendment inputs and regenerative land management processes promote biology and improve nutrient cycling at soil, farm, and landscape scales. Regenerative agriculture overlaps with other farming practices including those associated with agroecology and conservation agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The education and training provided by the Council of Academic Public Health Institutions of Australasia (CAPHIA) member institutions has underpinned the Australasian response to COVID‐19. To advance public health safety [...]

Alcohol labelling laws and policy are contentious and highly politicized. Very few countries have been able to implement health warnings on alcohol labels due to complex legal and governance systems and coordinated industry lobbying. In 2020, Australia and New Zealand implemented a mandatory and evidence-based legal standard for pregnancy warning labels on alcohol products. This article discusses some of the challenges faced in achieving policy change and how these barriers were overcome by public health advocacy groups to build the evidence, counter industry conflicts of interest, consumer test health messages, mobilize community support and gather political support. Reflecting on the decades of ineffective regulation and politicization of this health issue, lessons for other countries include the importance of creating and maintaining relationships with decision makers and regularly updating them with evidence and recommendations, highlighting industry failures and tactics, building broad-based coalitions and sharing lived-experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few if any greater threats to the determinants of health than the actions of large corporations who produce unhealthy commodities. These entities are generally very powerful, well‐resourced and [...]