Characteristics of commercial determinants of health research on corporate activities: A scoping review

Abstract

Introduction: Business practices have influenced human health for centuries, yet an overarching concept to study these activities across nations, time periods, and industries (called 'the commercial determinants of health' (CDH)) has emerged only recently. The purpose of this review was to assess the descriptive characteristics of CDH research and to identify remaining research gaps.

Methods: We systematically searched four databases (Scopus, OVID Medline, Ovid Embase, and Ovid Global Health) on Sept 13, 2022 for literature using CDH terms that described corporate activities that have the potential to influence population health and/or health equity (n = 116). We evaluated the following characteristics of the literature: methods employed, industries studied, regions investigated, funders, reported conflicts of interest, and publication in open-access formats.

Results: The characteristics of the articles included that many were conceptual (50/116 articles; 43%) or used qualitative methods (37; 32%). Only eight articles (7%) used quantitative or mixed methods. The articles most often discussed corporate activities in relation to the food and beverage (51/116; 44%), tobacco (20; 17%), and alcohol industries (19; 16%), with limited research on activities occurring in other industries. Most articles (42/58 articles reporting a regional focus; 72%) focused on corporate activities occurring in high-income regions of the world.

Conclusions: Our findings indicate that literature that has used CDH terms and described corporate practices that influence human health has primarily focused on three major industries in higher-income regions of the world. Qualitative methods were the most common empirical method for investigating these activities. CDH-focused investigations of corporate practices conducted by less-studied industries (e.g., social media) and in lower-income regions are recommended. Longitudinal quantitative studies assessing the associations between corporate practices and a range of health outcomes is also a necessary next step for this field.

Fig 1. PRISMA flow diagram [27].

Fig 2. Years in which the included articles were published.

Note that the numbers for 2022 are articles found as of September 13, 2022.

Fig 3. Industries studied in included articles.

Articles were classified into a particular industry if they dedicated a substantial portion of the article to discussing that industry. Articles were classified as ‘general’ if they reported on corporate activities more broadly, in some cases using certain industries as illustrative examples. Articles could be classified into multiple industries; therefore, the total number of articles do not sum to 116 and the percentages do not sum to 100% (Supporting Information, Appendix 2 in S1 File).

Fig 4. Regions that were the subjects of the included articles.

Articles were classified to a particular region if they studied corporate activities occurring in that region, collected data from sources or participants from that region, or otherwise focused their article on that region. See Supporting Information, Appendix 2 in S1 File for more details on classification.

Fig 5. Methods employed in included articles.

Articles were classified into the methods category deemed most applicable and were not classified into multiple categories. See Supporting Information, Appendix 2 in S1 File for more details.

Fig 6. Types of funders providing research-specific funding reported in the included articles.

Number of articles do not sum to 116 and percentages do not sum to 100 as some articles reported multiple funders of different types. See Supporting Information, Appendix 2 in S1 File for details on classification.

Fig 7. Journals in which the included articles were most frequently published.