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Schönweitz FB, Zimmermann BM, Hangel N, Fiske A, McLennan S, Sierawska A, Buyx A. Solidarity and reciprocity during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal qualitative interview study from Germany. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:23. [PMID: 38166737 PMCID: PMC10763370 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-17521-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND While solidarity practices were important in mitigating the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, their limits became evident as the pandemic progressed. Taking a longitudinal approach, this study analyses German residents' changing perceptions of solidarity practices during the COVID-19 pandemic and examines potential reasons for these changes. METHODS Adults living in Germany were interviewed in April 2020 (n = 46), October 2020 (n = 43) and October 2021 (n = 40) as part of the SolPan Research Commons, a large-scale, international, qualitative, longitudinal study uniquely situated in a major global public health crisis. Interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS While solidarity practices were prominently discussed and positively evaluated in April 2020, this initial enthusiasm waned in October 2020 and October 2021. Yet, participants still perceived solidarity as important for managing the pandemic and called for institutionalized forms of solidarity in October 2020 and October 2021. Reasons for these changing perceptions of solidarity included (i) increasing personal and societal costs to act in solidarity, (ii) COVID-19 policies hindering solidarity practices, and (iii) a perceived lack of reciprocity as participants felt that solidarity practices from the state were not matching their individual efforts. CONCLUSIONS Maintaining solidarity contributes to maximizing public health during a pandemic. Institutionalized forms of solidarity to support those most in need contribute to perceived reciprocity among individuals, which might increase their motivation to act in solidarity. Thus, rather than calling for individual solidarity during times of crisis, authorities should consider implementing sustaining solidarity-based social support systems that go beyond immediate crisis management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Franziska B Schönweitz
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, TUM School of Medicine and Health, TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Bettina M Zimmermann
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, TUM School of Medicine and Health, TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
- Institute of Philosophy and Multidisciplinary Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Nora Hangel
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, TUM School of Medicine and Health, TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Leibniz Center for Science and Society (LCSS), Leibniz University of Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Amelia Fiske
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, TUM School of Medicine and Health, TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Stuart McLennan
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, TUM School of Medicine and Health, TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Anna Sierawska
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, TUM School of Medicine and Health, TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Institute for History of Medicine, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Alena Buyx
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Department of Clinical Medicine, TUM School of Medicine and Health, TUM School of Social Sciences and Technology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
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Kieslich K, Fiske A, Gaille M, Galasso I, Geiger S, Hangel N, Horn R, Lanzing M, Libert S, Lievevrouw E, Lucivero F, Marelli L, Prainsack B, Schönweitz F, Sharon T, Spahl W, Van Hoyweghen I, Zimmermann BM. Solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from a nine-country interview study in Europe. MEDICAL HUMANITIES 2023; 49:511-520. [PMID: 37277183 DOI: 10.1136/medhum-2022-012536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Calls for solidarity have been an ubiquitous feature in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we know little about how people have thought of and practised solidarity in their everyday lives since the beginning of the pandemic. What role does solidarity play in people's lives, how does it relate to COVID-19 public health measures and how has it changed in different phases of the pandemic? Situated within the medical humanities at the intersection of philosophy, bioethics, social sciences and policy studies, this article explores how the practice-based understanding of solidarity formulated by Prainsack and Buyx helps shed light on these questions. Drawing on 643 qualitative interviews carried out in two phases (April-May 2020 and October 2020) in nine European countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, German-speaking Switzerland and the UK), the data show that interpersonal acts of solidarity are important, but that they are not sustainable without consistent support at the institutional level. As the pandemic progressed, respondents expressed a longing for more institutionalised forms of solidarity. We argue that the medical humanities have much to gain from directing their attention to individual health issues, and to collective experiences of health or illness. The analysis of experiences through a collective lens such as solidarity offers unique insights to understandings of the individual and the collective. We propose three essential advances for research in the medical humanities that can help uncover collective experiences of disease and health crises: (1) an empirical and practice-oriented approach alongside more normative approaches; (2) the confidence to make recommendations for practice and policymaking and (3) the pursuit of cross-national and multidisciplinary research collaborations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Kieslich
