Eric Breton

Eric Breton is a Professor of Health Promotion at the French School of Public Health (EHESP) in Rennes, where he conducts research at the Arènes laboratory (UMR CNRS 6051) and the Research on Health Services and Management team (RSMS: INSERM U1309). Holding a Doctorate in Public Health, he brings extensive international research experience from Canada, Australia, and the UAE to his work on health promotion systems and social determinants of health.

His educational background includes a Master of Arts and Doctorate in Public Health, with professional development through the Santé publique France Chair (2010-2018) and co-authorship of the seminal reference manual Health Promotion: Understanding to Act in the French-speaking World (Presses de l'EHESP, 2017).

Dr. Breton's research focuses on strengthening local health promotion capacities to address upstream social determinants of health inequalities, with expertise in realist evaluation methods and policy analysis. His work examines community health systems, tobacco control advocacy, sugary drink taxation impacts (SODA-TAX project), and intergenerational addiction prevention (PATTERN project), emphasizing intersectoral action and health equity.

His recent publications reveal dominant trends in community-based health promotion evaluation, Health in All Policies implementation, and local health contract mechanisms for reducing social inequalities. Key themes include realist program evaluation frameworks, health equity impact assessment methodologies, and contextual factors influencing policy transfer in public health.

• PATTERN 2 project (2022-2023, €64k): Prevention of intergenerational transmission of addictive behavior through "A Family Affair!" program
• PATTERN project (2020-2021, €98k): Intervention research on addictive behavior transmission
• SODA-TAX project (2019-2023, €164k): Analysis of France's sugary drink tax implementation and effects
• CLoterreS project (2017-2020, €200k): Local health contracts as mechanisms for territorializing regional prevention policies
• National Cancer Institute projects (2017, €29k; 2012-2016, €400k): Reducing social inequalities in cancer prevention

As Educational Manager of EHESP's Population Health Promotion Certificate and coordinator of multiple Master of Public Health modules (including "Health promotion and disease prevention program planning"), Dr. Breton shapes public health education internationally. He contributes to national health governance through the High Council for Public Health (HCSP), serves on the Supervisory Board of Brittany's Regional Health Agency, and was Associate Editor for Health Education & Behavior (2018-2021).

His research operates within the Arènes laboratory (CNRS) and RSMS team (INSERM), focusing on health services organization and policy implementation. He co-organizes the annual Global Community Health Workshop with UNESCO's Chair in Health & Education, fostering international collaboration on community-based health promotion strategies.