Social Inequality and Health

The Health Inequalities and the Social Structure of Therapies and Pharmacy Practice in an Aging Society: A Research in Umbria. In our post-modern society every patient becomes a medical product consumer, but some of them need a "particular" assistance. Taking as its starting point the 'irrational passion for dispassionate rationality', so prevalent in Western thought and practice, this paper traces, through the emotions, current debates surrounding the ambivalent nature of modernity as both order and chaos, conformity and transgression. Reason and emotions are not, it is argued, antithetical to one another, rather there is a need to fundamentally rethink existing epistemological models and ontological ways of being and knowing. Thus, Pharmacy practice in the "Aging Society" should take under consideration the aspects of aging that transcend physical and biological changes, addressing practical concerns such as communication, understanding cultural values, and social issues with regard to the possible health inequalities among elderly.

Vulnerability during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an emotional state that affects all of us globally. The Italian experience shows that our general practitioners (GPs) seem to have a higher rate of death due to COVID-19 infection than other physicians. This article discusses clinical ethics questions related to the vulnerability of GPs and the community during the pandemic in Italy: the total lack of, or the inadequate protection of personal protective equipment, the increased use of virtual medicine, and the value of a solid synergy between hospitals and territorial systems. We provide a few examples of experiences in other affected countries and populations (Indigenous communities in Brazil, Australia and Germany). In conclusion, we offer some reflections on the crucial role of communication in dealing with vulnerability issues during this COVID-19 pandemic period.

Academic rigour, journalistic flair COVID-19 is an unprecedented doom loop between a severe health crisis and grave economic repercussions. Government interventions to handle the outbreak and its aftermath first stopped public life in its tracks and then entirely reshaped it. This has left us in a kind of "new normal", in which social interactions and labour conditions will probably never be the same again. An experimental research study suggests that when people are thinking about the health crisis, they express less trust in politicians and political institutions such as the

In the last few years sociologists have frequently used the concept of vulnerability to define the precarious circumstances affecting an evergrowing number of individuals and families, whose causes lie beyond those traditionally dealt with by the welfare systems through proven intervention practices. The social positions that used to be taken for granted are now undermined by the financial crisis, which means that events once considered natural (the birth of a child, an illness, the aging process) may suddenly lead to the poverty threshold; besides, the complex issues affecting today's families often find them unprepared or lacking the necessary resources (competence, know-how, time, money) to manage their new situation. Vulnerability can be regarded as a direct consequence of the onset of the so-called risk society. As it is well-known, several contemporary sociologists see risk as a typical feature of our time: each action or decision presents some form of hazard; the number of factors to be considered when trying to forecast events and make them risk-free is apparently infinite.

The aim of this study is to present a management approach to transforming the deficiencies in crisis management during the pandemic period
into a strong facet of businesses. In this research, phenomenology and grounded theory were adopted. The results of the study revealed five basic
principles in the form of quantum management of hospital management: Infinity of possibilities, resilience to waves of uncertainty and making
sense, the complementarity of diversity and complexity, significance of chaos and crisis, interactive outputs. These basic principles are under the
influence of three basic factors based on medical, administrative, sharing-interaction.

In times of pandemic, health literacy (HL) is very important, as it helps to find, understand, and use essential health information and services. According to WHO, HL is pivotal in fighting infodemic effectively, and education is a vital tool for developing it. In the presented work, we analyze 247 educational materials dedicated to children, adolescents, and their carers explaining the pandemic, prepared by the Chinese, American, German, Italian and Polish governments and international non-governmental organizations. Focusing on the textual and visual side of the documents, we investigated how the pandemic is explained and what discursive measures were used to inform young citizens about the risks and consequences of pandemic restrictions. Additionally, we verified whether the materials helped developing critical thinking, which is crucial to prevent spreading fake news and conspiracy theories. Although the analyzed materials were prepared in different cultural contexts, we identif...

This paper investigates the biological, socioeconomic , and institutional factors shaping the individual risk of death during a major pre-industrial epidemic. We use a micro-demographic database for an Italian city (Carmagnola) during the 1630 plague to explore in detail the survival dynamics of the population admitted to the isolation hospital (lazzaretto). We develop a theoretical model of admissions to the lazzaretto, for better interpretation of the observational data. We explore how age and sex shaped the individual risk of death, and we provide a one-of-a-kind study of the impact of socioeconomic status. We report an inversion of the normal mortality gradient by status for those interned at the lazzaretto. The rich enjoyed a greater ability to make decisions about their hospitalization, but this backfired. Instead, the poor sent to the lazzaretto faced a relatively low risk of death because they enjoyed better conditions than they would have experienced outside the hospital.

