Abstract:
Globalization is a key challenge to public health, especially in developing countries, but the linkages
between globalization and health are complex. Although a growing amount of literature has appeared on the
subject, it is piecemeal, and suffers from a lack of an agreed framework for assessing the direct and indirect health
effects of different aspects of globalization. This paper presents a conceptual framework for the linkages between
economic globalization and health, with the intention that it will serve as a basis for synthesizing existing relevant
literature, identifying gaps in knowledge, and ultimately developing national and international policies more
favourable to health.
The framework encompasses both the indirect effects on health, operating through the national economy,
household economies and health-related sectors such as water, sanitation and education, as well as more direct
effects on population-level and individual risk factors for health and on the health care system. Proposed also is a
set of broad objectives for a programme of action to optimize the health effects of economic globalization. The
paper concludes by identifying priorities for research corresponding with the five linkages identified as critical to the
effects of globalization on health.
