Session 4. Health care systems after the COVID-19 pandemic: sociological perspectives in the public debate

During the 2020s, a wide-ranging debate opened up on the role of sociology in the face of the unfolding of what can be considered the first great world health crisis of the contemporary age. 

In fact, the Covid-19 pandemic has offered a unique opportunity to reflect on this unprecedented public health crisis and reconsider apparently well-established assumptions, such as that of an epidemiological transition by now irreversible from the prevalence of infectious diseases to that of chronic-degenerative diseases in late industrial societies.

Within the sociology of health and medicine, the debate has mainly concerned which themes to address with the idea of developing a specific «pandemic sociology» (Monagan 2020; Pickersgill 2020). In some countries, inspired by Burawoy’s (2005) work, the associations of sociologists of health and medicine   have contributed to policy-making by identifying the shortages of the health care systems and proposing policy measures (in Italy: Vicarelli & Giarelli, 2021). As we know, Burawoy encourage the discipline to engage with issues that are of significant public and political concern: these include debates over public policy, political activism, the purposes of social movements, and the institutions of civil society. 

The purpose of the panel will be to reflect on the specific perspectives adopted by European sociologists of health and medicine about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the health care systems and on their peculiar sociological contribution during the health emergency in Europe to the public debate concerning the resilience of the health care systems.

Keywords: health care systems, Covid-19, public sociology, public policy, sociological perspectives.

Giovanna Vicarelli is full professor of Economic Sociology at the Department of the Social and Economic Studies of the University “Politecnica delle Marche” She was the first Coordinator (2005-2008) of the Section of Sociologia della salute e della medicina  (SSM) of the Associazione italiana di Sociologia (AIS) and she is currently (2020-2023) member of the Board of the Section SSM. She is Director of CRISS, the Centre for Research in Social services and Health care of University Politecnica della Marche, Faculty of Economy and Faculty of Medicine.

Guido Giarelli is full professor of General Sociology at the Department of Health Sciences of the University ‘Magna Graecia’ of Catanzaro. He was - President of the European Society for Health and Medical Sociology (ESHMS) (2006-2010) and Vice-president of the Research Committee 15 (Sociology of Health) of the International Sociological Association (ISA) (2014-2018); he is currently coordinator of the Board of the Research Network 16 (Sociology of Health and Illness) of the European Sociological Association (ESA) and Coordinator of the Section of Sociologia della salute e della medicina of the Associazione Italiana di Sociologia (AIS).