Being a mother and a transnational researcher amid Covid-19 crisis This short article reflects on my experience as a transnational researcher during the early months of the Covid-19 outbreak (January-April 2020). I utilize the sociological approach of Institutional Ethnography to analyse and discuss what I observed from my standpoint and to draw some conclusions about the possibilities and impossibilities of the Covid-19 pandemic for mothers who are transnational researchers. Before presenting and discussing my observations, I briefly explain the definition of transnational researcher that I utilize and the Institutional Ethnography approach. The literature about the topic of transnational researchers is scant, and it does not fit the specific situation that I shall analyse. I propose to define a transnational researcher as a social actor whose work, personal and family life are framed by different institutions, like states, funding agencies and universities, in different countries at the same time. In connection to my personal experience, these institutions have been the governments (including governmental agencies like health agencies and primary schools) of four different countries (Belgium, Italy, Spain and the UK) where I conducted my fieldwork, the universities that hosted my project and its fieldwork, and the European Commission, which funded my grant. Having been born and lived in Italy until August 2019, in September 2019, to start my research project funded by a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (author's name), I migrated to Belgium, where the host institution of my project is located, and took up residence there with my 8-year-old son. While the Covid-19 crisis was beginning (January-April 2020), I was with my son in Edinburgh (UK) for a phase of my research project. For the analysis I present here, I utilized the approach of Institutional Ethnography (IE) developed by Smith (Smith 2005; 2006) and reformulated by Campbell and Gregor (2002) and McCoy (2008). IE is an empirical investigation of the linkages among local settings of everyday life, organizations, and the translocal processes of administration and governance. The notion of 'institution' does not refer to a type of organization, but rather to clusters of text-mediated relations organized around particular ruling functions, for instance, education or healthcare. IE investigates a defined section of the social world from the standpoint of the organization of the work of individuals, and it concentrates on their concrete experience. IE's commitment is to identify problems of everyday life and the ruling relations, and it focuses on the disjunctures between individuals' experience and the ruling perspective of the institutions. With the term 'ruling relations', Smith (1999) denotes a complex field of coordination and control of people's local experience. In this article, I reflect on the disjunctures between the different versions of reality (my experiential perspective versus the ruling perspectives of the various institutions that framed my experience at different stages) from my standpoint as an international researcher, a woman and a single mother. My analysis is based on entries from my diary, articles and videos from the mass media, posts on social media (by academic and personal contacts), and institutional texts (e.g., regulations, policies). From my standpoint-as a transnational researcher, a woman and a single mother-I could observe how the ruling relations of the following countries affected the organization of my work and personal life when the Covid-19 crisis emerged: 1) Italy, where my parents live and where one

This article arises from the urgent need to reflect on the current situation resulting from the dramatic consequences of a crisis which appears to be epochal and which, as sociologists, questions us at first hand. This is to understand the socio-cultural, economic and technological processes that triggered it and to attempt to imagine future scenarios. At the dawn of the third millennium, it seems as if the juggernaut of modernity, with its dream of unlimited progress and cargo of unconditional trust in instrumental rationality, has abruptly slowed down. The pandemic challenges contemporary society to develop a different weltanschauung, alternative to the performative and conformist idea of social planification supported by the neoliberal paradigm. It compels us to finally acquire the consciousness that the complexity of knowledge and global interdependency require collective awareness, political participation, and shared responsibility.

Background: Healthcare systems around the globe are facing challenges, from increasing demand and costs to a diminishing health workforce. Without change, healthcare will become unsustainable. In the Netherlands, the government aims to organize sustainable healthcare by among others the policy 'the right care in the right place'. An important part of this policy is relocating healthcare, for instance, from the hospital to the general practitioner (GP) or from the GP to other healthcare providers or to citizens themselves. Relocation of care is expected to reduce costs and manpower shortages. There is, however, little known about how citizens think about this topic, although they are an important stakeholder. This research aims to investigate citizens' perspectives on the right place for care. Methods: A questionnaire was sent in December 2021 to 1.500 members of Nivel's Dutch Healthcare Consumer Panel, including 4 questions about the right care in the right place. The response was N = 796 (53%). In addition, two citizen platforms were organized in March 2022, to discuss the right care in the right place. A total of 23 citizens participated. Results: First results indicate that most citizens related expertise and accessibility to the right care in the right place. Participants said that non-complex care could be relocated from the hospital to the GP if the GP has the right expertise. Expertise was mentioned as the most important aspect of care delivery. According to participants, care could be shifted from the GP to other primary care professionals, to social services or to selfsustainability, given that citizens know who to visit or what to do with health problems/worries. More results will be available by November. Conclusions: Relocating care could be a possible solution to keep healthcare sustainable in the future in terms of costs and manpower. Among citizens, there seems to be support when certain conditions are met. Key messages: Citizens support the substitution of non-complex care from hospitals. Citizens are willing to improve self-sustainability when they have the tools.

