Local Health and Global Profits: The power of metaphor in public health

Metaphors matter. They are the conceptual tools through which we make sense of complex issues, the causes of policy problems and the legitimate responses to these. We must reflect critically on the metaphors we use in public health policy, practice and advocacy. This is essential to achieving the types of policy changes needed to address the most pressing public health crises of our time, including the commercial determinants of health.

Using two case study metaphors, this interactive session will provide an overview of the evidence of the role of metaphor in human reasoning, decision-making and action, with the aim of making this evidence relevant for public health practitioners.

Speakers

Dr Benjamin Hawkins, Assistant Research Professor in the Social Sciences at IMS Epidemiology, University of Cambridge. He is Local Health and Global Profits (LHGP) Work Package 3 Lead and Co-investigator.

Dr May van Skalkwyk, Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Her research aims to explain how commercial actors influence ideas, knowledge, science and policymaking.