Paper: The spatiotemporal distribution of human pathogens in ancient Eurasia

 Abstract

Infectious diseases have had devastating effects on human populations throughout history, but important questions about their origins and past dynamics remain1. To create an archaeogenetic-based spatiotemporal map of human pathogens, we screened shotgun-sequencing data from 1,313 ancient humans covering 37,000 years of Eurasian history. We demonstrate the widespread presence of ancient bacterial, viral and parasite DNA, identifying 5,486 individual hits against 492 species from 136 genera. Among those hits, 3,384 involve known human pathogens2, many of which had not previously been identified in ancient human remains. Grouping the ancient microbial species according to their likely reservoir and type of transmission, we find that most groups are identified throughout the entire sampling period. Zoonotic pathogens are only detected from around 6,500 years ago, peaking roughly 5,000 years ago, coinciding with the widespread domestication of livestock3. Our findings provide direct evidence that this lifestyle change resulted in an increased infectious disease burden. They also indicate that the spread of these pathogens increased substantially during subsequent millennia, coinciding with the pastoralist migrations from the Eurasian Steppe4,5.

Sikora, M., Canteri, E., Fernandez-Guerra, A. et al. The spatiotemporal distribution of human pathogens in ancient Eurasia. Nature 643, 1011–1019 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09192-8

My source: Carl Zimmer. What has ailed us over time, The New York Times International Edition, July 30th 2025. p.12.

Southern Sudan Medical Journal: Vol 15 No 3

Dear reader,

The August issue is online here. See details below.
 
SSMJ is now included in the EBSCO scientific research collection. Our articles are also listed in  African Journals Online (AJOL) and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) as well as on our website.
 
Questions:
Could you contribute to SSMJ by:

• Sending items for future issues: e.g., research, case studies, news, photos, and/or letters?
• Helping to edit or peer review articles?
• Suggesting topics relevant to health professionals in South Sudan?
• Sharing SSMJ with colleagues and sending us their feedback?

Write to us at southsudanmedicaljournal@gmail.com
 
Thanks to everyone who supports SSMJ - authors, editors, and especially our peer reviewers.

In this issue

EDITORIAL

• Eye care in South Sudan Kenneth Lado Lino Sube

 
RESEARCH ARTICLES

• Prevalence of glaucoma among patients attending Buluk Eye Centre, Juba, South Sudan: a one-year study Kenneth Lado Sube et al
• Social demographic determinants of male participation in antenatal care in Nyamagana District, Tanzania Sarah M. Chamos, Alen Kinyina, and Harrieth Mtae
• Prevalence of HIV among pregnant mothers receiving antenatal care at Kator Primary Health Care Centre, Juba, South Sudan Kon Paul Alier et al
• A survey of tonsillectomy care patterns in Tanzania Daudi Ntunaguzi et al
• Musculoskeletal disorders among patients during a one-day outreach at Juba Military Hospital Mapuor M.M. Areu et al

 
MAIN ARTICLE

• How to use experience to improve teaching practice Rich Bregazzi

 
CASE REPORT

• Lower back musculoskeletal hydatid cyst: a rare presentation in a South Sudanese patient Lodu Swokiri N Kuju et al

SHORT COMMUNICATIONS

• “How-to” Teaching Videos–inspired by work in South Sudan Deborah Van Dyke
• Role of the community pharmacy in the control of pandemics in South Sudan Oliver Batista Ugoro
• Profile of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Al-Sabbah Children’s Hospital, Juba, South Sudan Amanda Billy Berto Madison

OBITUARY: Dr Frederick Khamis Tawad
BACK COVER: WHO: Recovering from Monkeypox at home
 

The SSMJ team
Email: southsudanmedicaljournal@gmail.com
Website: http://www.southsudanmedicaljournal.com
Follow us on Twitter@SSMedJournal and Facebook

WHO: Infodemic Management News Flash Thursday 4 November 2021 #25

Individual
|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ------------------------------------------ mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

Group

My source: EPI-WIN maillist: From the website ...

