An Uncertain Risk: The World Health Organization's Account of H1N1

Abeysinghe, Sudeepa

doi:10.1017/s0269889714000167

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…We follow this characterization of pandemics, although we realize that the H1N1 situation was different from the H5N1 case before in that it was much more fast‐moving. Due to the complexity, sensitivity and its scale, this pandemic can be characterized as a typical case of complex policy problems because “by definition, potentially pandemic agents such as H1N1 are novel, complex, variable, and ill‐understood… (and) the scientific knowledge produced surrounding pandemic risk therefore tends to be anecdotal (based upon necessarily limited evidence and relatively few initial cases) and theoretically speculative (based on hypothetical models of future spread and pathogenicity)” (Abeysinghe, , 515). This pandemic represents an anticipatory‐conjectural uncertain risk that manifested itself as a crisis.…”

Section: Researching Complex Policy Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Multilevel Regulation of Complex Policy Problems: Uncertainty and the Swine Flu Pandemic

Versluis¹,

Asselt²,

Kim³

2019

European Policy Analysis

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This article aims at understanding the challenges of tackling complex policy problems in multilevel governance. In order to better grasp the multilevel regulation of complex policy problems, it is needed to understand how uncertainty and scientific expertise are dealt with. We investigate this via the regulation of pandemics by the EU and the WHO, with the H1N1 pandemic of 2009 as critical case. The analysis of the multilevel practice reveals that the attitude toward uncertainty fundamentally differed between the global (WHO) and the European level. At the global level a classic speaking truth to power approach involved the denial of uncertainty, while at the EU level the assigned role of providing scientific expertise was interpreted as a necessity to openly communicate about uncertainty. While the global approach was heavily criticized, the uncertainty communication at the European level was much appreciated.

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Section: Researching Complex Policy Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Multilevel Regulation of Complex Policy Problems: Uncertainty and the Swine Flu Pandemic

Versluis¹,

Asselt²,

Kim³

2019

European Policy Analysis

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“…Conditions of risk and uncertainty therefore can problematise the actions of previously trusted institutions. Mistrust can be highlighted or exacerbated by changing accounts of risk, or (perceived) uncertainty around the data that underpins risk assessment (Abeysinghe, 2014). Under such conditions, the authority of institutions -or the relative power of different institutions and actors -can shift.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This case study articulates the changes in medical expertise and practice that occur at the microsociological level under conditions of risk and uncertainty precipitated by disaster. Medical expertise is understood as the professional claim to exclusive knowledge around health, illness and the body (Freidson, 1988;Willis, 1990;Coburn and Willis, 2000), which serves as the basis for medical professional power (Abbott, 1988). Maintaining monopoly over biomedical knowledge is generally described as crucial to enduring professional power (Freidson, 1970), which is underpinned by claims to exclusive expertise around specifically biomedical aspects of disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk, uncertainty and medical practice: changes in the medical professions following disaster

Abeysinghe

Leppold

Ozaki

et al. 2020

Evidence &Amp; Policy

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Risk and uncertainty can destabilise and reconstruct the relationships between medicine, policy and publics. Through semi-structured interviews with medical staff following the Fukushima 3.11 Disaster, this paper demonstrates the way in which disruption (caused by disaster), coupled with uncertainty (in this case, around radiation risk) can serve to transform medical practices. After Fukushima, a deficit in publicly-trusted approaches to disaster management meant that the role and status of key medical professionals was transformed. This reorganisation of medical work included the development of new forms of expertise, the stretching of expertise beyond previously well-defined professional boundaries, and shifts in the way in which medical professionals understand and interact with publics. These changes signified the rise of new relationships between the medical workers and their community, as well as adjustments in what were regarded as the boundaries of medical work. Given both the ubiquitous threat of disasters and calls for increased engagement between the medicine and the public, this case study provides insight into the forms which such engagements can take, especially when bound by conditions of uncertainty. The paper draws upon the theoretical literature around the impact of uncertainty on policy, and combines this with medical sociological literature on the nature of medical expertise. The paper examines the shifting of medical expertise towards mode 2 forms, and evidences the impact of a democratised science of risk on the roles and functions of medical practice.

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“…2 La evidencia científica que se va produciendo mientras transcurre la epidemia resulta también poco concluyente para caracterizar la dimensión del riesgo y de la amenaza sanitaria. Diversos epidemiólogos y la misma Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) han restado importancia, por su ambigüedad y su cambio constante en el transcurso de un brote, a la tasa de mortalidad, que en los medios de comunicación suele ser considerado un parámetro de la amenaza y el riesgo de la enfermedad (Abeysinghe, 2014). Además, en el caso de la COVID-19, la metodología para calcular esta estadística varía de forma sustancial entre los diferentes países debido a diversos factores: la tasa de ancianos que se han contagiado, si la metodología de conteo de muertos distingue o no que la persona fallecida tuviera una enfermedad crónica antes de contagiarse, la calidad y la infraestructura del sistema de salud, así como el que el sistema de salud esté o no desbordado durante el pico de la epidemia.…”

Section: Nuestra Nueva Normalidad: La Incertidumbre Y El Riesgounclassified

Escudriñando la razón: naturaleza y propósitos de la ciencia

Guillé

2020

LiminaR

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En este artículo se reflexiona sobre la urgencia de adoptar una concepción más compleja de la naturaleza del conocimiento científico y su proceso de construcción que transite de los supuestos de objetividad, neutralidad y universalidad hacia una interpretación que la asuma como un fenómeno socialmente configurado, parcial, incierto y complejo. Complejizar y cuestionar la ciencia ampliará las posibilidades de otorgar a la ciudadanía mayor participación en la producción y comunicación de la ciencia y de establecer un diálogo de saberes que rescate la validez de otras epistemologías alternas al conocimiento científico. A partir de una ciencia dispuesta a escuchar mejor desde la humildad y el respeto se podrá aprender a convivir con la incertidumbre y a diseñar estrategias que permitan afrontar sus riesgos y modificar su curso.

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An Uncertain Risk: The World Health Organization's Account of H1N1

Cited by 16 publications

References 43 publications

The Multilevel Regulation of Complex Policy Problems: Uncertainty and the Swine Flu Pandemic

The Multilevel Regulation of Complex Policy Problems: Uncertainty and the Swine Flu Pandemic

Risk, uncertainty and medical practice: changes in the medical professions following disaster

Escudriñando la razón: naturaleza y propósitos de la ciencia

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