The structural vulnerability of healthcare workers during COVID-19: Observations on the social context of risk and the equitable distribution of resources

Social Science & Medicine
Catherine Smith

Abstract

Healthcare workers have emerged as a vulnerable population group during COVID-19, and securing supply chains of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been identified as a critical issue to protect healthcare workers and to prevent health system overwhelm. While securing PPE is a complex logistical challenge facing many countries, it is vital to recognise the social and health systems issues that structure the differential degrees of risk faced by various subgroups of healthcare workers. As an illustrative case study, the author identifies two key social factors that are likely to face the degrees of risk faced by midwives in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, if and when COVID-19 takes hold in Indonesia. Healthcare workers in both high and low resource-settings globally are likely to face particular risks and vulnerabilities that are shaped by localized social and health systems factors. Qualitative social and health systems research can and should be utilized proactively in order to protect healthcare workers, to inform more equitable program design, and to create a foundation for health equity within the future of global health that emerges from the pandemic.

Citations

Feb 9, 2021·International Journal of Nursing Studies·Shan MohammedJane Maciver
Apr 8, 2021·BMC Health Services Research·Jelena Jovičić-BataMladena Lalić-Popović
May 20, 2021·BMJ Open·Catherine M MontgomeryNatalie Pattison
May 19, 2021·American Journal of Industrial Medicine·Daniel CôtéJessica Dubé
Jun 3, 2021·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Abdulrahman H AlqahtaniAbdulmajeed M Mobrad
Nov 18, 2020·Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal : SPJ : the Official Publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society·AlAnoud TofailAhmed RajaAhmed Al-Jedai
Dec 18, 2021·Qualitative Health Research·Mireia YterAndreas Georgiou

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