JULY 2021
Director's Note
The phrase “social determinants of health” has become embedded in national and international discussions about advancing population health goals. The fact that social environment, including the schools we attend, the neighborhoods we live in, the food we can access, and the social services we receive, affects health is not only demonstrated in research but also (painfully) obvious. But, how much do we think about how our health is affected by commercial and industrial influences? This is the focus of the work we highlight this month. The phrase “commercial determinants of health” first appears in the literature in the early 2010s, but the underlying concern can be traced to earlier research and advocacy. What are the commercial determinants of health? The broadest definition is “factors that influence health which stem from the profit motive,” but this definition understates the role of economic and political power. At IHPS, we have put the spotlight on commercial determinants of health for decades, and view it as fundamental to our mission to advance health equity. Too often, corporate and commercial interests leverage their power to harm the most vulnerable populations, and leaders such as those highlighted this month are essential to overturning this dynamic. Whether we are discussing the sugar industry, tobacco product manufacturers, opioid distributors, or pollution from chemical plants, we need to bring forth science to remedy decades of injustice.

Joanne Spetz
PRL-IHPS Focus On:
Commercial Determinants of Health
Laura Schmidt, PhD, and Cristin Kearns, DDS, MBA are two PRL-IHPS faculty working in the area of commercial determinants of health, along with Robert Lustig, MD, Justin White, PhD, Dean Schillinger, MD, Rita Redberg, MD, Sanket Dhruva, MD, Tracey Woodruff, PhD, and Dorie Apollonio, PhD. These PRL-IHPS faculty conduct research to provide evidence of the commercial determinants of health.

Upcoming Events
PRL-IHPS Health Policy Grand Rounds
Policy, Pundits, and Pandemics: Crisis decision-making at the speed of Covid

Tomás Aragón, MD, DrPH, Director, California Department of Public Health 
July 21, 12 - 1 pm


National Clinician Scholars Program
2021-2022 Cohort Begins
The National Clinician Scholars Program (NCSP) at UCSF, housed at PRL-IHPS, began its second year of scholars in July. Scholars are shown at left at their welcome dinner.

Research Highlights
Tobacco use among substance use disorder (SUD) treatment staff is associated with tobacco-related services received by clients
When staff at substance use disorder (SUD) treatment programs use tobacco in any form, a higher rate of SUD program clients also use tobacco and fewer clients receive cessation counseling was the finding of Joseph Guydish, PhD, and colleagues in a recent Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment article.

Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Sexual Orientation of Editors at Leading Medical and Scientific Journals: A Cross-sectional Survey
In a recent JAMA Internal Medicine article, Rita Redberg, MD and colleagues, share their findings from a survey looking at diversity of editorial staff at 25 leading medical and scientific journals.

First year medical student perceptions of physician advocacy and advocacy as a core competency: A qualitative analysis
In a recent Medical Teacher article, Megha Garg, MD, MPH and colleagues explore first-year medical student perspectives on advocacy as a professional core competency. Although medical societies have embraced advocacy as a professional core competency, the views of medical students are not well studied.

IHPS Faculty Spotlight
Ari Hoffman is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine at UCSF. He joined the faculty in 2014 as a clinician-educator, and works on the inpatient services at Moffitt-Long Hospital.

Ari received his bachelor degree in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and his medical degree from UCSF. He spent a year at the NIH with the Clinical Research Training Program working in the Bioethics Department on comparative effectiveness research as a tool for reducing waste in healthcare spending before returning to San Francisco to finish medical school. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at UCSF.