Pub Date : 2020-12-28DOI: 10.11116/TDI2020.4.10.SI.COVIPENDIUM.COMMENTS
G. Vanham
{"title":"Comments on the Covipendium","authors":"G. Vanham","doi":"10.11116/TDI2020.4.10.SI.COVIPENDIUM.COMMENTS","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11116/TDI2020.4.10.SI.COVIPENDIUM.COMMENTS","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":316049,"journal":{"name":"Transdisciplinary Insights","volume":"46 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132328478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Inge Smeers, J. Himpens, Louise Grancitelli, Anne Snick
The Covid-19 crisis reveals that our expanding human population and globalised economic system create unprecedented risks, such as massive new health threats that impact our social and economic wellbeing. In the current era, called the Anthropocene, human activity disturbs life-supporting planetary processes. Surviving the Anthropocene, therefore, requires 'unlearning' the model that brought us here. This model treats nature as a mere resource for humans to exploit with a view to technological progress and economic growth, and serves unrestrained human population increase. This has disturbed the human–nature balance to such a degree that we now have the potential to eliminate all human life. Current crises make us understand we need a regenerative vision of the future, building on new kinds of knowledge, values, skills, and attitudes. Universities are still grounded in a linear model of research and education, with disciplines studying separate domains of reality without grasping how new, more complex system behaviour emerges from the interaction among those fields. In response to this changing context, the Institute for the Future at KU Leuven runs an Honours Programme Transdisciplinary Insights, offering group learning through real societal challenges and innovative teaching practices. The challenge we present and discuss here tackled the question of how to prepare young people, the leaders of tomorrow, for this complex world (Supplement 1). What are the potential building blocks of an educational trajectory towards a more sustainable future? The challenge was inspired by a theoretical analysis of increasing complexity and its implications for research and education (Snick, 2020). During one academic year (2019–2020) the authors all took part in this challenge, as students and as a coach. In this article we evaluate our learning experiences. The hypothesis underlying our challenge was that co-creating a vision of a possible future, inspired by emerging regenerative social and economic initiatives, allows students to develop new skills and capacities that the traditional educational approach does not offer. Our learning path involved boot camps with a series of workshops, reading scientific books, watching a documen tary, (walking) meetings, field visits, design exercises, co-creative workshops, and group discussions. In this article, we evaluate how these helped us foster our response-ability for co-creating a life-sustaining civilisation. Our findings show that unlearning the old paradigm takes time and that empowering young persons to contribute to a sustainable society requires learning with the head, heart, hands, and hope. These insights can be inspirational to all societal actors who understand that we urgently need to move towards a 'new normal' and that the university has a vital role in this transition.
{"title":"Co-creating a Young Persons' Guide to a Sustainable Future: Analysis of Learning Steps in a Transdisciplinary Honours Course","authors":"Inge Smeers, J. Himpens, Louise Grancitelli, Anne Snick","doi":"10.11116/TDI2020.4.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11116/TDI2020.4.2","url":null,"abstract":"The Covid-19 crisis reveals that our expanding human population and globalised economic system create unprecedented risks, such as massive new health threats that impact our social and economic wellbeing. In the current era, called the Anthropocene, human activity disturbs life-supporting\u0000 planetary processes. Surviving the Anthropocene, therefore, requires 'unlearning' the model that brought us here. This model treats nature as a mere resource for humans to exploit with a view to technological progress and economic growth, and serves unrestrained human population increase.\u0000 This has disturbed the human–nature balance to such a degree that we now have the potential to eliminate all human life. Current crises make us understand we need a regenerative vision of the future, building on new kinds of knowledge, values, skills, and attitudes. Universities\u0000 are still grounded in a linear model of research and education, with disciplines studying separate domains of reality without grasping how new, more complex system behaviour emerges from the interaction among those fields. In response to this changing context, the Institute for the Future\u0000 at KU Leuven runs an Honours Programme Transdisciplinary Insights, offering group learning through real societal challenges and innovative teaching practices. The challenge we present and discuss here tackled the question of how to prepare young people, the leaders of tomorrow, for this complex\u0000 world (Supplement 1). What are the potential building blocks of an educational trajectory towards a more sustainable future? The challenge was inspired by a theoretical analysis of increasing complexity and its implications for research and education (Snick, 2020). During one academic year\u0000 (2019–2020) the authors all took part in this challenge, as students and as a coach. In this article