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Hinshaw D. Seeing together: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic on understanding evidence. Healthc Manage Forum 2024; 37:173-176. [PMID: 37992273 PMCID: PMC11044506 DOI: 10.1177/08404704231215754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
Conversations about evidence have become much more personal and more divisive over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a metaphor to carefully consider all the different aspects of "seeing" evidence can remind us that assembling a complete picture of information on any topic is necessarily a communal effort, made more robust by actively seeking to learn about and mitigate our blind spots. An approach to evidence that is curious, humble, and seeks relationship and partnership with others can help us see more clearly and completely.
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2
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Greenmyer JR. "Follow the Science" in COVID-19 Policy: A Scoping Review. HEC Forum 2024:10.1007/s10730-024-09521-w. [PMID: 38472729 DOI: 10.1007/s10730-024-09521-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
"Follow the science" was commonly repeated during debates on COVID-19-related policy. The phrase "follow the science" raises questions that are central to our theories of knowledge and the application of scientific knowledge to maximize the wellbeing of our society. The purpose of this study was to (1) perform a scoping review of literature discussing "follow the science" and COVID-19, and (2) consider "follow the science" in the context of pediatric health. A comprehensive search of 14 databases was performed on May 23, 2023. Articles were included if they used terms such as "follow the science", "follow the scientists", "listen to science" or "listen to scientists", and discussed COVID-19. There were 24 articles included in the final review. Existing literature on "follow the science" (1) differentiates between scientific knowledge and policy decisions; (2) emphasizes the importance of social sciences in policy making; (3) calls for more transparency in the knowledge synthesis and policy generating process; and (4) finds that scientific advisors see their role as advising on science rather than policy decision making. There was no definitional, epistemological, or philosophical intellectual defense of "follow the science" in the peer reviewed literature. Policy requires (1) reliable data and (2) agreement on what to do considering those empirical facts by appealing to values, ethics, morality, and law. A review of school shutdowns is used as an example of the inadequacy of "follow the science" as a guiding principle for public policy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob R Greenmyer
- Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 1st St NW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
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3
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Pérez-González S. Evidence of mechanisms in evidence-based policy. STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 2024; 103:95-104. [PMID: 38096675 DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2023.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Evidence-based policy has achieved great relevance in policy-making and social research. Nonetheless, over the past few years, several problematic aspects of this approach have been identified. This paper discusses whether, and to what extent, evidence of mechanisms could contribute to addressing certain difficulties faced by evidence-based policy. I argue that it could play a crucial role in the assessment of the efficacy of interventions, the extrapolation of interventions to target populations, and the identification of side effects. For analysing the potential contribution of evidence of mechanisms, the previous debate on the pluralist approach to evidence-based medicine is taken as reference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saúl Pérez-González
- Department of Philosophy, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibáñez 30, Valencia, 46010, Spain.
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4
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Ohmann C, Moilanen K, Kleemola M, Canham S, Panagiotopoulou M. ECRIN - CESSDA strategies for cross metadata mappings in selected areas between life sciences and social sciences and humanities. OPEN RESEARCH EUROPE 2023; 3:180. [PMID: 37965479 PMCID: PMC10643878 DOI: 10.12688/openreseurope.16284.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023]
Abstract
Background: The recent COVID-19 pandemic dramatically underlined the multi-faceted nature of health research, requiring input from basic biological sciences, pharmaceutical technologies, clinical research), social sciences and public health and social engineering. Systems that could work across different disciplines would therefore seem to be a useful idea to explore. In this study we investigated whether metadata schemas and vocabularies used for discovering scientific studies and resources in the social sciences and humanities and in clinical research are similar enough to allow information from different source disciplines to be easily retrieved and presented together. Methods: As a first step a literature search was performed, exemplarily identifying studies and resources, in which data from social sciences and the humanities have been usefully employed or integrated with that from clinical research and clinical trials. In a second step a comparison of metadata schemas and related resource catalogues in ECRIN (European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network) and CESSDA (Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives) was performed. The focus was on discovery metadata, here defined as the metadata elements used to identify and locate scientific resources. Results: A close view at the metadata schemas of CESSDA and ECRIN and the basic discovery metadata as well as a crosswalk between ECRIN and CESSDA metadata schemas have shown that there is considerable resemblance between them. Conclusions: The resemblance could serve as a promising starting point to implement a common search mechanism for ECRIN and CESSDA metadata. In the paper four different options for how to proceed with implementation issues are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Ohmann