 

 

Feature art

"Infodemic managers understand the potential for misinformation to grow rapidly and cause harm. There is evidence of rumours spreading quickly and impacting poorly on public health, public trust and vaccine acceptance. Yet every piece of viral misinformation starts small, as seen in the third frame above. At this stage, the little piece of misinformation looks innocent enough, all alone and quite innocuous. It probably doesn't have lots of social media interactions attached to it, it probably isn’t being shared very much.

Narrator: Friends, that little piece of misinformation had big plans

The image highlights why identifying information voids and emerging information hazards before they go viral is so important. If we can use the tools we have to listen to emerging concerns and questions and proactively identify information voids in conversations, we may be able to intervene early by filling in that conversation space in the third frame with high quality information before that piece of misinformation progresses to frame four. At WHO we are working with our partners on some useful tools for managing the COVID-19 infodemic. Keep an eye on the News Flash for more information."

Image credit: Man Martin/Manoverboard

I could instantly relate the image to the domains of Hodges' model as above.

The Times: Education Commission

"An education commission is being set up by The Times that could lead to radical change across schools and universities.

It brings together experts including senior MPs, head teachers, academics, vice-chancellors and a children’s author who will work on the year-long project that is expected to inform government policy. They say school closures during the pandemic and the resulting surge in online learning have provided the perfect opportunity for an overhaul of the system to be considered."

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group

Lifelong Learning (Attitude (cognitive access)) Knowledge & Skills (Purpose of education) Critical thinking, Problem Solving, Reflection	Curriculum New Technology (Anticipating AI & Robotic Process Automation) Lifelong Learning (Physical access, Technology Enhanced Learning)
Lifelong Learning Social mobility (Social access) Exclusions Social skills How many forms of 'literacy'? Team work / Collaboration Challenge social gender stereotypes	Lifelong Learning (Policy, Economic access) Government policy - Work creation University entrants - nos. Exams? Curriculum 21st Century Qualifications Still the 'Two Cultures'?

My source:

Woolcock, N. (2021) Push to give children a better start, The Times, March 24, p.4; The pandemic has exposed weaknesses in education, leading article, p. 27.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-times-education-commission-children-better-start-lockdown-5bvf2bhwm

TEDxNHS #1 – Why teaching a man how to fish won’t solve food poverty

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group

Friedrich	1845
Engels  “social murder ...	... meeting too early a death."

My source:

Friedrich Engels described “social murder” in 1845 as meeting too early a death. We have reached the widened inequality tipping point & life expectancy in the UK is falling. Are we ok with food banks? complicit to social murder? Join us tonight @TEDxNHS to examine solutions. pic.twitter.com/a4ivC0LKoy

— Jemma Gilbert 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ (she/her) (@Jemima_G) March 23, 2021

https://www.tedxnhs.com/tedxnhs-unlocked/

ERCIM News No. 124 Special Theme: "PANDEMIC - Modelling & Simulation"

Dear ERCIM News reader,

ERCIM NEWS

ERCIM News No. 124 has just been published at https://ercim-news.ercim.eu/ The Special Theme of this issue focuses on research surrounding the current epidemic emergency. The contributions address actions to understand and counteract the spread of the virus. This special theme has been coordinated by our guest editors Salvatore Rinzivillo (ISTI-CNR), Joakim Sundnes (SIMULA) and Karin Rainer (AGES).

In the section "Research and Society" some of our institutes describe how they are meeting the challenges of COVID-19.

Thank you for your interest in ERCIM News. Feel free to forward this message to anyone who might be interested.