considers health inequalities (HI) an important area of activity. As the scientific and technical body of the Ministry of Health and the National Health Service, ISS may play a key role to reduce HI. In order to enable ISS in addressing the new and crucial HI challenge, a Research Positioning Exercise was designed and implemented. Methods: The Exercise included: (i) workshop to strengthen the institutional interest in the field of HI; (ii) review and analysis of ISS publications (years 2000-2017) to identify HI research topics; (iii) survey among ISS researchers regarding main research challenges to address HI in the coming years; and (iv) analysis of input on research challenges from HI international experts. Results: The results of this Exercise suggest that the following points should be included in the future ISS agenda planning: (i) themes which ISS should continue working on (e.g. migrants/vulnerable groups); (ii) themes to be improved: (a) relationship between social determinants and mechanism of HI generation and (b) relationship between risk factors exposure and social determinants; and (iii) new themes to be addressed: (a) mechanisms underlying the resilience observed in Italy; (b) new socioeconomic indicators for HI monitoring; and (c) evidencebased policies aimed at reducing HI. Conclusion: Findings of this Exercise show that ISS researchers identified relevant areas, addressing inequalities in addressing the health. Because of ISS structural peculiarity that includes multidisciplinary expertise, the ISS could provide a significant contribution to HI research challenges and knowledge gaps.

considers health inequalities (HI) an important area of activity. As the scientific and technical body of the Ministry of Health and the National Health Service, ISS may play a key role to reduce HI. In order to enable ISS in addressing the new and crucial HI challenge, a Research Positioning Exercise was designed and implemented. Methods: The Exercise included: (i) workshop to strengthen the institutional interest in the field of HI; (ii) review and analysis of ISS publications (years 2000-2017) to identify HI research topics; (iii) survey among ISS researchers regarding main research challenges to address HI in the coming years; and (iv) analysis of input on research challenges from HI international experts. Results: The results of this Exercise suggest that the following points should be included in the future ISS agenda planning: (i) themes which ISS should continue working on (e.g. migrants/vulnerable groups); (ii) themes to be improved: (a) relationship between social determinants and mechanism of HI generation and (b) relationship between risk factors exposure and social determinants; and (iii) new themes to be addressed: (a) mechanisms underlying the resilience observed in Italy; (b) new socioeconomic indicators for HI monitoring; and (c) evidencebased policies aimed at reducing HI. Conclusion: Findings of this Exercise show that ISS researchers identified relevant areas, addressing inequalities in addressing the health. Because of ISS structural peculiarity that includes multidisciplinary expertise, the ISS could provide a significant contribution to HI research challenges and knowledge gaps.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rapid transformation of the health care system to cope with the risk of contamination and of developing a severe form of the infection. Although it is an international crisis, strategies have been decided nationally. In France, priority was given to hospital reorganization, especially intensive care units. Reorganization of primary health and mental health services took place with late and inadequate national guidelines or coordination. For mental health services, lack of visibility on the crisis impact on mental health, and difficulties in defining their place in the overall health strategy appeared as the main challenges to overcome. These rapid transformations impacted the whole organization of community mental health care. Any strategies developed must ensure that every person enjoys the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Using a systemic approach, it has been necessary to identify both status and risk factors of communities...

Issue Early epidemiology established higher risk of morbidity & mortality amongst infected older individuals or those having specific chronic diseases, consuming most hospital care. Also where demand exceeding supply of healthcare, mortality was very high. As an island nation with one central main hospital, not overwhelming the healthcare system whilst avoiding total lockdown was key. Description On the 27-03-2020, the Superintendent of Public Health enacted the Protection of Vulnerable Persons Order, specifying that these categories (or subcategories thereof) of persons are to be granted vulnerable status: age >65; pregnant; persons suffering from diabetes; immunosuppressed; cancer; end stage renal failure; respiratory disease; cardiac disease; heart failure. Such persons were entitled to stay at home, to be granted special leave from work, entitled to a monthly allowance by social services. One could go out only to attend to essential or urgent personal matters, e.g. groceries,...

