Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a clear consensus that we must be led by the science. There is, however, no singular ‘science’, rather a plethora of different approaches to answer the most complex of problems. How do we respond to this pandemic, and how do we build a fairer society? Such questions are not within the remit of science alone and involve the arts, humanities, social sciences and the wider public. Health geographers have for some time been exploring not just questions of disease transmission but also equity and inequalities in many of the underlying structures that have resulted in COVID-19 deaths being highest in our most deprived groups. This chapter will discuss the role of the expert in policy formulation and explore three approaches to describe research-policy connections: the immediate need to respond to the fast-moving disease, the politics of decision-making and an ‘enlightenment’ model. To conclude, I will argue that health geographers need to engage with the policy landscape at all times, perhaps more so in times of crisis, but not limited to such times. Our engagement with inequalities and the broader social determinants of health mean that we have a fundamental role to play as we build an ‘evidence-based’ equitable future.
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Shortt, N. (2021). Knowledge Translation and COVID-19. In: Andrews, G.J., Crooks, V.A., Pearce, J.R., Messina, J.P. (eds) COVID-19 and Similar Futures. Global Perspectives on Health Geography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70179-6_57
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