scholarly journals Implications of the Marginalisation of Social Sciences in the Fight against the Covid 19 Pandemic: A Humanities Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1533-1541
Author(s):  
Tirivangasi Happy Mathew ◽  
Nyahunda Louis ◽  
Thembinkosi E. Mabila ◽  
Shingirai Stanely Mugambiwa

In the history of pandemics that plagued humanity, COVID-19 represents a catastrophic global health crisis. The pandemic has placed a huge burden on health care systems around the globe. Due to its easy transmission from one individual to the other, COVID-19 prevention require large scale behaviour change. Through the recommendations of the WHO, governments across the world have enacted policies of social distancing, national lockdown, wearing face mask, release of inmates from prisons, temporary citizenship to migrants and refugees. In fostering the contingent measures to manage the pandemic between March and December 2020, most governments have consulted epidemiologists, public health experts, virologists among other pure sciences disciplines. However, notably absent, or poorly represented were the insights from social and behavioural scientists. The researchers argue that the absence or marginalisation of social sciences in the battle against the pandemic creates a myriad of gaps among the mechanisms crafted to manage the pandemic. The aim of this paper is to provide the entry points of social scientists in the fight against the pandemic. Through the use of insights of sociology and social work disciplines, the researchers noted that social scientists are involved in behaviour modification, compacting fear and anxiety, promotion of human rights, psychosocial support to vulnerable populations; and understanding the pandemic in the scope of globalisation. In terms of recommendations, we suggest that social workers and sociologists need to depend on the repertoire of their disciplines in order to effect change in different communities during the pandemic and its aftermath.

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 526-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla Bjørnstad ◽  
Gunnar Ellingsen

Integration and interoperability between different information and communication technology (ICT) systems are crucial for efficient treatment and care in hospitals. In this article, we are particularly interested in the daily local work conducted by health-care personnel to maintain integrations. A principal aim of our article is, therefore, to contribute to a sociotechnical understanding of the “data work” that is embedded in the integration of health-care systems. Theoretically, we draw on the concepts of “information infrastructures” and “articulation work,” and we discuss how social status may influence the invisible articulation work. Furthermore, we show how historical decisions and existing systems both nationally and regionally have impacts on the daily work of local actors. Empirically, we have studied the formative stages of a large-scale electronic medication management system project in the Northern Norway Regional Health Authority.


2019 ◽  
Vol 160 (46) ◽  
pp. 1826-1831
Author(s):  
László Rudas ◽  
Endre Zima

Abstract: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) presents a great challenge for the health care systems even in the highly developed countries. For several decades, our greatest efforts have been directed toward the improvement of the prehospital management, including promotion of lay resuscitation and deployment of public access automated defibrillators. Recently, the importance of the hospital phase of the OHCA-management has been also emphasized. Attention has been paid to targeted temperature management and also to early coronary intervention. For those patients who present with ST-elevation on their post-resuscitation ECG, our approach is straightforward: urgent coronary angiography is indicated. The optimal management of those survivors of OHCA who present without ST-elevation is, however, still debated. Although up to 30% of these subjects also suffer from acute occlusive epicardial coronary disease, the clear benefit of urgent coronary angiography for the whole group is yet to be documented. Several large-scale randomized studies are under way to resolve this question. In our present review we detail the above controversies and outline the future directions. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(46): 1826–1831.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Cazap ◽  
Ian Magrath ◽  
T. Peter Kingham ◽  
Ahmed Elzawawy

Noncommunicable diseases are now recognized by the United Nations and WHO as a major public health crisis. Cancer is a main part of this problem, and health care systems are facing a great challenge to improve cancer care, control costs, and increase systems efficiency. The disparity in access to care and outcomes between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries is staggering. The reasons for this disparity include cost, access to care, manpower and training deficits, and a lack of awareness in the lay and medical communities. Diagnosis and treatment play an important role in this complex environment. In different regions and countries of the world, a variety of health care systems are in place, but most of them are fragmented or poorly coordinated. The need to scale up cancer care in the low- and middle-income countries is urgent, and this article reviews many of the structural mechanisms of the problem, describes the current situation, and proposes ways for improvement. The organization of cancer services is also included in the analysis.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman David Goldstuck

The world’s population is approaching 7 billion. As a general rule, the countries with the highest population have the least available healthcare resources, the most notable exception being the United States of America (USA). Most of these countries have an urgent need to reduce their populations. The intrauterine device (IUD) is used by the largest number of contraceptives world-wide and it has a proven record in reducing unwanted pregnancies. Its efficacy rate as a long-acting reversible contraceptive is matched only by subdermal implants which are not as cost effective. Although the rates of pelvic infection are elevated in many countries with low-resource health care systems, we now know that pelvic infection rates are independent of IUD usage. This is therefore no longer a contraindication for using IUDs on a large scale in family planning programs. The technique of IUD insertion as described in most textbooks and journals is unnecessarily complex and based on ritual rather than good clinical evidence. This is particularly interesting in that at a time where we prefer evidence based medicine there are still so many clinical practice sacred cows. This article advocates a simplification of the technique for inserting IUDs. The scientific rationale for simplifying the technique is presented, as well as evidence that it is as safe if not safer than the currently suggested methods, if used for the correct type of IUD acceptors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 04007
Author(s):  
Elmira Gojayeva ◽  
Shahla Huseynova ◽  
Saida Babayeva ◽  
Ulker Sadigova ◽  
Reyhan Azizova

