An OsloMet Centre of Research Excellence studying the societal aspects of pandemics
Centre leader Mamelund is invited to hold a keynote at OPTIONS XII in Brisbane, Australia 29 Sep to October 2nd: Keynote Speakers | OPTIONS XII 2024 | OPTIONS XII Event | OPTIONS 2024 Brisbane | Influenza Congress. You can download the whole program here: Options XII Program 3 July.xlsx
We are pleased to release the schedule for our Fall 2024 seminar series. As in previous series, the seminar will be held via Zoom at 16.00 Central European Time on Thursdays.
To access the Zoom meetings, please join our mailing list here.
5 September
What can we learn from historical pandemics? A systematic review of the literature
Áine Doran, Ulster University
19 September
How germs shaped history
Jonathan Kennedy, Queen Mary University of London
3 October
Wages and inequality in the Middle Ages: Moving beyond the average
Spike Gibbs, Universität Mannheim
10 October
Democracy, Mortality, and COVID-19: A Cross-Regional Comparison of Excess Mortality Data in Post-Communist Countries of the EU and CIS
Umit Tleshova, Charles University
31 October
Covid-19 is (Probably) Not an Exogenous Shock or Valid Instrument
Jeff Clement, Augsburg University
**Note that Central European Summer Time ends on 27 October**
7 November
Projecting the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. population structure
Andrea Tilstra, University of Oxford
14 November
Racialized Epidemiologies: The Case of Black Americans During the Great Influenza, 1918–1920
Paul Skäbe, Universität Leipzig
21 November
Excess Mortality in Mainland China after the End of the “Zero COVID” Policy: A Systematic Review of Literature
Isaac Fung, Georgia Southern University
5 December
The Impact of the First Wave of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic on the French and German Armies on the Western Front of the First World War
Srijita Pal, University of Southern California
This new paper is part of our 2022-23 Centre for Advanced Study – CAS project: https://cas-nor.no/project/social-science-meets-biology
Current literature presents mixed effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Indigenous communities. We aim to highlight potential disparities and temporal shifts in both the impact of COVID-19 and vaccine uptake among hospitalized Indigenous populations in Chile.
We conducted an observational analysis utilizing 1,598,492 hospitalization records from 2020 to 2021 based on publicly accessible hospital discharge data spanning 65 healthcare facilities of medium and high complexity funded through the Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRG) mechanism in Chile, representing roughly 70% of the country’s total hospitalizations. This was supplemented with publicly available municipal data on COVID-19 vaccinations and socio-demographic variables. We performed logistic regression analysis at 0.05 level of significance to assess the bivariate and multivariable association of Indigenous status with COVID-19 diagnosis and COVID-19 deaths among hospitalized populations. We also performed univariate and multiple linear regression to assess the association of COVID-19 vaccination rate and Indigenous status at the municipality level. In addition, we report the distribution of top 10 secondary diagnoses among hospitalized COVID-19 cases and deaths separately for Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations.
Indigenous populations displayed lower adjusted odds for both COVID-19 diagnosis (OR: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.74, 0.77) and death (OR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.85, 0.97) when compared to non-Indigenous groups. Notably, the adjusted odds ratio for COVID-19 diagnosis in Indigenous populations rose from 0.59 (95% CI: 0.57, 0.61) in 2020 to 1.17 (95% CI: 1.13, 1.21) in 2021. Factors such as the significantly higher median age and greater number of comorbidities in the non-Indigenous hospitalized groups could account for their increased odds of COVID-19 diagnosis and mortality. Additionally, our data indicates a significantly negative adjusted association between COVID-19 vaccination rates and the proportion of Indigenous individuals.
Although Indigenous populations initially showed lower odds of COVID-19 diagnosis and mortality, a marked rise in diagnosis odds among these groups in 2021 underscores the urgency of targeted interventions. The observed negative association between the proportion of Indigenous populations and vaccination rates further underscores the necessity to tackle vaccine access barriers and work towards equitable distribution.
På PANSOC er administrative møter erstattet med daglig og tett interaksjon, og kanskje en og annen e-post. Teams bruker vi ikke. Hvordan gjøres det hos dere og særlig på andre forskningsintensive enheter med 5-15 ansatte?
Les mer om hvordan vi jobber her: Et møte som kunne ha vært en e-post? (khrono.no)
On November 6th, Dr. Adolfo García-Sastre (Mount Sinai, New York) will be giving a lecture at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters as a guest at Centre for Research on Pandemics
& Society (PANSOC) at OsloMet.
Would you like to participate? Please use this link to register: https://nettskjema.no/a/pansoc6nov
Senterleder Mamelund om “Oppskriften på en god forskningsleder (forskerforum.no).” Opprinnelig tittel på kronikken var “Sunn forskningsledelse” – her har redaktøren tatt seg frihet til å skifte tittelen 🙂
We are proud to welcome and present our new research assistant, Lewhat Arefaine Kifleyesus.
Lewhat Arefaine Kifleyesus holds a bachelor’s degree in law. With a background as a legal professional in various sectors, including the Ministry of Justice, her journey has taken an exciting turn since moving to Norway. She chose to dive into a master’s program in International Social Welfare and Health Policy at OsloMet, driven by a desire to blend her legal expertise with a deep interest in health policy.
This academic path has opened unique opportunities, most notably the chance to work as a research assistant with PANSOC through OsloMet’s elective course in research training. Kifleyesus is currently engaged in an impactful project on “Disparities in COVID-19 Impact and Vaccination Timing Among Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Populations in Mexico.” This research is crucial in identifying the unique vulnerabilities faced by Indigenous communities, with the ultimate goal of developing more inclusive and resilient public health systems.
In Kifleyesus own words “The experience of working with leading experts like Svenn-Erik Mamelund, Gerardo Chowell-Puente, and Elienai Joaquín Damas at PANSOC has been truly enriching. I am deeply grateful for the support and mentorship provided by PANSOC. While contributing to important research, it allows me to grow both academically and professionally. This opportunity is helping me sharpen my research skills while strengthening my commitment to making a meaningful impact in health policy.
The collaboration between OsloMet and PANSOC is truly commendable, offering students like me unparalleled opportunities to engage in research that is both academically rigorous and socially relevant.
I am honored to be part of a program that is shaping the future of public health, and I look forward to continuing this journey with the incredible support of PANSOC”.
Senterleder fortsette fabdebatten om geografifaget på UiO. Les mer her: DEBATT OM GEOGRAFIFAGET: Seierherrenes historie? – Uniforum (uio.no)
Nita Bharti, Associate Professor of Biology at Penn State University (Nita Bharti | The Huck Institutes (en-US) (psu.edu), will visit us from August 14th to September 8th.
Nita Bharti’s research focuses on the impact of human movement and behavior on the spread and prevention of infectious diseases. She is particularly interested in the social and environmental factors that increase vulnerability and health inequities around infectious processes. During her time at PANSOC, she will be working to understand the root causes of health inequities in respiratory viruses. She will also be exploring biases and gaps in surveillance data, which obscure health inequities and delay their detection.”
Senterleder Mamelund spør i en ny kronikk “Hvorfor klore oss fast og frenetisk fornye oss gjennom kurs vi ikke utøver lærdommene fra fremfor å innrømme først som sist at det kan butte imot midt og sent i det akademiske arbeidslivet og at samarbeid mellom eldre og yngre krefter kanskje er å foretrekke?”
Kronikken kan leses her: Henge med midt i arbeidslivet: Kurs, erfaringskort eller samarbeid? (khrono.no)