Next issue:
No. 125,  April 2021
Special Theme: "Brain-Inspired Computing"

Announcements in this issue:

---

Call for Proposals: Dagstuhl Seminars and Perspectives Workshops
Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik is accepting proposals for scientific seminars/workshops in all areas of computer science, in particular also in connection with other fields. https://www.dagstuhl.de/dsproposal

---

SAFECOMP 2021
York, UK, 7-10 September 2021
Call for Papers and Workshop Proposals

---

The GATEKEEPER 1st Open Call
600,000€ available for AI and Big Data Applications, tools or components

---

-- 
Peter Kunz                      	
ERCIM Office

Action Brief: WHO COVID-19 Health Services Learning Hub (HLH)

 Online call for submissions

Thank you for your interest in contributing to an action brief for the WHO COVID-19 Health Services Learning Hub (HLH). Please find below an overview of the HLH and further information on how to submit your action brief. If you have further questions, please contact us at hlh AT who.int.

Overview

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have requested urgent support from WHO to maintain their health services whilst mounting their pandemic response.
 
The WHO COVID19: Health Services Learning Hub is a dynamic new web-based platform that will allow the critical sharing of experiences and learning from innovative practices to inform the collective global response in real time. This will include action briefs on promising examples of innovation to maintain essential health services, synthesis briefs on key emerging learning needs, dynamic learning labs to solve common challenges and a ‘one stop shop’ for up to date information from WHO and partners.

 

The learning hub will be based on WHO’s Operational guidance for maintaining essential health services during an outbreak, which provides a set of targeted actions countries should take at national, regional, and local levels to reorganize and maintain access to essential quality health services for all.  

The immediate focus of the learning hub will be on maintaining essential health services during the outbreak. In the medium to longer term the hub will focus on health service recovery in the post-acute phase of the pandemic and health services strengthening in the post-pandemic phase.

Action Briefs ... continued

 

Thanks to Jagoda - HLH 

 

Covid-19 survey: our selfcare and its effects

 Tell us about your experience during the Covid-19 pandemic!

Twelve universities in countries across the globe have come together to find out what works – and what doesn’t work – to prevent and treat Covid-19. This research is funded by the National Institute of Health Research in the UK and Antenna Foundation in Switzerland. We have no funding or links with private companies.

We need to learn from your experience!

We are interested in replies from people from all ages, whether you are at low risk or high risk from Covid-19, and whether or not you have had symptoms of Covid-19. Whatever age you are, whether or not you have any long-standing health problem, please complete the questionnaire.

What have you done to prevent yourself from catching Covid-19? Has it worked?

If you became ill, what did you do? Did it work? Whether you have used conventional medication, alternative medicines, herbs, vitamins, special diet, sports activity or no treatment, we are interested in your experience.

For more details and to take part ... 

 

See also (from the survey website link above):

United Kingdom

University of Southampton webpage about the survey.

Switzerland (French-speaking)

Écouter l'interview de Dr. Bertrand Graz au sujet de l'enquête dans l'émission Drôle d'été (RTS, 9 juillet 2020).

Lire l'article publié dans la Revue Médical Suisse.

La fédération des consommateurs de Suisse romande a relayé l'enquête.

L'émission 36.9 a relayé l'enquête sur Facebook (RTS, 13 septembre 2020).

Invitation to participate in Round 2 of the global survey of maternal and newborn health providers during COVID-19

ENGLISH

Subject line: ...

Dear colleague

Thank you for participating in the first round of the research study on the response to COVID-19 among maternal and newborn health providers. Your responses and those of nearly 2,000 others have contributed to a better understanding of how maternal and newborn care is affected by the pandemic. We summarised and published the first findings here.

As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we need to keep tracking and responding to the needs of health professionals, and women and their families. At this time, we would like to invite you to answer the second round of this survey available here in 11 languages. It takes 15 to 30 minutes to complete.

Additionally, we would appreciate it if you could distribute this email and survey link to your colleagues (in your facility, community, country, professional association etc.), who are welcome to respond to this survey, whether they participated in the previous round or not.

We thank you for the care you provide to women, babies and their families in these difficult times. Please feel free to get in touch with the research team at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp Belgium should you have any questions or suggestions. This study was approved by an ethics committee, and is led by Dr. Lenka Benova (lbenova AT itg.be).