En este trabajo se analiza si el autorreconocimiento étnico es un determinante sobre la satisfacción laboral de los trabajadores de la ciudad de Santiago de Cali, también se evalúa la incidencia de otras variables demográficas y las características del empleo. Se estiman un modelo logit ordenado y un probit ordenado a partir de la Encuesta de Empleo y Calidad de Vida –EECV– para el Municipio de Santiago de Cali, realizada por el Ministerio de Trabajo y la Alcaldía de Santiago de Cali, en el periodo Noviembre 2012 a Enero 2013. Los resultados muestran que considerarse afrodescendiente no incide significativamente sobre sentirse o no satisfecho con el empleo, sin embargo, cuando se evalúa la variable raza de manera conjunta (incluyendo todos los grupos étnicos) esta variable influye en la satisfacción laboral. Igualmente, se evidencia que factores como la edad, el estrato, el estado civil, el medio de transporte para ir al trabajo y la calidad del empleo son determinantes en el nivel ...

This paper focuses on the experiences of home care for elderly people collected during the first phase
of the pandemic in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The Italian response to the virus has been fragmented so far, due to differences
in the way the healthcare system is managed, according to regions and the regulations of individual local
healthcare units. Emilia-Romagna is one of the wealthiest areas in terms of its welfare system and is associated with
a long-standing tradition of a community-care approach targeted to the prevention of chronic health diseases. The
pandemic also posed threats to regions such as Emilia-Romagna causing the interruption of semi-residential care
services, community-based health programmes and support services to home care. The text uses daily-life fragments
to show how a small, interconnected group dealt with family care for elderly people. By showing how the
pandemic met with pre-existent fieldwork relationships, the article discusses the relationship between chronic diseases,
forced isolation, and care activities. This text o>ers a broad understanding of the family care system, which
includes also the care provided by home-care workers. The text shows how community acts of care and reciprocity
played an important role in filling the gap le? by institutions and public care services. The pandemic just worsened
the already existing social inequalities in care, which cannot be masked by the rhetoric on active aging and family
care. These ideas need a serious engagement with structural reforms and cannot be completely le? to individual
capacities or informal acts of communitarian values and reciprocity

Background Severe overcrowding of emergency departments (EDs) impacts the quality of healthcare. One factor of this overcrowding is precariousness, but it has rarely been considered a key factor in designing interventions to improve ED care. Health mediation (HM) aims to facilitate access to rights, prevention, and care for the most vulnerable persons and to raise awareness among healthcare providers about obstacles in accessing healthcare. We here present the results of an ancillary qualitative study to explore the prospects regarding a health mediation intervention implemented in EDs for deprived persons who are frequent ED users, from professionals' and patients' perspectives. Methods Design, data collection, and data analysis were done according to a psychosocial approach, based on thematic content analysis and semi-structured interviews of 16 frequent ED users and deprived patients exposed to HM and of 14 professionals in 4 EDs of Southeastern France. Results All patients reported multifactorial distress. Most of them expressed experiencing isolation and powerlessness, and lacking personal resources to cope with healthcare. They mentioned the use of ED as a way of quickly meeting a professional to respond to their suffering, and recognized the trustworthy alliance with health mediators (HMrs) as a means to put them back in a healthcare pathway. The presence of HMrs in EDs was appreciated by ED professionals because HMrs responded to requests they were not able to access and were perceived as an efficient support for caring for deprived persons in emergency contexts. Conclusions Our results are in favour of health mediation in EDs as a promising solution, requested by patients and ED professionals, to cope with frequent ED users and deprived patients. Our results could also be used to adapt other strategies for the most vulnerable populations to reduce the frequency of ED readmissions. At the interface of the patients' health experience and the medico-social sector, HM could complete the immediate responses to medical needs given in EDs and contribute in alleviating the social inequalities of health.

By focusing on Chinese migrants and their descendants living in the Village Residence, located in a multiethnic neighborhood north of Paris, this chapter examines collective actions (distribution of masks and Chinese medicines, food delivery for people who are infected) by the Chinese residents to respond to the pandemic, marked by many kinds of inequality in terms of access to health care. Previous tensions between
Chinese and non-Chinese residents that predated the pandemic (related to the danger of racist attacks on Chinese people and previous struggles against urban violence) were resurrected and exacerbated by the health crisis. During the pandemic, new security borders were erected around the Chinese population and against non-Chinese populations. The border of protection became ethnically defined and protected the Chinese among themselves. At this housing development, Covid-19 was widely perceived as a disease of the “others.” Chinese residents are both subject to this racialization of the disease and participants in the dynamic by redefining distances and borders with neighbors of non-Chinese origin, in the name of safety and protection from Covid-19. Through this example, authors show the two consequences of community safekeeping: on the one hand, in a health emergency, especially early in the pandemic, before medical solutions to the coronavirus were developed, by practicing testing, tracing, and isolation, the community provided its members with vital medical and paramedical resources and support networks; on the other hand, the community spirit led to the exclusion of those who were perceived as foreign and potentially threatening to that community.