- European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network, 30 Bd Saint-Jacques, Paris, 75014, France
| | - Katja Moilanen
- Finnish Social Science Data Archive, Tampere, 33014, Finland
| | - Mari Kleemola
- Finnish Social Science Data Archive, Tampere, 33014, Finland
| | - Steve Canham
- European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network, 30 Bd Saint-Jacques, Paris, 75014, France
| | - Maria Panagiotopoulou
- European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network, 30 Bd Saint-Jacques, Paris, 75014, France
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Walkowiak MP, Walkowiak D, Walkowiak J. To vaccinate or to isolate? Establishing which intervention leads to measurable mortality reduction during the COVID-19 Delta wave in Poland. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1221964. [PMID: 37744498 PMCID: PMC10513426 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1221964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Background During the Delta variant COVID-19 wave in Poland there were serious regional differences in vaccination rates and discrepancies in the enforcement of pandemic preventive measures, which allowed us to assess the relative effectiveness of the policies implemented. Methods Creating a model that would predict mortality based on vaccination rates among the most vulnerable groups and the timing of the wave peak enabled us to calculate to what extent flattening the curve reduced mortality. Subsequently, a model was created to assess which preventive measures delayed the peak of infection waves. Combining those two models allowed us to estimate the relative effectiveness of those measures. Results Flattening the infection curve worked: according to our model, each week of postponing the peak of the wave reduced excess deaths by 1.79%. Saving a single life during the Delta wave required one of the following: either the vaccination of 57 high-risk people, or 1,258 low-risk people to build herd immunity, or the isolation of 334 infected individuals for a cumulative period of 10.1 years, or finally quarantining 782 contacts for a cumulative period of 19.3 years. Conclusions Except for the most disciplined societies, vaccination of high-risk individuals followed by vaccinating low-risk groups should have been the top priority instead of relying on isolation and quarantine measures which can incur disproportionately higher social costs. Our study demonstrates that even in a country with uniform policies, implementation outcomes varied, highlighting the importance of fine-tuning policies to regional specificity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcin Piotr Walkowiak
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Dariusz Walkowiak
- Department of Organization and Management in Health Care, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Jarosław Walkowiak
- Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland
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Auerbach JD, Forsyth AD, Davey C, Hargreaves JR. Living with COVID-19 and preparing for future pandemics: revisiting lessons from the HIV pandemic. Lancet HIV 2023; 10:e62-e68. [PMID: 36370713 PMCID: PMC9764384 DOI: 10.1016/s2352-3018(22)00301-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 09/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
In April, 2020, just months into the COVID-19 pandemic, an international group of public health researchers published three lessons learned from the HIV pandemic for the response to COVID-19, which were to: anticipate health inequalities, create an enabling environment to support behavioural change, and engage a multidisciplinary effort. We revisit these lessons in light of more than 2 years' experience with the COVID-19 pandemic. With specific examples, we detail how inequalities have played out within and between countries, highlight factors that support or impede the creation of enabling environments, and note ongoing issues with the scarcity of integrated science and health system approaches. We argue that to better apply lessons learned as the COVID-19 pandemic matures and other infectious disease outbreaks emerge, it will be imperative to create dialogue among polarised perspectives, identify shared priorities, and draw on multidisciplinary evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith D Auerbach
- School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | - Calum Davey
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
| | - James R Hargreaves
- Department of Epidemiology and Evaluation, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK
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Bschir K, Lohse S. Pandemics, policy, and pluralism: A Feyerabend-inspired perspective on COVID-19. SYNTHESE 2022; 200:441. [PMID: 36320863 PMCID: PMC9607765 DOI: 10.1007/s11229-022-03923-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
We analyse insufficient epistemic pluralism and associated problems in science-based policy advice during the COVID-19 pandemic drawing on specific arguments in Paul Feyerabend's philosophy. Our goal is twofold: to deepen our understanding of the epistemic shortcomings in science-based policy during the pandemic, and to assess the merits and problems of Feyerabend's arguments for epistemic pluralism as well as their relevance for policy-making. We discuss opportunities and challenges of integrating a plurality of viewpoints from within and outside science into policy advice thus contributing to discussions about normative issues concerning evidence and expertise in policy-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karim Bschir
- University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Simon Lohse
- Institute for Science in Society, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences, Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany
- African Centre for Epistemology and Philosophy of Science, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Pickersgill M, Manda-Taylor L, Niño-Machado N. Pandemic preparedness means policy makers need to work with social scientists. Lancet 2022; 400:547-549. [PMID: 35654080 PMCID: PMC9150864 DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(22)00983-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Martyn Pickersgill
- Usher Institute, Old Medical School, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK.