With our very best wishes and many thanks

The COVID-19 maternity survey team


FRENCH

Sujet: Invitation à participer au deuxième volet de l'étude sur la réponse au COVID-19 au sein des prestataires de soins de santé maternels et néonataux.

Chères et chers collègues,

J’espère que vous vous portez bien. Nous vous remercions chaleureusement pour votre participation dans le premier volet de l'étude sur la réponse au COVID-19 au sein des prestataires de soins de santé maternels et néonataux. Vos réponses et celles de près de 2,000 autres prestataires ont contribué à une meilleure compréhension de la façon dont les soins maternels et néonatals sont affectés par la pandémie. Nous avons résumé et publié les résultats préliminaires ici.

À mesure que la pandémie de COVID-19 évolue, nous devons continuer à suivre et répondre aux besoins des prestataires de santé, des femmes et de leurs familles. Pour le moment, nous vous invitons à répondre au deuxième volet de cette enquête disponible en 11 langues ici. L’enquête en ligne prend environ 15 à 30 minutes à compléter.

De plus, nous vous remercions de bien vouloir distribuer ce message, ainsi que le lien du questionnaire, à vos collègues (dans votre hôpital, communauté, pays, association de professionnels etc.), qui sont invités à répondre à ce questionnaire, qu'ils aient participé ou non au volet précédent.

Nous vous remercions pour les soins que vous apportez aux femmes, aux nouveaux-nés et leurs familles dans ces moments difficiles.

Vous pouvez à tout moment prendre contact avec l’équipe de recherche de l’Institut de Médecine Tropicale d’Anvers (Belgique) si vous deviez avoir des questions ou des suggestions à propos de l’enquête. Cette étude a été approuvée par un comité d’éthique et est dirigée par Dr. Lenka Benova (lbenova AT itg.be).

Nous vous remercions d’avance pour votre aide précieuse,

L’équipe d’enquête COVID-19 -maternité.


PORTUGUESE

Subject line: Convite para participar da segunda rodada da pesquisa global com profissionais de saúde materna e neonatal durante o COVID-19

Caro colega

Obrigado pela sua participação na primeira ronda da pesquisa sobre a resposta ao COVID-19 entre os profissionais de saúde materna e neonatal. As suas respostas e as de outras quase 2.000 pessoas contribuíram para uma melhor compreensão de como os cuidados maternos e de recém-nascidos estão sendo afectados pela pandemia. Resumimos e publicamos os primeiros resultados aqui.

À medida que a pandemia do COVID-19 evolui, precisamos de manter o acompanhamento da situação e responder às necessidades dos profissionais de saúde e das mulheres e suas famílias. Neste momento, gostaríamos de convidá-lo para participar na segunda ronda desta pesquisa disponível aqui em 11 idiomas. Demora entre 15 à 30 minutos para responder o questionário.

A equipa da pesquisa agradeceria o seu apoio em distribuir este e-mail e o link da pesquisa para seus colegas (na sua Unidade de Saúde, comunidade, País, Associação Profissional etc.), que possam responder a esta pesquisa, independentemente de terem participado da ronda anterior ou não.

Agradecemos pelos cuidados de saúde prestado às mulheres, bebês e suas famílias nestes tempos difíceis. Caso tenha alguma dúvida ou sugestão, sinta-se à vontade para entrar em contacto com a equipe da pesquisa liderado pelo Instituto de Medicina Tropical em Antuérpia na Bélgica. Este estudo foi aprovado por um comitê de ética e é liderado pela Dra. Lenka Benova (lbenova AT itg.be).
Com os nossos melhores votos e muito obrigado

A equipe de pesquisa de COVID-19 e maternidade


SPANISH

Asunto: Invitación a participar en la segunda ronda de la encuesta mundial de proveedores de salud materna y neonatal durante COVID-19

Querido(a) colega

Les agradecemos su participación en la primera ronda del estudio de investigación sobre la respuesta a COVID-19 entre los proveedores de salud materna y neonatal. Sus respuestas y las de 2000 personas más han contribuido a una mejor comprensión de cómo la pandemia afecta la atención materna y neonatal. Hemos resumido y publicado los siguientes primeros hallazgos.