BackgroundDuring the COVID‐19 pandemic, the first UK lockdown (March to May 2020) witnessed a dramatic reduction in children presenting to primary/emergency care, creating concern that fear of the virus was resulting in children presenting late.MethodsAn online survey was co‐developed with UK parents to understand the impact of the lockdown on parents' help‐seeking for, and care of, their sick/injured child(ren). The survey was advertised through social media and snowballing to parents whose children had been ill/injured during the lockdown. Analysis used descriptive statistics, SPSSv25 and thematic analysis.ResultsThe survey was fully completed by 198 UK parents. The majority asked for help (144/198): from their family doctor (78), national helplines (48) or an Emergency Department (23). Most reported that their decision‐making had not changed, although how they sought help had changed. A few parents reported that the severity and duration of illness had increased because of un...

The Covid 19 health crisis rose the level of unease in the global market, bringing about a need for national systems which favour the development model, capable of giving centrality to the system with notions of inclusion and human development. Italy, having been categorised as one of the countries with the highest mortality rates as a direct result of Covid 19, provides us with the context in which we can identity how the capacity for resilience and economic development increasingly depend on the adoption of effective policies and tools which pursue these notions of inclusion and quality, and how the response to crisis often falls hand in hand with the strengthening of health prevention and territorial social networks. Through the analysis of data across the Italian regions, we find that a connection exists between environmental risk and health risk; with the greater spread of Covid 19 being found in the most industrialized areas, which only highlights the importance of adopting a development model that promotes the environmental turnaround of the economy while, at the same time, strengthening the functionality of social ties. This article addresses the issues of how, through aggravated discomfort, the crisis has made some of the ongoing phenomena even more apparent, with the introduction of social pathologies and increasing risk of inequality. Italy, despite its difficulties, offers interesting social and welfare network systems characterised by eco-sustainable productions, which can be strengthened through measures supported by European programs for the purpose of recovery and resilience.

Results: In total, 253 documents were identified. Following removal of duplicates and screening, 98 documents were included in the analysis. Most documents were published in the first three months of the pandemic (March-May 2020). A key theme related to medication prescribing and supply, with changes implemented to ensure continued access to medicines. In both NI and RoI, significant changes were made to emergency supply arrangements (e.g. increase in allowable duration of supply at the request of patients). In RoI, legislative changes were made to recognise Healthmail as the national electronic prescription transfer system and to temporarily extend prescription validity. In NI, many community pharmacy services (e.g. Minor Ailments Service, Medicines Use Review) were 'stood down' during initial months of the pandemic. Much of the communication in NI and RoI related to operational changes to ensure business continuity. In both jurisdictions a temporary register of pharmacists was introduced to allow previously registered pharmacists to contribute to the health service response. Additionally, in NI, General Dental Practitioners were redeployed to assist with community pharmacy response. Other areas of focus across both jurisdictions included infection control within a workplace setting, dealing with situations where staff were affected by COVID-19, and the use of personal protective equipment during pharmacy service provision. Conclusion: This study examined changes in community pharmacy practice across two jurisdictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst our searches were limited to publicly accessible documents only, the overlap in identified changes reflects the similarities in challenges faced by community pharmacists in adapting and responding to COVID-19. The crosscountry comparison may help pharmacists and policy-makers to identify optimal approaches for responding to any future public health crises.

This qualitative, pilot and exploratory study 1 is part of an ongoing research project conducted by Società Italiana di Sociologia della Salute, (Italian Society of Health Sociology, hereinafter SISS) 2 including academic and professional Italian health sociologists. The Literature on interprofessionalism/managerialism and the various roles of these health professions as "boundary spanners", gate-keepers and mediators, is still lacking in relation to the Italian Healthcare System (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, hereinafter SSN) and its prolonged poli-crisis, from the point of view of Italian Health Sociologists employed within the SSN. In particular, in Italian Literature, empirical study does not exist on the representations and perceptions of interprofessionalism within this field. The aim of this qualitative essay is to present a counterpoint in the form of an explorative pilot study focused on a group of 17 Italian Professional Health Sociologists working in Mental Health and Addiction departments in the SSN. Here we consider the Professional Italian SSN Sociologist as an agent of change in the SSN transformation plan, and as a vehicle for interprofessionality.

EAHMH 2023 Book of abstracts traces the links between environmental history, the history of technology, and the outsized role that the global healthcare sector now plays in contributing to climate change and plastic waste. Greene the recent crisis of COVID-waste as a window into the broader infrastructure of engineered wastefulness in modern medicine and its differential effects across rich and poor nations on a global scale, and rich and poor neighborhoods on more local scales. Only through historical analysis, he argues, can we work to unseat medical waste as a natural category and reconsider it as the outcome of a set of value decisions we have made in the past, and can change in the future.