- Centre for the Study of Contemporary Solidarity, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Amelia Fiske
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Marie Gaille
- Institut des sciences humaines et sociales, CNRS, Paris, France
- SPHERE (Sciences, Philosophie, Histoire), CNRS/Université de Paris/Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France
| | - Ilaria Galasso
- College of Business, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Susi Geiger
- College of Business, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Nora Hangel
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Leibniz Center for Science and Society, Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ruth Horn
- Ethox Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Institute for Ethics and History of Health in Society, University of Augsburg, Augsburg, Germany
| | - Marjolein Lanzing
- Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Sébastien Libert
- Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - Elisa Lievevrouw
- Life Sciences & Society Lab, Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Federica Lucivero
- Ethox Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Luca Marelli
- Life Sciences & Society Lab, Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Barbara Prainsack
- Centre for the Study of Contemporary Solidarity, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Franziska Schönweitz
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Tamar Sharon
- Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies and Interdisciplinary Hub for Digitalisation and Society, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Wanda Spahl
- Centre for the Study of Contemporary Solidarity, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ine Van Hoyweghen
- Life Sciences & Society Lab, Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bettina M Zimmermann
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
- Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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Radhuber IM, Haddad C, Kieslich K, Paul KT, Prainsack B, El-Sayed S, Schlogl L, Spahl W, Weiss E. Citizenship in times of crisis: biosocial state-citizen relations during COVID-19 in Austria. BIOSOCIETIES 2023; 19:1-26. [PMID: 37359140 PMCID: PMC10201040 DOI: 10.1057/s41292-023-00304-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Drawing upon 152 in-depth qualitative interviews with residents in Austria carried out in the first year of the pandemic, this article discusses how people's experiences with COVID-19 policies reflect and reshape state-citizen relations. Coinciding with a significant government crisis, the first year of COVID-19 in Austria saw pandemic measures justified with reference to a biological, often medical understanding of health that framed disease prevention in terms of transmission reduction, often with reference to metrics such as hospitalisation rates, etc. Instead of using this biomedical frame, our interviewees, however, drew attention to biopsychosocial dimensions of the crisis and problematised the entanglements between economy and health. We call this the emergence of a biosocial notion of citizenship that is attentive to psychological, social and economic dimensions of health. Insights into the biosocial nature of pandemic citizenship open a window of opportunity for addressing long-standing social injustices.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christian Haddad
- Department of Science and Technology Studies, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Center for Global Health Policy, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | | | - Katharina T. Paul
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Barbara Prainsack
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Seliem El-Sayed
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lukas Schlogl
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Wanda Spahl
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Elias Weiss
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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7
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Zimmermann BM, Wagenaar H, Kieslich K, Prainsack B, Meyers G, Buyx A, El-Sayed S, Fiske A, Galasso I, Geiger S, Hangel N, Horn R, Johnson S, Kuiper JML, Lucivero F, McLennan S, Paul KT, Pot M, Radhuber I, Samuel G, Sharon T, Siffels L, Van Hoyweghen I, Awad S, Bourgeron T, Eichinger J, Gaille M, Haddad C, Hayes S, Hoffman A, Jasser M, Kenens J, Lanzing M, Libert S, Lievevrouw E, Marelli L, Ongolly F, Phillips A, Pinel C, Riesinger K, Roberts S, Saxinger G, Schlogl L, Schönweitz F, Sierawska A, Spahl W, Stendahl E, Vanstreels S, Vidolov S, Weiss E. Democratic research: Setting up a research commons for a qualitative, comparative, longitudinal interview study during the COVID-19 pandemic. SSM. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN HEALTH 2022; 2:100158. [PMID: 36092769 PMCID: PMC9448682 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2022.100158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 04/23/2023]
Abstract
