in their hypothesis published in ijhpm, lisa forman and colleagues examined the prominence of the right to health and sexual and reproductive health rights (as well as related language) in four of the key reports that fed into the process of negotiating the sustainable development goals (sdgs). now that the sdgs have been formally adopted, this comment builds on some of the insights of forman a...

there are many reasons for the health inequities that we see around the world today. public policy and the way society organises its affairs affects the economic, social and physical factors that influence the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age - the social determinants of health. tackling health inequities is a political issue that requires leadership, political cour...

agenda-setting is a crucial step for inclusive health policies in the low- and middle-income countries (lmics). enlightened by ha et al manuscript, this commentary paper argues that ‘political impetus’ is the key to the successful agenda-setting of health policies in lmics, though other determinants may also play the role during the process. this vietnamese case study presents a good example fo...

this commentary reflects upon the article along three broad lines. it reflects on the theoretical choices and omissions, particularly highlighting why it is important to adapt the multiple streams framework (msf) when applying it in a socio-political context like vietnam’s. the commentary also reflects upon the analytical threads tackled by ha et al; for instance, it highlights the opportunitie...

alcohol, with its impact on both communicable and non-communicable diseases, is considered as the third global public health priority. alcohol ranked third among causes of ill health and premature death, and ranked second in terms of cost among all the substances of abuse, after tobacco, even though nearly half the world's population drinks alcohol. in most countries, where alcohol is considere...

background: today, with the rapid growth of scientific production, research misconduct has become a worldwide problem. this article is intended to introduce the successful experience on the management of research paper misconducts in the field of health research. methods: our aim was to design and develop the strategy for research misconduct policy. focusing on the national regulatory system, w...

rlabonté et al entitle their paper in this issue of the international journal of health policy and management “the trans-pacific partnership: is it everything we feared for health?” tantalisingly, they do not directly answer the question they pose, and in this commentary, we suggest that it is the wrong question; we should not ‘fear’ the trans-pacific partnership (tpp) at all, rather we should ...

That public health policy and practice should be evidence based is a seemingly uncontroversial claim. Yet governments and citizens routinely reject the best available evidence and prefer policies that reflect other considerations and concerns. The most common explanations of this paradox emphasise scientific disagreement, the power of 'politics', or the belief that scientists and policymakers l...

policy capacity focuses on the managerial and organizational abilities to inform policy decisions with sound research and analysis, and facilitate policy implementation with operational efficiency. it stems from a view of the policy process that is rational and positivistic, in which optimal policy choices can be identified, selected, and implemented with objectivity. by itself, however, policy...

The present essay deals with the relation between epidemiology and public policies, highlighting the epidemiology position in the public health field, analyzing the impact of public policies over epidemiological profile and contributions from epidemiology to the lay down, implementation and evaluation of public health policies. In the first title, the essay debates the links between the epidemi...