Pandemiakriisin johtamisesta syndeemiseen kriisien hallintaan – teoreettis-käsitteellinen syndemioiden uudelleenkehystys pandemiakontekstissa

Abstract

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the research literature has highlighted the significance of syndemic thinking in managing epidemics (e.g. Horton 2020; Irons 2020; Fronteira et al. 2021). The syndemic nature of COVID-19 has posed a challenge to traditional models of management that promote path dependence, which in turn fuels more emergent effects. As a result, many causal relationships cannot be fully mapped in real time, making syndemic interventions challenging to implement. This article introduces new conceptualizations of syndemics by applying theories of emergent governance in order to develop a model of syndemic governance. In this context, emergence emphasizes the forms of interaction between components of complex systems that generate problems that cannot be traced back to these components and their functioning alone. These forms of interaction arise through self-organization and actions that are often difficult to understand because of extent of syndemics.