Building connections between public health, business is focus of panel led by WashU and WHO

The private sector has an enormous effect on public health by shaping the conditions under which people live and work. And businesses benefit from public health via a healthy workforce and the stability that comes with a more equitable society, among other advantages. Despite this interdependence, schools of public health and business have mostly conducted their research and teaching in separate silos. A closer integration of the two fields could help public health professionals tap into the power of the private sector to address global health and equity challenges — meanwhile helping business professionals identify ways to build successful companies that also promote public health.  

As a first step toward breaking down such silos, the School of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis and two units of the World Health Organization (WHO) hosted a first-of-its-kind, two-day online dialogue moderated by Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, the Margaret C. Ryan Dean of WashU School of Public Health, and Michael Mazzeo, PhD, the dean of WashU Olin Business School. The dialogue March 27 and 28 brought together dozens of experts in academic public health and business from more than 60 countries across the world. The discussions covered how to bring public health concepts and frameworks into business schools, and vice versa, to encourage new ways of thinking in both fields, better leverage the power of the private sector in public health practice, and equip future business leaders to prioritize health equity, societal impact, sustainability and ethical decision-making alongside profitability and efficiency.

“It is clear that you cannot have effective public health without partnership with business and the private sector,” said Galea, who is also the Eugene S. and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health and vice provost for interdisciplinary initiatives at WashU. “How else are you going to address the structural forces that leave some people without access to care or nutritious foods, or with inadequate housing, for example? Those are in the realm of business. I have long felt that we need to think about how we can leverage commercial forces alongside more traditional factors to generate health.” 

The dialogue – co-hosted by the WHO’s Global Coordination Mechanism on Noncommunicable Diseases (WHO GCM/NCD, Global NCD Platform Department) and the Economics and Commercial Determinants programme of work (Department of Social Determinants) along with WashU School of Public Health – centered around the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.

Noncommunicable diseases account for 75% of all deaths worldwide. A person’s risk of dying prematurely of a noncommunicable disease depends greatly on where they live. Many of these deaths could be prevented by addressing risk factors such as tobacco use, high blood pressure and air pollution, and by enabling early detection and better management of disease. One of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2012 is to reduce premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases by one-third by 2030. While progress has been made, only a handful of countries are on track to actually meet the goal. To turn the tide on noncommunicable diseases, the field of public health needs new ideas and strategies, and collaborating with people in business could help generate them.

“Business is an integral part of public health, and collaborating with greater intentionality can lead to even more positive impacts for people, organizations and communities,” said Mazzeo, who is also the Knight Family Professor at WashU. “Part of the purpose of this dialogue was to demonstrate that business should be involved in the public health space. When you communicate with people who you don’t normally communicate with, you sharpen your own arguments and perspectives, and that’s when you start coming up with innovative approaches and solutions.”

On the first day of the online global dialogue, panelists discussed what public health could learn from business. On the second day, the emphasis was reversed, and panelists discussed why business schools should incorporate public health principles into their research and teaching, and how to do so. Some of the key takeaways from that discussion included:

• Health is a concern for business. Ill health causes significant economic losses and socioeconomic challenges.
• Both business and health gain from exploring each other’s perspectives. An interdisciplinary lens on commercial and social determinants of health, market dynamics and marketing theory, design thinking, health system management and information systems, and accountability could benefit both business and public health research and teaching.
• The view that an orientation toward profit is incompatible with a commitment to health and social impact is overly simplistic and divisive. The narrative should be shifted to focus on how health and well-being are profitable for all. 
• The tension between public sector regulation and competitive business practice can be productive. For example, safeguards against price fixing can benefit both business and public health. 
• In business, incentives often are misaligned. Positive health and social impact need to be reflected in companies’ rewards and employee bonuses.
• Addressing health in business may entail taking a critical look at concepts of the business value chain, shareholder primacy, and the power imbalances, and ensuring that those with less capacity can have their say. 

The major findings from the discussions will be presented at the Second General Meeting of the Global Coordination Mechanism on Noncommunicable Diseases in late April, through an “intention to action statement.” The statement aims to identify and spearhead practical steps to foster transformative change at the intersection between business and public health schools. Read more about the dialogue on the WHO’s Knowledge Action Portal.

Galea and Mazzeo also discussed the topic of building connections between public health and business at a symposium April 3 hosted by WashU Olin Business School as part of its Business of Health Initiative. Launched earlier this year in collaboration with WashU School of Public Health and WashU Medicine, the initiative promises to address multifaceted challenges in the health industry by forging collaboration with innovators throughout WashU and the region, preparing students for effective careers in the business of health and spurring commercialization opportunities.  

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Writer

Tamara Schneider, PhD, MPH, is the senior science writer and assistant director of communications for WashU School of Public Health. She holds a bachelor’s degree in molecular biophysics & biochemistry and in sociology from Yale University, a master’s in public health from the University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in biomedical science from the University of California, San Diego.