A medida que evoluciona la pandemia de COVID-19, debemos seguir respondiendo a las necesidades de los profesionales de la salud, las mujeres y sus familias. En este momento, nos gustaría invitarle a responder a la segunda ronda de esta encuesta, disponible aquí en 11 idiomas. Estimamos que necesitará de 15 a 30 minutos para completar la encuesta.

Además, le agradeceríamos que pudiera distribuir este correo electrónico y el enlace de la encuesta a sus colegas (en sus unidades de servicio, comunidad, país, asociación profesional, etc.), a quienes pudiesen responder a esta encuesta, ya sea que hayan participado en la ronda anterior o no.

Agradecemos la atención que brindan a las mujeres, los bebés y sus familias en estos tiempos difíciles. Si tiene alguna pregunta o sugerencia, no dude en ponerse en contacto con el equipo de investigación del Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Amberes, Bélgica.

Este estudio dirigido por la Dra. Lenka Benova (lbenova AT itg.be) ha sido aprobado por un Comité de Etica.

Muchas gracias,

El equipo de encuesta de maternidad COVID-19

1st WHO Infodemiology Conference - Online

My source: HIFA

We are excited for the WHO Infodemiology pre-conference webinar line up on Monday!

There are over 3500 people registered from 151 countries and territories!

We have arranged for the webinar to be interpreted into French and Spanish.

If you have friends and networks that would be interested in infodemic management and speak Spanish or French, please invite them! They can still register here:

https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2020/06/29/default-calendar/pre-conference-1st-who-infodemiology-conference

If zoom room reaches capacity, we have prepared an alternate way that you will be able to watch as you connect. Everyone will be available to participate in the *meeting via Slido* ask questions, discuss, and participate in polls.

*The promotional materials, programme and speaker bios will be available* in the event booklet on the public google drive for the event:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/170OrpJG89r4aPmKNE4L5iquIDMxOS4_p?usp=sharing

*The fun starts on Monday, 29 June, at 13:00 Geneva time sharp!*

Kindest regards,

Tina, Lis, Margaux, Stefano, Jianfang and Tim
---
Tina D. Purnat

Temporarily also supporting the WHO COVID-19 infodemic response pillar, see
www.who.int/epi-win

Technical Officer, Digital Health Technologies
Department of Digital Health & Innovation
Science Division | World Health Organization | Avenue Appia 20, 1202
Geneva, Switzerland

Banner: WHO/Sam Bradd
 

Mirror 4: 'Health Career' = life chances

individual

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group - population

Zhang Hui, Just Like in the Mirror 2, 2018. Oil on canvas, 120.5 x 80 cm.	...

Meditations in an Emergency
May 21–August 30, 2020
UCCA

My source:

Dally, J. (2020) The art world gets back to business. Life&Arts, FTWeekend, 23-24 May, p.11.

Image source:
https://www.e-flux.com/announcements/329368/meditations-in-an-emergency/

The meaning of "Care Package"

individual

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humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group - population

"I return to my hotel room in central Wuhan to find a package from the local government waiting for me. They have sent foreign journalists two large bottles of hand sanitiser, 20 masks and a 55-page comic book dedicated to sanitation. In one cartoon, a grinning bottle of ethyl alcohol reminds readers to wipe down their phones up to four times a day. But the main item in the care package is a hastily bound white booklet with a cover that reads simply: The Chinese Way. ... But the omissions in the document are often more telling than the official timeline itself. The Chinese Way makes no mention of Dr Li Wenliang, the national hero of the epidemic. On December 30, Li raised an early alarm when his hospital in Wuhan began seeing patients with a Sars-like strain of pneumonia."

