Jane Landon - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Jane Landon

Research paper thumbnail of Monitoring policy and actions on food environments: rationale and outline of the INFORMAS policy engagement and communication strategies

The International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and... more The International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) proposes to collect performance indicators on food policies, actions and environments related to obesity and non-communicable diseases. This paper reviews existing communications strategies used for performance indicators and proposes the approach to be taken for INFORMAS. Twenty-seven scoring and rating tools were identified in various fields of public health including alcohol, tobacco, physical activity, infant feeding and food environments. These were compared based on the types of indicators used and how they were quantified, scoring methods, presentation and the communication and reporting strategies used. There are several implications of these analyses for INFORMAS: the ratings/benchmarking approach is very commonly used, presumably because it is an effective way to communicate progress and stimulate action, although this has not been formally evaluated; the tools used must be trustworthy, pragmatic and policy-relevant; multiple channels of communication will be needed; communications need to be tailored and targeted to decision-makers; data and methods should be freely accessible. The proposed communications strategy for INFORMAS has been built around these lessons to ensure that INFORMAS's outputs have the greatest chance of being used to improve food environments.

Research paper thumbnail of INFORMAS and advocacy for public health nutrition and obesity prevention

obesity reviews (2013) 14 (Suppl. 1), 150-156

Research paper thumbnail of Television advertising and children: lessons from policy development

Public Health Nutrition, 2006

Aim: To conduct a policy review of the regulations related to food advertising on television aime... more Aim: To conduct a policy review of the regulations related to food advertising on television aimed at children. Design: The study consisted of documentary analysis of relevant legislation and policy documents related to children's advertising from both industry and nongovernmental organisations at a global level and in 20 countries. This was supported with semi-structured telephone interviews with individuals from 11 countries. Results: The initial findings resulted in a listing of regulatory impacts from which we developed a taxonomy of regulatory schemes. There was a tension between the development of legislation to cover this area and the use of voluntary agreements and codes. This tension represents a food industry/civic society split. The food and advertising industries are still engaged in a process of denying the impact of advertising on food choice and children as well as commissioning their own research. Outright bans are unusual, with most countries addressing the situation through voluntary agreements and self-regulation. We found a deep division over the way forward and the role and place of legislation. Policy-makers expressed concerns that national legislation was increasingly less relevant in dealing with broadcast media transmitted from outside national boundaries and therefore not subject to the receiving countries' laws but to the laws of the country from which they were transmitted. Conclusions: The options for the regulation of advertising targeted at children range from (1) a complete ban on advertising as in the case of Sweden, through (2) partial restrictions on advertising by type of food, target group or limits on the amount of advertisements or times shown, to (3) continuation of self-regulation by the advertising and food industries. There is a global dimension to regulation that needs to be built in, as national frontiers are no barriers to broadcast media and public health nutrition needs to ensure that its concerns are heard and addressed.

Research paper thumbnail of Restricting marketing to children: Consensus on policy interventions to address obesity

Journal of Public Health Policy, 2013

e Coalition québécoise sur la problématique du poids, Abstract Obesity presents major challenges ... more e Coalition québécoise sur la problématique du poids, Abstract Obesity presents major challenges for public health and the evidence is strong. Lessons from tobacco control indicate a need for changing the policy and environments to make healthy choices easier and to create more opportunities for children to achieve healthy weights. In April 2011, the Alberta Policy Coalition for Chronic Disease Prevention convened a consensus conference on environmental determinants of obesity such as marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children. We examine the political environment, evidence, issues, and challenges of placing restrictions on marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages within Canada. We recommend a national regulatory system prohibiting commercial marketing of foods and beverages to r

Research paper thumbnail of Assessing the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of adaptive e-Learning to improve dietary behaviour: protocol for a systematic review

BMC Public Health, 2010

Background: Physician prescribing is the most frequent medical intervention with a highest impact... more Background: Physician prescribing is the most frequent medical intervention with a highest impact on healthcare costs and outcomes. Therefore improving and promoting rational drug use is a great interest. We aimed to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of two forms of conducting prescribing audit and feedback interventions and a printed educational material intervention in improving physician prescribing. Method/design: A four-arm randomized trial with economic evaluation will be conducted in Tehran. Three interventions (routine feedback, revised feedback, and printed educational material) and a no intervention control arm will be compared. Physicians working in outpatient practices are randomly allocated to one of the four arms using stratified randomized sampling. The interventions are developed based on a review of literature, physician interviews, current experiences in Iran and with theoretical insights from the Theory of Planned Behavior. Effects of the interventions on improving antibiotics and corticosteroids prescribing will be assessed in regression analyses. Cost data will be assessed from a health care provider's perspective and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios will be calculated.