we evaluate our learning experiences. The hypothesis underlying our challenge was that co-creating a vision of a possible future, inspired by emerging regenerative social and economic\u0000 initiatives, allows students to develop new skills and capacities that the traditional educational approach does not offer. Our learning path involved boot camps with a series of workshops, reading scientific books, watching a documen tary, (walking) meetings, field visits, design exercises,\u0000 co-creative workshops, and group discussions. In this article, we evaluate how these helped us foster our response-ability for co-creating a life-sustaining civilisation. Our findings show that unlearning the old paradigm takes time and that empowering young persons to contribute to a sustainable\u0000 society requires learning with the head, heart, hands, and hope. These insights can be inspirational to all societal actors who understand that we urgently need to move towards a 'new normal' and that the university has a vital role in this transition.","PeriodicalId":316049,"journal":{"name":"Transdisciplinary Insights","volume":"50 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115610455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thomas Dilen, T. Lefèvre, Bram Mariën, Benjamin Munster, F. Neven, Gaëtan Van Deursen, Jill Van In, Marie Verberckmoes, Nynke van Uffelen, E. Zenner
The non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) is a highly sensitive blood analysis tool that allows for the early detection of multiple chromosomal abnormalities, including Down syndrome. Prenatal testing in general and a positive test outcome in particular leave pregnant parents facing difficult ethical decisions and life-changing dilemmas. The language used by medical practitioners in this context has the potential to exert a strong influence on parents in their decision-making process. During counseling, health care professionals (HCPs) are expected to encourage parents to make an informed yet autonomous decision, which hinges on maximally unbiased, clear and consistent communication from the HCP. It is still unclear whether medical students are aware of this importance of unbiased communication, how they perceive the role of HCPs in the prenatal counseling process, and what perspectives they have regarding the disabilities screened for. Our research project aims to address this gap, presenting the results of a transdisciplinary survey completed by 245 medical students at KU Leuven. In particular, the survey investigates: (1) the students' view on the ideal prenatal counseling process; (2) their knowledge of NIPT and Down syndrome (the most prevalent disability NIPT screens for); and (3) their general attitudes towards disabilities. Results reveal that more than 50% of medical students do not feel prepared for genetic counseling. The survey further shows a lack of knowledge and some clearly negative attitudes towards life with disability; 20% of medical students agree that a life with Down syndrome should be avoided. Overall, results indicate fairly heterogeneous distribution of knowledge and fairly diverse attitudes of the students, suggesting revisions in the current curriculum might be needed to increase the homogeneity towards counseling and disabilities in the medical student population.
{"title":"Training Non-Directiveness? A Transdisciplinary Survey of Medical Students' Perspective Towards Prenatal Counseling and Down Syndrome","authors":"Thomas Dilen, T. Lefèvre, Bram Mariën, Benjamin Munster, F. Neven, Gaëtan Van Deursen, Jill Van In, Marie Verberckmoes, Nynke van Uffelen, E. Zenner","doi":"10.11116/TDI2020.4.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11116/TDI2020.4.7","url":null,"abstract":"The non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) is a highly sensitive blood analysis tool that allows for the early detection of multiple chromosomal abnormalities, including Down syndrome. Prenatal testing in general and a positive test outcome in particular leave pregnant parents facing difficult\u0000 ethical decisions and life-changing dilemmas. The language used by medical practitioners in this context has the potential to exert a strong influence on parents in their decision-making process. During counseling, health care professionals (HCPs) are expected to encourage parents to make\u0000 an informed yet autonomous decision, which hinges on maximally unbiased, clear and consistent communication from the HCP. It is still unclear whether medical students are aware of this importance of unbiased communication, how they perceive the role of HCPs in the prenatal counseling process,\u0000 and what perspectives they have regarding the disabilities screened for. Our research project aims to address this gap, presenting the results of a transdisciplinary survey completed by 245 medical students at KU Leuven. In particular, the survey investigates: (1) the students' view on the\u0000 ideal prenatal counseling process; (2) their knowledge of NIPT and Down syndrome (the most prevalent disability NIPT screens for); and (3) their general attitudes towards disabilities. Results reveal that more than 50% of medical students do not feel prepared for genetic counseling. The survey\u0000 further shows a lack of knowledge and some clearly negative attitudes towards life with disability; 20% of medical students agree that a life with Down syndrome should be avoided. Overall, results indicate fairly heterogeneous distribution of knowledge and fairly diverse attitudes of the students,\u0000 suggesting revisions in the current curriculum might be needed to increase the homogeneity towards counseling and disabilities in the medical student population.","PeriodicalId":316049,"journal":{"name":"Transdisciplinary Insights","volume":"67 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134376048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ana Barbosa Mendes, Bert Vandewalle, Danai Andreadi, J. Coppens, J. Vercauteren
