Workshop: What is going on? New inequalities emerging from the COVID-19 syndemic (EPH 2021, EuroHealthNet organising and speaking)

11 November 2021, 11.30 – 12.30

Chairperson(s): Mojca Gabrijelčič Blenkus – Slovenia, Isabel Yordi Aguirre – WHO EURO

COVID-19 pandemic interacts with the pandemic of chronic non-communicable diseases and is exacerbated in different social and societal contexts through existing health inequalities – resulting in a syndemic. The socio-economically weakest groups of the population have been most affected (Bambra, 2020, Horton, 2020). In 2020, most activities were focused on controlling the epidemic through a biomedical approach, and only in the second half of the year, with the onset of the second wave, did the understanding that we are dealing with a syndemic, emerge in public health, societal and lately political discourse at the national and EU levels. There is increasing indirect damage to public health due to the loss of jobs and income, the long-term closure of certain activities, difficult access to health systems for those with non-COVID-19 health problems, and general uncertainty about the present and future. Different dimensions of syndemic inequalities (e.g. mental health, cognitive decline, lifestyles, gender, intergenerational) are the main focus of the workshop, including inequalities that were traditionally perceived in public health, as well as new emerging inequalities. In Slovenia we are conducting a study on the impact of the syndemic on people’s lives (SI-PANDA 2020/2021), to (1) better understand human behaviour in COVID-19 pandemic and (2) to identify and address the impact of the governmental decisions, pandemic measures and recommendations.

Find the full abstract for this workshop here. 

Programme

WHO support to Member States: COVID-19 behavioural insights
Katrine Bach Habersaat – Denmark

Mental health problems and COVID-19 – which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Matej Vinko – Slovenia

Effects of covid-19 on cognitive functioning
Voyko Kavcic – United States

Gender issues and revival of inequalities
Ada Hocevar Grom – Slovenia

Intergenerational inequalities in COVID-19
Mojca Gabrijelčič Blenkus – Slovenia

European Public Health Conference 2021 & EuroHealthNet’s involvement