The health impacts of globalisation: a conceptual framework

Huynen, Maud MTE; Martens, Pim; Hilderink, Henk BM

Two recent and comprehensive frameworks concerning globalisation and health are the ones developed by Woodward et al. [1] , and by Labonte and Togerson [2] . The effects that are identified by Woodward et al. [1] as most critical for health are mainly mediated by economic factors. Labonte and Torgerson [2] primarily focus on the effects of economic globalisation and international governance. In our view, however, the pathways from globalisation to health are more complex. Therefore, a conceptual framework for the health effects of the globalisation process requires a more holistic approach and should be rooted in a broad conception of both population health and globalisation. The presented framework is developed in the following three steps: 1) defining the concept of population health and identifying its main determinants, 2) defining the concept of globalisation and identifying its main features and 3) constructing the conceptual model for globalisation and population health.