Journal
WORLD MEDICAL & HEALTH POLICY
Volume -, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/wmh3.589
Keywords
commercial determinants of health; multisectoral committees; Pacific; small island developing states; tobacco control
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This paper explores the institutional conditions that enable or constrain multisectoral committees in facilitating policy coherence for tobacco control in Fiji and Vanuatu. The results show that the current amount of authority behind the investigated multisectoral committees in Fiji and Vanuatu is inadequate to bring stakeholders together for an issue with high complexity. Strengthening the authority behind multisectoral committees and raising awareness about the socioeconomic costs of NCDs and policies affecting tobacco can help improve policy coherence for tobacco control.
The consumption of harmful commodities drives the noncommunicable disease (NCD) epidemic globally and in Pacific small island developing states. Multisectoral committees are commonly chosen avenues to facilitate policy coherence across government sectors in regulating the commercial determinants of health (CDoH), but these committees often fail to function as intended. This paper aims to explore the institutional conditions that enable or constrain multisectoral committees in facilitating policy coherence for tobacco control in Fiji and Vanuatu. An exploratory, qualitative research design was applied, incorporating a two-case study design with within-case analysis and cross-case synthesis. Data collection consisted of 70 in-depth interviews in 2018 and 2019. Data collection and analysis were informed by an analytical framework drawn from the institutional collective action framework. The results show that the current amount of authority behind the investigated multisectoral committees in Fiji and Vanuatu is inadequate to meaningfully bring stakeholders together for an issue with high complexity. Moreover, multisectoral discussions on tobacco control have a high risk to break down, as the collaboration may generate unwanted impacts to one or more actors and the net benefits are perceived to be low. The authority behind multisectoral committees might be strengthened by the chairmanship of a cross-sectoral, high-level government official and the allocation of more resources for managing intersectoral engagement. Divergent preferences might be brought closer together by showcasing the socioeconomic costs of NCDs and policies affecting the availability, affordability, accessibility, and desirability of tobacco and raising awareness about CDoH in nonhealth sectors.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available