Our Research
Our project is currently pursuing several linked research studies.
Estimation of attributable disease burdens.
We are conducting systematic reviews of existing literature on the health impact of four corporate practices (production and design, marketing, retail distribution and pricing) within six industries (alcohol, automobiles, firearms, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals and tobacco). From this work, we will estimate the disease burden attributable to specific practices within these industries. The findings will help to select priorities for public health intervention. In the second stage, we will also estimate the cost burden of each practice within each industry.
Investigators: Nicholas Freudenberg, Sandro Galea, Mimi Fahs.
Characteristics of public health advocacy campaigns to change corporate practices.
From a database of public health advocacy campaigns to change harmful corporate practices that we have compiled, we have selected 12 campaigns for detailed study. Our first effort used information gathered from secondary sources on these campaigns and we are now interviewing participants to gain deeper insights. This research seeks to identify characteristics of effective campaigns and to describe the strategies, allies and obstacles that these campaigns encounter.
Researchers: Nicholas Freudenberg, Zoë Meleo-Erwin, Sarah Bradley, Monica Serrano, Estelle Raboni.
Corporate Practices as a Determinant of Disparities in Health.
In this work, we seek to understand the extent to which corporate practices in the six industries we are studying (alcohol, automobiles, firearms, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals and tobacco) contribute to or exacerbate disparities in health. We are currently reviewing the literature on the impact of corporate practices on socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities and are planning a community study in which we will work with young people to assess and describe the cumulative burden of corporate practices such as advertising, pricing and retail practices in two or more differing NYC neighborhoods.
Researchers: Nicholas Freudenberg, Jessie Daniels, Zoë Meleo-Erwin, Jessica Ruglis.