This study aims to inform policymakers and society in general about issues related to access to health care through the Internet, and to generate a data-driven debate on the subject. The focus of the study is Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries, and two questions were investigated in countries with more than 120,000 inhabitants: A) What is the country’s legal status regarding telemedicine? If the practice is regulated, who has access to it?; B) Does the country allow buying medicines online? Under what circumstances?

Use of digital healthcare among people living with disabilities The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of digital healthcare solutions that can offer many benefits to all sections of the population, but for some key target groups, such as those with disabilities, there is significant potential for its use in making everyday life easier. In our survey, we examined whether there is a difference in the use of digital health solutions between disabled and the non-disabled people. Using a telephone survey, we inquired about the use of digital health solutions in a nationally representative sample of the Hungarian adult population (n = 1500). As part of the sample, we also obtained information of the characteristics of people with severe disabilities (n = 74) and those with mild disabilities (n = 198). Severely disabled people use the internet half as much as non-disabled people (41.9% vs. 86.6%). However, severely disabled Internet users are more likely to use it on a daily basis for health purposes. Disabled people use websites and scientific literature search sites to a lesser extent than non-disabled people, but are more likely to use medical and healthcare professional interfaces. Digital technologies (such as emailing, electronic sharing of findings, online appointments) are less common in interactions with physicians, although they find physicians more positive about patients' use of the Internet. Although the spread of digital technologies would undoubtedly be useful for people with disabilities, they are still significantly lagging behind those without disabilities, so it would be worthwhile to focus on this target group for both health policy makers and technology developers.

All authors are social scientists and members of the CoMeSCoV research project (Confinement et mesures sanitaires visant à limiter la transmission du Covid 19. Expériences sociales en temps de pandémie en France, en Italie et aux Etats-Unis » (2020-2022

Can artificial intelligence (AI) be a sustainable way to help solving the Covid-19 global problem? What does the way how welfare states, charity organizations and labour markets are dealing with the pandemic crisis tells us about the AI capacity for reducing exposition of underprivileged groups to the desease? It is becoming more and more visible how the new coronavirus pandemic is affecting specifically the most deprived and vulnerable groups, and also the big difference that welfare states and their policies make. What did the pandemic show about the relations between social inequality, welfare state provision and AI? This presentation will discuss the role of AI as a tool for public policies fighting inequalities that were amplified during the Covid-19 crisis. It will be analysed how the welfare state, the labour market and social communities are already incorporating AI tools and how this can eventually produce more resilient paths. Accelareted and amplified by the Covid-19, sev...

This article arises from the urgent need to reflect on the current situation resulting from the dramatic consequences of a crisis which appears to be epochal and which, as sociologists, questions us at first hand. This is to understand the socio-cultural, economic and technological processes that triggered it and to attempt to imagine future scenarios. At the dawn of the third millennium, it seems as if the juggernaut of modernity, with its dream of unlimited progress and cargo of unconditional trust in instrumental rationality, has abruptly slowed down. The pandemic challenges contemporary society to develop a differentweltanschauung, alternative to the performative and conformist idea of social planification supported by the neoliberal paradigm. It compels us to finally acquire the consciousness that the complexity of knowledge and global interdependency require collective awareness, political participation, and shared responsibility.

None declared Conflict of interest: None declared Background: International patient services in community pharmacies are becoming increasingly common. The growing number of immigrants, as well as the developing trend of medical tourism, make it necessary to provide these people with access to healthcare services, including pharmaceutical services in generally accessible pharmacies. Serving non-Polish-speaking patients, however, requires both fluent specialist knowledge of a foreign language and interpersonal skills. These skills can greatly influence the proper use of medications by patients. This study aimed to investigate the reported challenges for Polish community pharmacists in the provision of services to immigrants and non-Polish-speakers in 2018. Material/Methods: The study included 98 pharmacists and pharmaceutical technicians from community pharmacies in Poland. The research tool was a questionnaire sent to pharmacy staff in cooperation with pharmacy councils in 2018. Results: Analysis of the data gathered using a 5-point Likert scale showed that the participants rated the preparedness for international patient services in pharmacies as medium (mean 2.76±1.33). The mean foreign language knowledge score was 2.99±1.29. The participants indicated a low possibility of acquiring these language skills (mean 2.53±0.91), and emphasized that patients from abroad rarely asked about the use of the medications (mean=2.20±1.06). Conclusions: This study showed that in 2018, pharmacy staff in Poland did not feel adequately prepared to provide comprehensive pharmacy services for immigrants and non-Polish-speakers, with concerns of non-compliance with medications due to poor communication.

