Healthcare
“Barcelona Coronavirus Covid-19 crisis” by Banc de Sang i Teixits is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Why we selected this topic
We chose healthcare because we felt that it was a very important topic to discuss in the theme of a medical pandemic. The healthcare sector is at the forefront of combatting this virus, with the health and safety of the public being the number one priority in the world right now. There are naturally going to be new advancements and quicker developments of healthcare technologies than before, and we wanted to research and document these developments. What makes these advancements interesting to us is that the topics of healthcare that we are discussing are saving lives and, hopefully, bringing us towards an end to this dreadful pandemic. For example, a couple of us have discussed vaccines, and if a reliable vaccine were to be released to the public, then life would be able to transition back to normal, and we find that to be very exciting.
Why this topic is significant
COVID-19 has arguably had its most direct impact on healthcare. This unprecedented pandemic has exposed flaws and the unpreparedness within healthcare services for a crisis of this magnitude. Hospitals filled up too quickly. There were countrywide shortages of protective equipment, testing was inefficient, and people were locked in their homes. This unfortunately resulted in hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their lives and millions have been infected with the virus. While this fact is certainly hard to swallow, there has surprisingly been a considerable amount of positive change. These new implementations of technology in the healthcare system would not have been possible without the unique conditions the Coronavirus pandemic has brought about. For example, advances in medical technology, telehealth services, and vaccine development would never have previously been considered or implemented as quickly without the pandemic. This highlights the important idea of path dependency and actor network theory. These advances and impacts are a direct result of the coronavirus, a non-human factor and will continue to shape and constrain the future of the healthcare system for a very long time.
How our chapters relate to this larger topic
Each individual chapter in this part of the book explores situations where COVID-19 has affected health care. Though topics are similar enough to be joined under the broad topic of healthcare, each chapter has different focuses. Many of these topics are not closely examined otherwise as they are not often given much thought on a large scale. Topics such as politics and vaccine synthesis, increased use of digital technologies in the healthcare system, and school systems’ altered approach to feeding programs post-COVID-19 are examined. All of these topics fit under the umbrella of healthcare because of their similarities, but they each focus on and go deeper into smaller, more detailed cases. Every one of these topics came about as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and in all cases, health care is affected directly. Overall, subjects focus on the well-being of the general population in order to keep them safe and healthy during this pandemic. Solutions to problems are offered and each topic is thoroughly analyzed in detail in order to demonstrate how the coronavirus pandemic has brought about change in the specified areas.