Art in Wuhan depicting Dr Li Wenliang, who raised an early alarm about the coronavirus outbreak and later died of the disease © Don Weinland

Don Weinland (2020) Inside Wuhan: China’s struggle to control the virus — and the narrative, FT Weekend - Magazine, 25-26 April, pp.12-19.

https://www.ft.com/content/61ec68d8-8432-11ea-b872-8db45d5f6714

Image source: ft.com

Forgotten Rationales ... ?

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group - population

"One of the earliest attempts to systematically classify disease began with John Graunt’s mid-seventeenth-century examination of London’s Bills of Mortality (1939[1662]). London’s series of bubonic plague outbreaks in the first half of the seventeenth century served as the backdrop for Graunt’s statistical analysis. His primary objective was to develop a more comprehensive picture of London’s mortality in order to construct a disease-incident baseline from which to better understand the effects of plague, which tended to overshadow other causes of death. Essential to these objectives were the broader concerns for creating "population profiles through a study of causes of death" (Alter and Carmichael 1999, 121), which Graunt accomplished by estimating London’s population through a geographical analysis, allowing him to calculate crude mortality rates." p.96.

UK coronavirus: care providers allege Covid-19 death toll underestimated Care operators warn coronavirus may  already be in more than 50% of nursing homes (Robert Booth and Rowena Mason, Wed 15 Apr 2020 07.09 BST. The Guardian)

"Sydenham designed his nosology with the needs of the physician rather than those of the statistician in mind. Accordingly, Sydenham and Graunt produced different classification systems based on the distinct purposes for which they were intended. This distinction (clinical vs. demographic) played a more significant role in the nineteenth century, foreshadowing some of the tensions and cross-purposes that informed the development of modern classification systems. As Alter and Carmichael (1999, 121) note: 'The problematic relationship between causes of morbidity and causes of mortality thus presented an ideological barrier between the concerns of physicians and the interests of statisticians. ...one group were lumpers, the other splitters.'" p.97.

Beemer, Jeffrey Keith, "Social Meanings of Mortality: The Language of Death and Disease in 19th Century Massachusetts" (2011). Open Access Dissertations. 428.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/428

Q. Is the state of social care and the applicable policy and legislation under which it operates an example of an 'inverted ring-fence'? Discuss & debate, justifying key policy and legislation as you see it and the implications amid the COVID-19 crisis and future (health and social care) policy.
https://twitter.com/h2cm/status/1250405469929328647?s=20

Remember(?) also:
Forgotten Streams ...  

World Health Day

"The pandemic is a portal.
We can walk through it with our dead ideas.
Or we can walk lightly,
ready to imagine another world."
Arundhati Roy

The pandemic represents five portals:

SOCIAL
SPIRITUAL
POLITICAL
INTRA- INTERPERSONAL
SCIENCES

On our respective journeys, 

we can reflect and think critically 

using the disciplinary-bridges provided to us:

socio-political
psycho-social
physico-political
psycho-political
socio-economic

socio-technical

bio-ethical

...

and through 
love, teamwork and perseverance
we see that ...

"Discipline is the bridge between
goals and accomplishment."
Jim Rohn.


individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group - population

https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1247547729879891968?s=20

State of the World’s Nursing Report - 2020

Roy, A. (2020) The pandemic portal, Life&Arts, FT Weekend, 4-5 April, pp.1-2.

HelpForce the Domains for Change in Social Care

There are many lessons to be found - and as governments continue to learn - trip over, in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The government made a call for volunteers:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2020/03/your-nhs-needs-you-nhs-call-for-volunteer-army/

 and the public has responded with 750,000 respondents:

https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHS

While of little consequence in the larger world, for me this crisis continues to reveal how the axes of Hodges' model encompass far more than their respective labels might indicate.