Transdisciplinary research aims to investigate complex problems by integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines through knowledge co-creation. Initiating and planning transdisciplinary research requires a thorough review of the literature within many disciplines, demanding that researchers conciliate meanings of concepts from different disciplines, define the boundaries of each discipline within the topic and identify synergies between disciplines. Thus, conducting a transdisciplinary literature review can pose a challenge to researchers, and little guidance is available on how to approach this challenge in a systematic way. To address this, we develop a protocol for transdisciplinary literature reviews, extending the heuristics proposed by Leavy (2011). We describe how researchers can determine the relevant bodies of knowledge for the issue investigated, how they can locate and summarise relevant literature from all relevant disciplines, how they can determine the scope of each discipline within the project and how they can visualise the interaction between disciplines in regards to the topic researched. We also suggest methods for researchers to create new interactions between disciplines and propose new conceptual frameworks on the basis of the literature synthesis performed in the transdisciplinary literature review. To demonstrate how our framework can be employed to review literature on complex issues while integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines, we use the issue of accessibility of mHealth technologies as a case study and apply our guidelines to conduct a transdisciplinary literature review on the topic. We integrate findings from the social sciences, ethics, economics, law, psychology, medicine and engineering, among other disciplines to examine the accessibility of mHealth and propose promising areas for future transdisciplinary projects. The findings from this case study suggest the proposed transdisciplinary review guidelines can be used as a sole research methodology for initial transdisciplinary research projects, as well as an auxiliary tool for larger transdisciplinary projects.
{"title":"Fostering Transdisciplinary Collaboration Through Transdisciplinary Literature Reviews: Investigating the Accessibility of mHealth Technologies","authors":"Ana Barbosa Mendes, Bert Vandewalle, Danai Andreadi, J. Coppens, J. Vercauteren","doi":"10.11116/TDI2020.4.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11116/TDI2020.4.4","url":null,"abstract":"Transdisciplinary research aims to investigate complex problems by integrating knowledge from multiple disciplines through knowledge co-creation. Initiating and planning transdisciplinary research requires a thorough review of the literature within many disciplines, demanding that researchers\u0000 conciliate meanings of concepts from different disciplines, define the boundaries of each discipline within the topic and identify synergies between disciplines. Thus, conducting a transdisciplinary literature review can pose a challenge to researchers, and little guidance is available on\u0000 how to approach this challenge in a systematic way. To address this, we develop a protocol for transdisciplinary literature reviews, extending the heuristics proposed by Leavy (2011). We describe how researchers can determine the relevant bodies of knowledge for the issue investigated, how\u0000 they can locate and summarise relevant literature from all relevant disciplines, how they can determine the scope of each discipline within the project and how they can visualise the interaction between disciplines in regards to the topic researched. We also suggest methods for researchers\u0000 to create new interactions between disciplines and propose new conceptual frameworks on the basis of the literature synthesis performed in the transdisciplinary literature review. To demonstrate how our framework can be employed to review literature on complex issues while integrating knowledge\u0000 from multiple disciplines, we use the issue of accessibility of mHealth technologies as a case study and apply our guidelines to conduct a transdisciplinary literature review on the topic. We integrate findings from the social sciences, ethics, economics, law, psychology, medicine and engineering,\u0000 among other disciplines to examine the accessibility of mHealth and propose promising areas for future transdisciplinary projects. The findings from this case study suggest the proposed transdisciplinary review guidelines can be used as a sole research methodology for initial transdisciplinary\u0000 research projects, as well as an auxiliary tool for larger transdisciplinary projects.","PeriodicalId":316049,"journal":{"name":"Transdisciplinary Insights","volume":"78 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128378867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eduardo A. Bracho Montes de Oca, Iris Brand, Dumitru Malcoci, Oscar Neyrinck, Kerim S. Zurel, Z. Wu, P. Vandenbroeck, B. Vanwyngaerden, Totran Nguyen
