Course description
This PhD course introduces the field of commercial determinants of health (CDoH), with a focus on how commercial actors, practices, and interests shape public health, health behaviours, and health inequalities. The course is structured around two intensive introductory days, followed by an interim period with individual work and a closing research seminar. Through a combination of lectures, case-based group work, and reflective exercises, partici-pants are introduced to key concepts, central debates, and qualitative and interdisciplinary approaches to studying CDoH. They will work analytically with either their own PhD projects or selected cases, developing and applying relevant conceptual and methodological tools. The course emphasises critical reflection and supports participants in integrating CDoH perspectives into their own research through both written and oral assignments, as well as peer and teacher feedback. It is relevant to everyone interested in how health behaviours and out-comes are shaped by factors beyond the individuum.
Intended learning outcome
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
• explain the concept of commercial determinants of health, including understanding commercial actors and their roles;
• identify and analyse different forms of commercial influence on health across disciplines, including actors’ strategies and practices;
• understand, select, and apply relevant research methods and data sources to study commercial determinants of health;
• link methodological choices to specific research questions within their own field;
• critically reflect on methodological choices, including their strengths and limitations;
• reflect on the role and positionality of the researcher when studying commercial actors; and
• apply and integrate course content into their own PhD project for critical reflection and/or future research.
Teaching methods
The course combines lectures, group work, and reflective exercises to support both theoretical understanding and practical application. Lectures introduce key concepts, methodological approaches, and central debates, while group work focuses on case based analysis and peer discussion.
The course includes three components:
1) 2 executive full course days. The participants will be introduced to key concepts, perspectives, and methodological approaches related to the commercial determinants of health (CDoH). Through a combination of lectures and plenary discussions, participants are invited to engage with central debates and reflect on how these relate to their own areas of research. Group work and guided exercises support both theoretical understanding and practical appli-cation, allowing participants to develop analytical skills and explore how CDoH perspectives can be integrated into their own research or other presented case analyses.
2) an interim period of two weeks in which the participants work individually with a) preparing a paper (max 2 pages) to be submitted three days before the closing seminar and b) a brief oral presentation for the closing seminar where the participants highlight which new in-sights, questions, and critical reflections the topics presented during the course have inspired them to make in relation to their own research area.
3) a closing research seminar in which the participants present their critical reflections on their own project and receive peer- and teacher feedback. The second and final part of the seminar consists of a screening of the documentary Unmasking Influence, followed by a facil-itated discussion. The film provides concrete insights into the strategies and mechanisms through which commercial actors shape health-related outcomes and public policy. Building on the themes and concepts introduced throughout the course, participants will critically reflect on the film and engage in discussion on how these dynamics relate to their own research or the cases explored during the course.
Course Fee
The course is free of charge for PhD students enrolled in Universities that have joined the Open market agreement and NorDoc.
For other participants there is a course fee of
DKK 3700
EUR 495