Research paper thumbnail of Monitoring policy and actions on food environments: rationale and outline of the INFORMAS policy engagement and communication strategies

The International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and... more The International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) proposes to collect performance indicators on food policies, actions and environments related to obesity and non-communicable diseases. This paper reviews existing communications strategies used for performance indicators and proposes the approach to be taken for INFORMAS. Twenty-seven scoring and rating tools were identified in various fields of public health including alcohol, tobacco, physical activity, infant feeding and food environments. These were compared based on the types of indicators used and how they were quantified, scoring methods, presentation and the communication and reporting strategies used. There are several implications of these analyses for INFORMAS: the ratings/benchmarking approach is very commonly used, presumably because it is an effective way to communicate progress and stimulate action, although this has not been formally evaluated; the tools used must be trustworthy, pragmatic and policy-relevant; multiple channels of communication will be needed; communications need to be tailored and targeted to decision-makers; data and methods should be freely accessible. The proposed communications strategy for INFORMAS has been built around these lessons to ensure that INFORMAS's outputs have the greatest chance of being used to improve food environments.

Research paper thumbnail of INFORMAS and advocacy for public health nutrition and obesity prevention

obesity reviews (2013) 14 (Suppl. 1), 150-156

Research paper thumbnail of Television advertising and children: lessons from policy development

Public Health Nutrition, 2006

Aim: To conduct a policy review of the regulations related to food advertising on television aime... more Aim: To conduct a policy review of the regulations related to food advertising on television aimed at children. Design: The study consisted of documentary analysis of relevant legislation and policy documents related to children's advertising from both industry and nongovernmental organisations at a global level and in 20 countries. This was supported with semi-structured telephone interviews with individuals from 11 countries. Results: The initial findings resulted in a listing of regulatory impacts from which we developed a taxonomy of regulatory schemes. There was a tension between the development of legislation to cover this area and the use of voluntary agreements and codes. This tension represents a food industry/civic society split. The food and advertising industries are still engaged in a process of denying the impact of advertising on food choice and children as well as commissioning their own research. Outright bans are unusual, with most countries addressing the situation through voluntary agreements and self-regulation. We found a deep division over the way forward and the role and place of legislation. Policy-makers expressed concerns that national legislation was increasingly less relevant in dealing with broadcast media transmitted from outside national boundaries and therefore not subject to the receiving countries' laws but to the laws of the country from which they were transmitted. Conclusions: The options for the regulation of advertising targeted at children range from (1) a complete ban on advertising as in the case of Sweden, through (2) partial restrictions on advertising by type of food, target group or limits on the amount of advertisements or times shown, to (3) continuation of self-regulation by the advertising and food industries. There is a global dimension to regulation that needs to be built in, as national frontiers are no barriers to broadcast media and public health nutrition needs to ensure that its concerns are heard and addressed.

Research paper thumbnail of Restricting marketing to children: Consensus on policy interventions to address obesity

Journal of Public Health Policy, 2013

e Coalition québécoise sur la problématique du poids, Abstract Obesity presents major challenges ... more e Coalition québécoise sur la problématique du poids, Abstract Obesity presents major challenges for public health and the evidence is strong. Lessons from tobacco control indicate a need for changing the policy and environments to make healthy choices easier and to create more opportunities for children to achieve healthy weights. In April 2011, the Alberta Policy Coalition for Chronic Disease Prevention convened a consensus conference on environmental determinants of obesity such as marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children. We examine the political environment, evidence, issues, and challenges of placing restrictions on marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages within Canada. We recommend a national regulatory system prohibiting commercial marketing of foods and beverages to r

Research paper thumbnail of Assessing the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of adaptive e-Learning to improve dietary behaviour: protocol for a systematic review

BMC Public Health, 2010

Background: Physician prescribing is the most frequent medical intervention with a highest impact... more Background: Physician prescribing is the most frequent medical intervention with a highest impact on healthcare costs and outcomes. Therefore improving and promoting rational drug use is a great interest. We aimed to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of two forms of conducting prescribing audit and feedback interventions and a printed educational material intervention in improving physician prescribing. Method/design: A four-arm randomized trial with economic evaluation will be conducted in Tehran. Three interventions (routine feedback, revised feedback, and printed educational material) and a no intervention control arm will be compared. Physicians working in outpatient practices are randomly allocated to one of the four arms using stratified randomized sampling. The interventions are developed based on a review of literature, physician interviews, current experiences in Iran and with theoretical insights from the Theory of Planned Behavior. Effects of the interventions on improving antibiotics and corticosteroids prescribing will be assessed in regression analyses. Cost data will be assessed from a health care provider's perspective and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios will be calculated.