Taking the vertical axis:  INDIVIDUAL to GROUP (population) nations have had to resort to law to direct, instruct, force their citizens to stay at home.

Health policy, public health and economics specialists have long sought a means to influence people's behaviour. Nudge theory has joined the basic motivators of carrot and stick.

In the UK the call for volunteers has a long history.

Tom Hughes-Hallet, Your NHS Needs You, The Sunday Times, 26 August 2018, p.22.

HelpForce

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group - population

An individual's behaviour ...

... and the impact of the same.

THE BIG SOCIETY

"The Big Society was a political ideology developed in the early 21st century. The idea proposed "integrating the free market with a theory of social solidarity based on hierarchy and voluntarism". Conceptually it "draws on a mix of conservative communitarianism and libertarian paternalism". Its roots "can be traced back to the 1990s, and to early attempts to develop a non-Thatcherite, or post-Thatcherite, brand of UK conservatism" such as David Willetts' Civic Conservatism and the revival of Red Toryism. Some commentators have seen the Big Society as invoking Edmund Burke's idea of civil society, putting it into the sphere of one-nation conservatism.   The term Big Society was originated by Steve Hilton, director of strategy for the Conservative Party, and the idea became particularly associated with the party's leader David Cameron who was a strong advocate for it. The idea formed the flagship policy of the 2010 UK Conservative Party general election manifesto and was part of the subsequent legislative programme of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement. The stated aim was to create a climate that empowered local people and communities, building a "big society" that would take power away from politicians and give it to people." WikiPedia

Clearly, there is a macro form of nudge and hopefully this will result in social care being given the attention (funding) it desperately needs, recognising the value and values inherent in the sector.

Also in the Sunday Times article 'The NHS in numbers':
9m - Increase in UK population of pensioners in next 40 years

1942 - When William Beveridge's blueprint for postwar welfare state was published

10,000 - Volunteers supporting 4,000 staff at Marie Curie cancer care charity.

Tom Hughes-Hallet, Your NHS Needs You, The Sunday Times, 26 August 2018, p.22.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Society

Why 'Integrated Care' remains a Legacy Issue

Define 'integrated care'?

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group - population

Protect myself [You Government] Protect me* The individual need to  'do' something with this model,  not just think about it.  The personal sense (illusion) of doing, with yet another install of Wamp, Drupal ...	Complexity Systems Uncertainty Legacy - issues Evidence-Based Care?
*(I have a duty of care to protect my family and community and not become the next casualty.) Protect my loved ones and community	Evidence-Based Policy? The National Risk Register 2017 Is a tabletop exercise in pandemic  planning and response sufficient? The Political sense of thinking as 'doing'. (This is where the lamp is always on.) Tick here

See also:

'Desk-topping' i [ c/o BBC Radio 4 today 5 Feb. ]

Image source:
https://www.trident-crisis-solutions.co.uk/ (risk register)
https://www.bumc.bu.edu/ (tick box)

Contextual and other forms of Collapse ...

individual

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INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

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group - population

"I will get through this."

what is invisible

"Nowadays, digital technology is transforming our lives at an accelerating pace. This sometimes feels wildly liberating. But it is often terrifying too, because cyberspace is so disorientating. More specifically, in the cyberworld there is a constant problem of what anthropologists call "context collapse": it is hard to discern the contours of social interactions because the factors that used to frame our cultural lives are only half-present".

"We will get through this together."

my emphasis


At times such as this - the COVID19 pandemic - we are all trying to maintain the semblance of  "I will get through this." and "We will get through this together"; trying to self-care and in-so-doing care for friends, family, community and the population.

At times when our cultural and personal lives are not even 'half-present', there is an increased need for sense-making, for balance and orientation. While the tool we seek is a vaccine and preparedness for the next one, there are tools to reduce the impact of the several forms of collapse we are presently  experiencing.


