Jeremy Shiffman’s editorial appropriately calls on making all forms of power more apparent and accountable, notably productive power derived from expertise and claims to moral authority. This commentary argues that relationships based on productive power can be especially difficult to reveal in global health policy because of embedded notions about the nature of power and politics. Yet, it is e...

BACKGROUND For consumers to accept and use a health care information system, it must be easy to use, and the consumer must perceive it as being free from effort. Finding health care providers and paying for care are tasks that must be done to access treatment. These tasks require effort on the part of the consumer and can be frustrating when the goal of the consumer is primarily to receive trea...

The US Congress has granted the Food and Drug Administration the authority to permit manufacturers to use claims in food labels that fit into the following broad categories: health claims, structure/function claims, nutrient content claims, and dietary guidance messages. This article outlines the scope and evolution of these claims and how they are used in the marketing of probiotics. Probiotic...

In this comment, I build on Shiffman’s call for the global health community to more deeply investigate structural and productive power. I highlight two challenges we must grapple with as social scientists carrying out the types of investigation that Shiffman proposes: the politics of  challenging the powerful; and the need to investigate types of expertise that have traditionally been thought o...

BACKGROUND Mental illnesses are increasingly recognised as a leading cause of disability worldwide, yet many countries lack a mental health policy or have an outdated, inappropriate policy. This paper explores the development of appropriate mental health policies and their effective implementation. It reports comparative findings on the processes for developing and implementing mental health po...

The Japanese government enacted a new regulatory system called 'Foods with health claims' in April 2001, which consists of 'Foods for Specified Health Use' (FOSHU) and 'Foods with Nutrient Function Claims' (FNFC). The FOSHU was set up by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 1991 to approve descriptions on a label regarding an effect of food on the human body. It was enacted as a part of 'food ...

Electronic data interchange (EDI) is fueling a revolution in the health care industry. The potential for significant reductions in the administrative costs of paying medical claims has everyone from the Health Insurance Association of America, both Democratic and Republican members of Congress, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and even the President of the...

In this paper we emphasize the importance of questioning the global validity of significant concepts underpinning global health policy. This implies questioning the concept of global health as such and accepting that there is no global definition of the global. Further, we draw attention to ‘quality’ and ‘empowerment’ as examples of world-forming concepts. These concepts are exemplary for the g...

OBJECTIVE To study the effect of various types of inoculation message treatments on resistance to persuasive and potentially deceptive health- and nutrition-related (HNR) content claims of commercial food advertisers. METHODS A three-phase experiment was conducted among 145 students from a Midwestern U.S. university. Quantitative statistical analyses were used to interpret the results. RESU...

The American Lung Association of Minnesota (ALAMN) was granted access to a 2004 administrative claims data from an upper mid-Western, independent practice association model health plan. Claims information, including demographics, prevalence, medication and oxygen therapy, and health care utilization, was extracted for 7,782 patients with COPD who were 40 years of age and older. In addition, ALA...