Recurring crises have exposed time and again the inherent inequalities of our societies and their ill-equipped adjustment to an ever-changing environment. This paper attempts to address the challenge of creating a more resilient and equitable society by developing a feasible blueprint for it through a bottom-up, transdisciplinary approach and the use of activity models methodology. The starting point of our analysis consisted of the identification of five cross-field societal issues, tack ling which would create a more equitable and resilient future for society: dangers of private data extractions, carbon emission taxing, climate migration, public health affordability, and the crisis of representative democracy. By jointly engaging in transdisciplinary discussions and accommodating insights from diverse stakeholders we analyzed ways of dealing with each of the issues, resulting in the creation of six activity models pertaining to them. The last step consisted in their integration into a single blueprint, achieved by devising a learning cycle running through the core of our societal model. The learning cycle organizes decision-making by identifying the social needs of the citizens, prioritizing them, deciding on key investments, executing these and monitoring their results. It ensures, through the contribution of each activity model, an equitable and resilient development for society.
{"title":"Towards a Resilient and Equitable Society: A Transdisciplinary Perspective","authors":"Eduardo A. Bracho Montes de Oca, Iris Brand, Dumitru Malcoci, Oscar Neyrinck, Kerim S. Zurel, Z. Wu, P. Vandenbroeck, B. Vanwyngaerden, Totran Nguyen","doi":"10.11116/TDI2020.4.8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11116/TDI2020.4.8","url":null,"abstract":"Recurring crises have exposed time and again the inherent inequalities of our societies and their ill-equipped adjustment to an ever-changing environment. This paper attempts to address the challenge of creating a more resilient and equitable society by developing a feasible blueprint\u0000 for it through a bottom-up, transdisciplinary approach and the use of activity models methodology. The starting point of our analysis consisted of the identification of five cross-field societal issues, tack ling which would create a more equitable and resilient future for society: dangers\u0000 of private data extractions, carbon emission taxing, climate migration, public health affordability, and the crisis of representative democracy. By jointly engaging in transdisciplinary discussions and accommodating insights from diverse stakeholders we analyzed ways of dealing with each of\u0000 the issues, resulting in the creation of six activity models pertaining to them. The last step consisted in their integration into a single blueprint, achieved by devising a learning cycle running through the core of our societal model. The learning cycle organizes decision-making by identifying\u0000 the social needs of the citizens, prioritizing them, deciding on key investments, executing these and monitoring their results. It ensures, through the contribution of each activity model, an equitable and resilient development for society.","PeriodicalId":316049,"journal":{"name":"Transdisciplinary Insights","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116899494","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Charles Haverbeke, J. Housmans, Isabelle Marchand, Marina Mérola Teixeira, A. Vandamme, Katrien Zuallaert, Liesbeth Van Meulder
As climate change is gaining recognition and its impacts manifest, the role of the individual is increasingly being investigated. More specifically, the impact consumption has on both the environment and actors throughout the food chain is crucial in this role. Considering the small share sustainable consumption currently has in overall shopping, bridging the gap between unsustainable and sustainable choices will be paramount in addressing the increasing threat climate change and unjust development pose to our society. The attitude–behavior gap is a phenomenon further complicating the issue. It points out that although a person may have an understanding and desire to act upon knowledge that certain products are more sustainable than others, he does not actually act upon that knowledge when shopping. The limited research regarding the attitude–behavior gap, especially for young people, hinders retailers from creating a shopping environment that encourages sustainable shopping. To address this problem, the authors aimed at understanding consumption behavior in a supermarket environment, with special focus on food choices by students. More specifically, we addressed the following question: "How can we overcome the attitude–behavior gap for pro-sustainable attitudes in supermarkets?" Our survey-based research amongst 248 students could provide insights for effective interventions – such as education, social programming or in-store modifications – to ensure more sustainable mindsets while grocery shopping. We found that students are not consistently making sustainable choices, despite most having a general understanding of sustainability. Women tend to choose sustainable food more often than men, even though price and quality also had a substantial influ ence, together with health. We also found that students may consider or even believe in the importance of sustainability and being eco-conscious consumers without actually taking the necessary steps, showing an attitude–behavior gap. Enacting widespread sustainable development will require many small-scale paradigm shifts, such as a local supermarket incorporating more local and seasonal products or fighting food waste. However, climate change mitigation and environmental justice can only be realized by a widespread cooperation of these initiatives.