This paper, based on filedwork in Delhi, reflects on the strain on the city’s medical infrastructure as it faces an emerging COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the more localized threat of dengue continued to persist. The pandemic has brought every concern presented in the thesis into a direr light. Much of this fieldwork occurred under the shadow of a projected pandemic that eventually became a reality. During the initial phase of my fieldwork, public health officials would always shrug off the possibility of ever prioritizing a global pandemic over local public health concerns such as dengue. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, managed to do just that. The chapter explores how Corona highlighted the existing loopholes in Delhi’s public health system and managed to reshape local concerns and anxieties. The chapter argues that even an emergent moment like a pandemic must be put in conversation with the past to comprehend it fully. It will also reflect on the importance of locally situated ethnographies in times of global pandemics.

In times of pandemic, health literacy (HL) is very important, as it helps to find, understand, and use essential health information and services. According to WHO, HL is pivotal in fighting infodemic effectively, and education is a vital tool for developing it. In the presented work, we analyze 247 educational materials dedicated to children, adolescents, and their carers explaining the pandemic, prepared by the Chinese, American, German, Italian and Polish governments and international non-governmental organizations. Focusing on the textual and visual side of the documents, we investigated how the pandemic is explained and what discursive measures were used to inform young citizens about the risks and consequences of pandemic restrictions. Additionally, we verified whether the materials helped developing critical thinking, which is crucial to prevent spreading fake news and conspiracy theories. Although the analyzed materials were prepared in different cultural contexts, we identif...

base and the research directed in recent years at the CST-DiathesisLab1 and the collection of sources and data relating to the pandemic period. Experience gained from living in the Italian epicenter of contagion made it possible to assemble a reliable chart of the spread of COVID-19 (Casti et al., 2021). These sources were supplemented by targeted bibliographic and documentary studies on the epidemic at the national level and a collection of statistical data at both national and regional levels. Interviews and direct field observation were conducted to complete the analysis. It should be emphasized that the results of the COVID-19 research made it possible to identify a number of socio-territorial factors – defined as local fragilities – that brought to light the anisotropy of territories and the impact of Lombardy’s spatial layout on the spread of the virus. Lombardy is marked by a mobile and urbanized living environment, in a historical context of polycentric and rhizomatic urban stratification, which facilitated viral spread. COVID-19 severity was found in conjunction with other factors such as high air pollution rates and serious deficiencies of the territorial health system, unprepared to deal with the emergency. Direct experience of the pandemic between February and May 2020 enabled our team to gain a clearer understanding of the reaction of inhabitants and the local media coverage of outbreaks.
The second phase of analysis was based on the implementation of 7 semi-structured online interviews with representatives from public and private entities throughout the areas where contagion intensity was highest. Among these were also delegates from sectors which were found to impact contagion more severely: namely the sectors of mobility and of health. Such interviews supplied crucial data to our cognitive framework for charting the policies implemented and the recommendations. Table 1 shows the parties involved in this survey. The list includes the most relevant public authorities – related to health, mobility, private enterprise, and public administration – at regional (NUTS2), and local (LAU2) levels. In addition to the mayors of the municipalities of Bergamo and Clusone (Seriana Valley) and the directors of two hospital departments in Milan and Bergamo, private sector stakeholders were interviewed, more specifically the Fassi Group, one of the key players in the Seriana Valley, and the TEB S.p.A. and ATB Mobilità S.p.A, which represent the public transport sector in Bergamo and Lombardy.

This research aims to identify the health information systems used in the Ministry of Higher Education hospitals,  by studying the experience of  Al-Mouwasat  University Hospital in transferring and adopting this technology and using it in generalizing to the rest of the Syrian hospitals. It also aims to analyze the actual reality of hospital readiness and its impact on the efficiency of health information systems and on the medical and administrative fields of business and decisions. The research includes a theoretical study of the concept of health information systems, and the concept of electronic health practical study of the reality of health information systems in the hospital, through which data were collected, statistically analyzed, and hypotheses tested.The search gives a number recommendations:-Importance of preparing strategic  plans for  developing health information systems.-Interesting  in continuous  training  and  qualification  of employees, and  the  need to support the informatics department with specialized technical staff.-Applying the unified electronic health record for the patient nationwide

