7th International Conference on Public Policy (ICPP7)
Panel: How to evaluate corporate initiatives to promote access to medicines and health technologies
Call for Papers: November 18, 2024 – January 31, 2025
Since the 1960s, the World Health Organization has sought to promote the rational use of medicines and health technologies and developed normative guidance around industry promotion. Promotion now encompasses not only traditional forms of advertising, deployment of sales representatives, and sponsorship of education or research, but increasingly, industry is involved in the funding or operating of health systems as a means to facilitate access to their products, including within low- and middle-income countries (WHO, 2017). Pharmaceutical and medical device company activities to facilitate access to health products include directly providing health systems with health products through donation, reduced prices or discounts; funding or conducting health system capacity building (e.g., training related to procurement, regulation, or continuing health professional education); providing care through patient support programs; or directly financing Ministry of Health activities (Rockers et al., 2017; WHO, 2017). However, in the context of opaque pricing and confidential procurement agreements; preferred provider networks which create exclusive distribution networks; and problematic tax incentives around donation practices, many of these initiatives are often designed to serve commercial interests to the detriment of public health.
This panel intends to bring together people from different disciplines to discuss ongoing research into and methods to study and identify medically-related industry strategies, initiatives, and activities designed to promote access to health products and technologies. We define the medically-related industry as pharmaceutical, medical device, health technology, infant formula, and medical nutrition industries and the web of commercial entities, trade associations, and lobby groups that seeks to further their corporate interests. We seek research and research approaches oriented toward informing the development of policy tools to ensure equitable, sustainable, and affordable access; promote good governance, public accountability, and transparency; and manage risks and monitor and evaluate performance.
We welcome diverse research designs and approaches (e.g., qualitative, ethnographic, quantitative, documentary, policy analysis and evaluation, case studies), documenting or analyzing industry initiatives in low-, middle-, and high-income countries; as well as theoretical analyses of strategies and their impacts.
The panel will be held on-site, but presenters can present via online platforms if required. Depending on the number of submissions and presenter preference, we may elect to organize an on-site and online session.