The sudden and dramatic advent of the COVID-19 pandemic led to urgent demands for timely, relevant, yet rigorous research. This paper discusses the origin, design, and execution of the SolPan research commons, a large-scale, international, comparative, qualitative research project that sought to respond to the need for knowledge among researchers and policymakers in times of crisis. The form of organization as a research commons is characterized by an underlying solidaristic attitude of its members and its intrinsic organizational features in which research data and knowledge in the study is shared and jointly owned. As such, the project is peer-governed, rooted in (idealist) social values of academia, and aims at providing tools and benefits for its members. In this paper, we discuss challenges and solutions for qualitative studies that seek to operate as research commons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bettina M Zimmermann
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
- Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 28, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Hendrik Wagenaar
- Institute for Advanced Studies, Josefstädter Straße 39, 1080, Vienna, Austria
| | - Katharina Kieslich
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Barbara Prainsack
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Gert Meyers
- Tilburg Institute for Law Technology and Society, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands
- Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Alena Buyx
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Seliem El-Sayed
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Amelia Fiske
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Ilaria Galasso
- ERC MISFIRES, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Susi Geiger
- University College Dublin Business School, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Nora Hangel
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Ruth Horn
- Ethox Centre and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, OX3 7LF, Oxford, UK
| | - Stephanie Johnson
- Ethox Centre and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, OX3 7LF, Oxford, UK
| | - Janneke M L Kuiper
- Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Federica Lucivero
- Ethox Centre and Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, OX3 7LF, Oxford, UK
| | - Stuart McLennan
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Katharina T Paul
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Mirjam Pot
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Isabella Radhuber
- Research Network Latin America - Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010, Wien, Austria
| | - Gabrielle Samuel
- Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, King's College London, Bush House North East Wing, 30 Aldwych, WC2B 4BG, London, UK
| | - Tamar Sharon
- iHub Department of Philosophical Ethics and Political Philosophy, Radboud University, Erasmusplein 1, 6525, HT Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Lotje Siffels
- iHub Department of Philosophical Ethics and Political Philosophy, Radboud University, Erasmusplein 1, 6525, HT Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Ine Van Hoyweghen
- Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sula Awad
- ERC MISFIRES, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Théo Bourgeron
- School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Chrystal MacMillan Building, 15a George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LD, UK
| | - Johanna Eichinger
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
- Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 28, 4056, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Marie Gaille
- Laboratoire Sphere, Paris Diderot University, 5 Rue Thomas Mann, 75013, Paris, France
| | - Christian Haddad
- Austrian Institute for International Affairs, Währinger Straße 3/12, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Sarah Hayes
- Vienna School of International Studies, Diplomatische Akademie Wien, Favoritenstraße 15A, 1040, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andrew Hoffman
- iHub Department of Philosophical Ethics and Political Philosophy, Radboud University, Erasmusplein 1, 6525, HT Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Marie Jasser
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Joke Kenens
- Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marjolein Lanzing
- iHub Department of Philosophical Ethics and Political Philosophy, Radboud University, Erasmusplein 1, 6525, HT Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Sébastien Libert
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, Maple House, 149 Tottenham Court Rd, Bloomsbury, London, UK
| | - Elisa Lievevrouw
- Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Luca Marelli
- Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan
| | - Fernandos Ongolly
- ERC MISFIRES, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Amicia Phillips
- Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Clémence Pinel
- Department of Public Health Øster Farimagsgade 5, P.O. Box 2099, DK-1014, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Katharina Riesinger
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Stephen Roberts
- Institute for Global Health, University College London, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Gertrude Saxinger
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Lukas Schlogl
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Franziska Schönweitz
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Anna Sierawska
- Institute of History and Ethics in Medicine, School of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Ismaninger Straße 22, 81675, Munich, Germany
| | - Wanda Spahl
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
| | - Emma Stendahl
- Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping University, Gjuterigatan 5, 553 18 Jönköping, Sweden
| | - Siemen Vanstreels
- Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Simeon Vidolov
- ERC MISFIRES, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Elias Weiss
- Department of Political Science, University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
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