Please see also initial post:

https://hodges-model.blogspot.com/2019/10/liminality-in-how-ancient-rituals-help.html

- sourced from and acknowledged Gillian Tett:

Tett, Gillian. 2019, How ancient rituals help us adapt to the digital age. FT Weekend, Magazine, June 29-30, p.46.

Exiled from our Museums ...

Questions of Politics, History and Now?

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group - population

self -	- isolation
	Past Disquiet - Artists, International Solidarity and Museums in Exile

"The International Art Exhibition for Palestine took place in Beirut in 1978 and mobilized international networks of artists in solidarity with anti-imperialist movements of the 1960s and ’70s. In that era, individual artists and artist collectives assembled collections; organized touring exhibitions, public interventions and actions; and collaborated with institutions and political movements. Their aim was to lend support and bring artistic engagement to protests against the ongoing war in Vietnam, the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile, and the apartheid regime in South Africa, and they were aligned in international solidarity for anti-colonial struggles. Past Disquiet brings together contributions from scholars, curators and writers who reflect on these marginalized histories and undertakings that took place in Baghdad, Beirut, Belgrade, Damascus, Paris, Rabat, Tokyo, and Warsaw. The book also offers translations of primary texts and recent interviews with some of the artists involved."

Kristine Khouri and Rasha Salti, eds. (2019) Past Disquiet: Artists, International Solidarity and Museums in Exile, Chicago, IL., University of Chicago Press.

See also: Exhibition: "Library of Exile"


My source: Cundy, A. (2019) Art's brave new world, Life&Arts, FT Weekend, 9-10 February, p.11.

Coronavirus: Under a conceptual Macroscope

individual

|

INTERPERSONAL : SCIENCES

humanistic ----------------------------------------------- mechanistic

SOCIOLOGY : POLITICAL

|

group - population

Cognitive access info clarity in communications Motivation Anxiety Isolation Impact upon mental health Psychological Trauma Staff Wellbeing during COVID19 Information Mis-Information Stay HOME [unless: homeLESS?]* Self-isolation Self-exile  Long COVID (My education?) Long COVID (My mental health?) My health literacy: touching my own face 'distance' hand washing  +++ watch the road as a pedestrian too SELF-CARE

Coronavirus transmission Epidemiological Modelling Statistics Triage Duration of Self-Isolation ICU beds Ventilators - INNOVATION Industrial production Excel & NEC [UK] extra beds Recovery - Rehabilitation Physical access info Logistics (transmission) Testing kits Anti-body test PPE Evidence: Face coverings Personal Protection Equipment Vaccine Research Development PHYSICAL DISTANCING 2 metres Long COVID (My physical health?)

SOCIAL DISTANCING DISTANT SOCIALISING^ Staying connected family, friends, community - using social media to reduce - Social Isolation Social Media - Public Protection Role? Community Response Social Care - 'Enforced' PJParalysis? Volunteers Protect Our NHS 'Social' rehearsal? Future preparedness? Public understanding of Science

WHO: Pandemic REPORTING National :: International Consistency - Standards Lockdown Reversing Lockdown: Government Communications: (Mis-)use of media National reporting Emphasis upon economic impact? Response of Businesses Transparency of contracts, 'deals' Definition of 'Key workers' NHS England Law - Policing Policy (distancing#)

*General Population Health Status, Health systems, Healthcare systems, Politics of Health, Socio-Economics - austerity, Inequality, Inequity, Preparedness .. the Collective ...

^#Political lack of coherence in policy: Poor integration.

^Thank you @SelfCareWeekEU

21 Aug update: See also -

Sheridan Rains, L., Johnson, S., Barnett, P. et al. Early impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health care and on people with mental health conditions: framework synthesis of international experiences and responses. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-020-01924-7

Image source:
By CDC/ Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM - This media comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Image Library (PHIL), with identification number #23312.Note: Not all PHIL images are public domain; be sure to check copyright status and credit authors and content providers., Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86444014

To revisit post pandemic? 

There is scope to improve the placement of concepts as per Hodges' model.