Living through and with the global HIV/AIDS pandemic: Distinct ‘pandemic practices’ and temporalities

Reidar Staupe-Delgado, Olivier Rubin

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Abstract

In this study, we expand on the newly devised sociological concept of pandemic practices that emerged during the COVID-19 outbreak by applying it to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The analytical heuristic of pandemic practices
distinguishes between four kinds of practices: (i) primary practices that encompass the public’s direct response to the pandemic, (ii) responsive practices that encompass altered routines and social interactions, (iii) adaptive
practices that encompass more elusive organisational and legal legacies and (iv) meta-practices that produce particular narratives about the pandemic dynamics that might lead to lasting socio-cultural behavioural changes. In this paper we probe further into the notion of meta-practices. The results show that the prolonged nature of
the HIV/AIDS pandemic combined with the widespread stigmatisation of vulnerable groups has led to distinct
social practices that fragment along socio-economic lines both internally in countries but also between high-
income and low-income countries. As the COVID-19 pandemic becomes increasingly endemic, lessons learned
from HIV/AIDS expose the dangers of similar fragmentations where parts of the population return to normal but
where many others continue to suffer not only from adverse health outcomes but also social exclusion and
stigmatisation. Thus, we argue that attention to pandemic practices, and how they produce and reinforce un-
derlying socio-economic vulnerabilities would strengthen long-term pandemic responses.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummer114809
TidsskriftSocial Science & Medicine
Vol/bind296
Antal sider9
ISSN0277-9536
DOI
StatusUdgivet - mar. 2022

Emneord

  • Temporalities
  • Epidemic
  • Crisis
  • HIV/AIDS
  • COVID-19
  • Global public health
  • Practice theory

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