Research background: The research investigates the formation of the intellectual elite; a radical modernization of the education system is necessary with the use of IT technologies and the introduction of innovations created on the basis of scientific achievements. The development of human capital is crucial for the transition from a traditional economy to a knowledge economy. Purpose of the article: The aim of the article is to show how human capital plays a very important role in the country’s economy, the knowledge that is concentrated in it, allows you to develop a knowledge economy - a type of economy based on the use of this capital. The formation of human capital is associated with investment and high-quality modern education. Modernization of higher education is closely related to the use of information and communication technologies and the introduction of innovations. Distance education can be the beginning of a new stage of higher education. Methods: The method of observation, concretization and abstraction, comparative analysis, abstract-logical, economic-statistical, theoretical and practical assessment were used in the study of various aspects of the research. Findings & Value added: Large-scale reforms carried out in the state have led to an improvement in the standard of living of our society, and it has become possible to improve social infrastructure: housing, its construction, social and cultural facilities, health care systems, education, sports and fitness facilities, etc.


Author(s):  
Agya Mahat ◽  
David Citrin ◽  
Hima Bista

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have become increasingly popular models of collaboration in the global health arena to deliver, scale, and evaluate health care services. While many of these initiatives are multicountry, large-scale partnerships, smaller NGOs play increasingly central roles in new forms of privatization. This article draws on our collective experiences working in a PPP between the nongovernmental organization Possible and the Ministry of Health in Nepal to ethnographically examine the fragile and contested nature of these arrangements in the Nepali context, amidst an increasingly privatized health care landscape that is resulting in widespread discontent and distrust throughout the country, as well as financial hardship. We discuss the Possible PPP as one approach that simultaneously seeks to strengthen public-sector health care systems, yet still taps into some of the promises, anxieties, and blind spots – such as the broader social determinants of health – inherent in new forms of public-private global health work.


2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 547-578
Author(s):  
Kyu Won LEE

It was in 1907 when Korea was annexed by Japan in the field of health care systems as the Gwangje Hospital, Uihakgyo the National Medical School and the Korean Red Cross Hospital were merged into the colonial Daehan Hospital, and massive cholera epidemic controls by the Japanese Army were enforced. However, despite their importance, the cholera epidemic of 1907 in Korea and preventive measures taken at that time have not yet been studied extensively as a single research subject. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a more concrete and broader understanding of the Korea-Japan annexation of health care systems under the rule of the Japanese Resident-General of Korea by revealing new facts and correcting existing errors. In 1907, cholera was transmitted to Korea from China and Japan and spread across the Korean Peninsula, resulting in a major public health crisis, perhaps one of the most serious cholera outbreaks in the twentieth century Korea. Although Busan and Pyeongyang were the cities most infected with cholera, the targets for the most intensive interventions were Gyeongseong (Seoul) and Incheon, where the Japanese Crown Prince were supposed to make a visit. The Japanese police commissioner took several anti-cholera preventive measures in Gyeongseong, including searching out patients, disinfecting and blocking infected areas, and isolating the confirmed or suspected. Nevertheless, cholera was about to be rampant especially among Japanese residents. In this situation, Itō Hirobumi, the first Resident-General of Korea, organized the temporary cholera control headquarters to push ahead the visit of the Japanese Crown Prince for his political purposes to colonize Korea. To dispel Emperor Meiji’s concerns, Itō had to appoint Satō Susumu, the famous Japanese Army Surgeon General, as an advisor, since he had much credit at Court. In addition, as the Japanese-led Korean police lacked epidemic control ability and experience, the headquarters became an improvised organization commanded by the Japanese Army in Korea and wielded great influence on the formation of the colonial disease control systems. Its activities were forced, violent, and negligent, and many Korean people were quite uncooperative in some anti-cholera measures. As a result, the Japanese Army in Korea took the initiative away from the Korean police in epidemic controls, serving the heavy-handed military policy of early colonial period. In short, the cholera epidemic and its control in 1907 were important events that shaped the direction of Japan’s colonial rule.


10.2196/19866 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. e19866 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiancheng Ye

At present, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is spreading around the world. It is a critical and important task to take thorough efforts to prevent and control the pandemic. Compared with severe acute respiratory syndrome and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, COVID-19 spreads more rapidly owing to increased globalization, a longer incubation period, and unobvious symptoms. As the coronavirus has the characteristics of strong transmission and weak lethality, and since the large-scale increase of infected people may overwhelm health care systems, efforts are needed to treat critical patients, track and manage the health status of residents, and isolate suspected patients. The application of emerging health technologies and digital practices in health care, such as artificial intelligence, telemedicine or telehealth, mobile health, big data, 5G, and the Internet of Things, have become powerful “weapons” to fight against the pandemic and provide strong support in pandemic prevention and control. Applications and evaluations of all of these technologies, practices, and health delivery services are highlighted in this study.


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