Early Start, School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522, Australia.
School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Auckland 1072, New Zealand.
Nutrients. 2021 Jan 29;13(2):457. doi: 10.3390/nu13020457.
Mandatory nutrition labelling, introduced in Malaysia in 2003, received a "medium implementation" rating from public health experts when previously benchmarked against international best practices by our group. The rating prompted this qualitative case study to explore barriers and facilitators during the policy process. Methods incorporated semi-structured interviews supplemented with cited documents and historical mapping of local and international directions up to 2017. Case participants held senior positions in the Federal government ( = 6), food industry ( 3) and civil society representations ( = 3). Historical mapping revealed that international directions stimulated policy processes in Malaysia but policy inertia caused implementation gaps. Barriers hindering policy processes included lack of resources, governance complexity, lack of monitoring, technical challenges, policy characteristics linked to costing, lack of sustained efforts in policy advocacy, implementer characteristics and/or industry resistance, including corporate political activities (e.g., lobbying, policy substitution). Facilitators to the policy processes were resource maximization, leadership, stakeholder partnerships or support, policy windows and industry engagement or support. Progressing policy implementation required stronger leadership, resources, inter-ministerial coordination, advocacy partnerships and an accountability monitoring system. This study provides insights for national and global policy entrepreneurs when formulating strategies towards fostering healthy food environments.
强制性营养标签于 2003 年在马来西亚推出，此前我们的研究小组曾根据国际最佳实践对其进行基准测试，结果显示该标签的实施情况为“中等”。这一评级促使我们进行了这项定性案例研究，以探讨政策制定过程中的障碍和促进因素。方法包括半结构化访谈，并辅以引用文件和截至 2017 年的当地和国际方向的历史映射。案例参与者在联邦政府（=6）、食品行业（3）和民间社会代表（=3）中担任高级职务。历史映射显示，国际方向刺激了马来西亚的政策进程，但政策惰性导致了实施差距。阻碍政策进程的障碍包括资源匮乏、治理复杂性、缺乏监测、技术挑战、与成本相关的政策特征、政策倡导方面缺乏持续努力、执行者特征和/或行业抵制，包括企业政治活动（例如游说、政策替代）。政策进程的促进因素包括资源最大化、领导力、利益相关者伙伴关系或支持、政策窗口以及行业参与或支持。要推进政策实施，需要更强有力的领导力、资源、部际协调、宣传伙伴关系以及问责制监测系统。这项研究为国家和全球政策制定者在制定促进健康食品环境的战略时提供了一些见解。
