Socjologia pandemii: Społeczne determinanty wskaźników infekcji i śmiertelności  
[The sociology of pandemics: Social determinants of infection rates and mortality]

Barbara Pabjan (Institute of Sociology, University of Wrocław)


This talk examines the sociology of pandemics with an emphasis on COVID-19 as a case 
study to explore complex social dynamics. The primary aim is to provide a comprehensive 
understanding of the social determinants of pandemic and suggest how societies might 
better prepare for and respond to future global health crises.

The discussion starts with a historical overview of pandemics to identify common 
(repetitive) patterns of collective behaviors and beliefs. This analysis shows how 
pandemics have reshaped societies and acted as catalysts for major societal changes, 
setting the context for examining current challenges.

The talk focuses on three aspects that shaped the trajectory of pandemics:  1.structure  
2. culture  3. beliefs. 

1. Social structure and inequalities. We show how pandemics highlight and often intensify 
pre-existing social inequalities. This involves a look at how differences in income, 
healthcare access, and employment conditions affect vulnerability to disease spread and 
the efficacy of public health responses. We also investigate disparities in infection and 
death rates across different social groups, and how social differentiation influences 
responses to pandemics. 

2. Cultural context refers to the shared values, norms & practices that characterize 
different societies. These cultural factors play a critical role in determining how 
populations respond to public health emergencies. For instance, in societies where there 
is high trust, high collectivism public compliance with health directives such as 
vaccination and social distancing tends to be higher. Conversely, in  individualistic 
cultures, or  where low trust prevails, there might be significant challenges in 
implementing effective pandemic responses.

3.Collective Beliefs: Collective beliefs are the shared ideas and ideologies that 
influence how groups perceive and react to threats. During pandemics, collective beliefs 
can significantly impact the acceptance of and adherence to health measures. For example, 
if a community collectively believes that a disease poses a severe threat to their way of 
life, members of that community are more likely to support stringent measures to control 
its spread. Alternatively, if a pandemic is perceived as overhyped or not serious, this 
can lead to lower compliance with public health guidelines.

The talk explores the contributions of sociology to pandemic modeling. The goal is to 
conduct such an analysis of social data as to provide the information needed for modeling 
the course of the pandemic and building the predictive capacity of the models.