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the first UK lockdown (March to May 2020) witnessed a dramatic reduction in children presenting to primary/emergency care, creating concern that fear of the virus was resulting in children presenting late. Methods: An online survey was co-developed with UK parents to understand the impact of the lockdown on parents' help-seeking for, and care of, their sick/injured child(ren). The survey was advertised through social media and snowballing to parents whose children had been ill/injured during the lockdown. Analysis used descriptive statistics, SPSSv25 and thematic analysis. Results: The survey was fully completed by 198 UK parents. The majority asked for help (144/198): from their family doctor (78), national helplines (48) or an Emergency Department (23). Most reported that their decision-making had not changed, although how they sought help had changed. A few parents reported that the severity and duration of illness had increased because of uncertainty about and/or difficulty accessing services. Parents did not always report seeking help for symptoms rated red or amber by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Parents reported accessing information through the internet or using information that they already had. Parent Contribution: This was a collaboration with parents from survey development to dissemination, with two parents being integral members of our research team. Conclusions: Our questionnaire was completed by parents who were not deterred from seeking help for their sick or injured children. Even for these parents, the lockdown changes to services created uncertainty about, and barriers to, accessing medical help for their children. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Can artificial intelligence (AI) be a sustainable way to help solving the Covid-19 global problem? What does the way how welfare states, charity organizations and labour markets are dealing with the pandemic crisis tells us about the AI capacity for reducing exposition of underprivileged groups to the desease? It is becoming more and more visible how the new coronavirus pandemic is affecting specifically the most deprived and vulnerable groups, and also the big difference that welfare states and their policies make. What did the pandemic show about the relations between social inequality, welfare state provision and AI? This presentation will discuss the role of AI as a tool for public policies fighting inequalities that were amplified during the Covid-19 crisis. It will be analysed how the welfare state, the labour market and social communities are already incorporating AI tools and how this can eventually produce more resilient paths. Accelareted and amplified by the Covid-19, sev...

Countries deciding on deconfinement measures after initial lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic often include the continued confinement of those most vulnerable to the disease in these plans as a matter of course. Such continued confinement, however, is neither innocuous nor obviously justified. In this paper, we examine more systematically the requirements for the protection of vulnerable persons, the situation in institutions, legal implications, requirements to sustain vulnerable persons, and self-determination. Based on this exploration, we recommend that continued confinement cannot be the only measure in place to protect vulnerable persons. Protections are needed to enable participation in the public sphere and the exercise of rights for persons particularly vulnerable to fatal courses of COVID-19. The situation in long-term care homes warrants particular caution and in some cases immediate mitigation of lock-down measures that have isolated residents from their caregivers, advocates, and proxies. Vulnerable persons should retain the choice to place themselves at risk, as long as they do not impose risks on others. Vulnerable persons who choose to remain in confinement should be protected against loss of their jobs or income, and against the risk of discrimination in the labor market. Risk and crisis communication stresses the importance of listening to the people and setting up participatory approaches. Associations and lobbies representing the views of groups of those particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 (e.g., the elderly, those with diseases placing them at particular risk) should be consulted and involved in outlining deconfinement measures. Moreover, most vulnerable persons are autonomous and competent and should be allowed to voice their own opinion.

Troponin elevation after coronary angioplasty is a prognostic marker associated with significant morbidity and mortality, although its prevalence varies according to clinical and procedural characteristics. We analyzed the frequency of post-procedural enzyme elevation among 112 elective interventions between 2013 and 2014 in a private hospital in Brazil. Troponin increase was observed in 62.5% of the procedures, and was related to age, female sex, low pre-procedural hemoglobin, prior angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker use and multivessel angioplasty. PCI is not a risk free procedure and these results underscore the importance of a careful clinical assessment before its utilization.

In March 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted education nationwide. To safely deliver in-person classes, Purdue University contracted One-to-One Health, creating the Protect Purdue Health Center (PPHC). The PPHC was a central location for information, testing, and case management for Purdue students, staff, faculty and their dependents. Contact tracing is a proven public health measure that has been utilized to control the spread of infectious diseases by identifying and isolating potential active cases. The communicative nature of contact tracing, along with its need for clinical decision-making skills makes the student pharmacist an ideal candidate for aiding in this pandemic response. In an effort to support the PPHC in navigating the necessary protocols to keep Purdue open, operating, and safe, the College of Pharmacy formed Experiences in Public Health, a service-learning course which enrolled ten student pharmacists. The students served as contact tracers, partic...

The questions addressed in the book revolve around the public nature of health as an asset and the rights associated with it, by drawing attention to sociology's role in shedding light on current dynamics and understanding how they may change in the future. In the field of public health, significant empirical evidence points not only to the outcomes, clinical and otherwise, that extensive information can produce but also to the urgent need to rethink the far from straightforward relationship between having this information and the ability to put it to effective use in tackling the problems it relates to. The book is intended for a broad audience of university researchers and students, particularly those involved in upper-level sociology and social policy programs. It will also be of interest to healthcare and social work policy-makers and practitioners who wish to gain a more detailed grasp of the dynamics of healthcare in order to approach its processes critically and improve their outcomes.