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Canali S, Leonelli S. Reframing the environment in data-intensive health sciences. STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 2022; 93:203-214. [PMID: 35576883 DOI: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
In this paper, we analyse the relation between the use of environmental data in contemporary health sciences and related conceptualisations and operationalisations of the notion of environment. We consider three case studies that exemplify a different selection of environmental data and mode of data integration in data-intensive epidemiology. We argue that the diversification of data sources, their increase in scale and scope, and the application of novel analytic tools have brought about three significant conceptual shifts. First, we discuss the EXPOsOMICS project, an attempt to integrate genomic and environmental data which suggests a reframing of the boundaries between external and internal environments. Second, we explore the MEDMI platform, whose efforts to combine health, environmental and climate data instantiate a reframing and expansion of environmental exposure. Third, we illustrate how extracting epidemiological insights from extensive social data collected by the CIDACS institute yields innovative attributions of causal power to environmental factors. Identifying these shifts highlights the benefits and opportunities of new environmental data, as well as the challenges that such tools bring to understanding and fostering health. It also emphasises the constraints that data selection and accessibility pose to scientific imagination, including how researchers frame key concepts in health-related research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Canali
- Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering and META - Social Sciences and Humanities for Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy.
| | - Sabina Leonelli
- Department of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology and Exeter Centre for the Study of the Life Sciences (Egenis), University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
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Joubert M, Guenther L, Rademan L. Expert voices in South African mass media during the COVID-19 pandemic. S AFR J SCI 2022. [DOI: 10.17159/sajs.2022/12480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Scientists increasingly recognise that media visibility allows them to gain influence in public and policy spheres. However, some scientists shy away from publicity and journalists are purposefully selective when they seek out experts to interview. This may result in a skewed representation of scientists in the mass media. In this study, we explored which South African scientific experts at the academic rank of ‘professor’ were quoted in the local mass media during the initial 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis of 1164 media articles related to COVID-19 showed that, as far as gender is concerned, men dominated as expert sources, with women accounting for only 30% of quoted professors. In terms of research field, most experts were from the broad field of health and medicine, with an under-representation of social scientists. We reflect on the implications and consequences of a skewed media representation of scientific expertise, as well as some of the options to remedy these imbalances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Joubert
- Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST), Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
| | - Lars Guenther
- Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST), Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Cluster of Excellence on Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CliCCS), University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lili Rademan
- Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST), Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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Garnett E, Balayannis A, Hinchliffe S, Davies T, Gladding T, Nicholson P. The work of waste during COVID-19: logics of public, environmental, and occupational health. CRITICAL PUBLIC HEALTH 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2022.2048632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emma Garnett
- Population Health Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK
| | | | | | - Thom Davies
- Department of Geography, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Toni Gladding
- School of Engineering and Innovation, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
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Kuhlmann S, Franzke J, Dumas BP. Technocratic Decision-Making in Times of Crisis? The Use of Data for Scientific Policy Advice in Germany’s COVID-19 Management. PUBLIC ORGANIZATION REVIEW 2022; 22:269-289. [PMCID: PMC9185129 DOI: 10.1007/s11115-022-00635-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
COVID-19 has demonstrated the importance of data for scientific policy advice. Mechanisms by which data is generated, shared, and ultimately lead to policy responses are crucial for enhancing transparency and legitimacy of decisions. At the same time, the volume, complexity and volatility of data are growing. Against this background, mechanisms, actors, and problems of data-driven scientific policy advice are analysed. The study reveals role conflicts, ambiguities, and tensions in the interaction between scientific advisors and policy-makers. The assumption of a technocratic model, promoted by well-established structures and functioning processes of data-driven government, cannot be confirmed. Reality largely corresponds to the pragmatic model, in parts also the decisionist model, albeit with dysfunctional characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Kuhlmann
- Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Potsdam, August-Bebel-Straße 89, Building 7, 14482 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Jochen Franzke
- Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Potsdam, August-Bebel-Straße 89, Building 7, 14482 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Benoît Paul Dumas
- Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Potsdam, August-Bebel-Straße 89, Building 7, 14482 Potsdam, Germany
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