Globalization and Health

Abstract

Widespread consensus now exists that fundamental changes to human societies around the world are presently under way, a trend broadly referred to as globalization. Although this evolution is historically rooted in how all societies have formed and adapted over millennia, there is a sense that the changes of recent decades are more intense and accelerated. The resultant impacts of globalization potentially affect every individual and community.The changes arising from globalization can be understood to extend to the field of public health in three main ways. First, processes of global change are shaping the broad determinants of health. Along with individual lifestyle factors, globalization is influencing determinants of health such as employment, housing, education, water and sanitation, and agriculture and food production. Moreover, general socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental conditions are undergoing a transformation. Overall, globalization is restructuring human societies in diverse ways, and hence potentially influencing a broad range of factors that affect individual and population health.Second, a growing body of evidence indicates that health status and outcomes are being variably influenced by globalization. Many argue that globalization is giving rise to new patterns of health and disease linked to the consequent restructuring of human societies. These patterns include the spread of new and re-emerging diseases, as well as the reconfiguration of existing health challenges, including health inequalities within and across countries. In short, CH18-2 contemporary forms of globalization are producing winners and losers, and health outcomes are one reflection of this separation.Third, as a consequence of the factors mentioned previously, societies must adapt their collective responses to changing health determinants and outcomes. Within the broader context of global governance, and specifically global governance for health, globalization is influencing healthcare financing and service provision in a diverse range of countries, as well as the ways in which many products and services that affect health are regulated and marketed. The need to negotiate collective arrangements within and across countries, within the health sector and beyond, and across the public and private sectors has created new challenges.This chapter provides an overview of how globalization is affecting health determinants, health status and outcomes, and the regulatory environment for public health, including healthcare financing and service provision. These impacts can be collectively understood as the effects of the transition from international to global public health. The chapter begins by defining the often-used term "globalization," its key drivers, and the precise changes it is creating. This explication is followed by a discussion of the links between globalization and shifting patterns of infectious and chronic diseases. Finally, the effects on collective responses to global health challenges are explored through considera...

Global Health and Geographical Imaginaries

“…More importantly for us, similar ideas have also been articulated about non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors and, specifically, the smoking epidemic and the chronic diseases it contributes to (e.g. Yach and Bettcher, 1999;Lee, 2003). So, for example, many commentators have argued that smoking and lung cancer are a global epidemic caused by trade liberalisation and multinational tobacco companies.…”

“…But, most of these commentators have focused on smoking (e.g. Yach and Bettcher, 1999;Lee, 2003;Collin, 2005). The reasons for this are mainly historical: smoking was the first NCD risk factor to be addressed in global health with the adoption of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in the early 2000s and now serves as a model for tackling other key NCD risk factors (Yach et al, 2003;WHO, 2003;Casswell and Thamarangsi, 2009).…”

Health Policy in Asia and the Pacific: Navigating Local Needs and Global Challenges

“…Health policy, in this context, faces new challenges. An intensification of population movements, trade of goods and services, capital and labour flows, technological change and environmental degradation, for example, are contributing to crossborder, and even transboundary (deterritorialised), flows of health determinants and outcomes (Lee et al 2011).…”