{"title":"Youngsters' Sustainable Food Choices in the Supermarket","authors":"Charles Haverbeke, J. Housmans, Isabelle Marchand, Marina Mérola Teixeira, A. Vandamme, Katrien Zuallaert, Liesbeth Van Meulder","doi":"10.11116/TDI2020.4.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11116/TDI2020.4.6","url":null,"abstract":"As climate change is gaining recognition and its impacts manifest, the role of the individual is increasingly being investigated. More specifically, the impact consumption has on both the environment and actors throughout the food chain is crucial in this role. Considering the small\u0000 share sustainable consumption currently has in overall shopping, bridging the gap between unsustainable and sustainable choices will be paramount in addressing the increasing threat climate change and unjust development pose to our society. The attitude–behavior gap is a phenomenon further\u0000 complicating the issue. It points out that although a person may have an understanding and desire to act upon knowledge that certain products are more sustainable than others, he does not actually act upon that knowledge when shopping. The limited research regarding the attitude–behavior\u0000 gap, especially for young people, hinders retailers from creating a shopping environment that encourages sustainable shopping. To address this problem, the authors aimed at understanding consumption behavior in a supermarket environment, with special focus on food choices by students. More\u0000 specifically, we addressed the following question: \"How can we overcome the attitude–behavior gap for pro-sustainable attitudes in supermarkets?\" Our survey-based research amongst 248 students could provide insights for effective interventions – such as education, social programming\u0000 or in-store modifications – to ensure more sustainable mindsets while grocery shopping. We found that students are not consistently making sustainable choices, despite most having a general understanding of sustainability. Women tend to choose sustainable food more often than men, even\u0000 though price and quality also had a substantial influ ence, together with health. We also found that students may consider or even believe in the importance of sustainability and being eco-conscious consumers without actually taking the necessary steps, showing an attitude–behavior gap.\u0000 Enacting widespread sustainable development will require many small-scale paradigm shifts, such as a local supermarket incorporating more local and seasonal products or fighting food waste. However, climate change mitigation and environmental justice can only be realized by a widespread cooperation\u0000 of these initiatives.","PeriodicalId":316049,"journal":{"name":"Transdisciplinary Insights","volume":"81 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115628543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jef Baelen, Karolien Coolen, Benoit Deforche, Hanne-Lise Frateur, Joachim Langeraet, Imogen Van Oystaeyen, Tony Wawina-Bokalanga, A. Vandamme
Ebola virus disease is a deadly disease with mortality rates ranging from 25% to 90%. The previous outbreak in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) posed extra challenges since it took place in a war-torn region. The roots of this conflict can be traced back to the beginning of colonization (at the end of the 19th century) and have led to struggles concerning land tenure and local identity. The political and socioeconomic situation further complicated an adequate Ebola virus outbreak response. Early efforts and control strategies taken by the DRC Ministry of Health, supported by the WHO, UN peacekeepers and a number of humanitarian aid organizations eventually resulted in the tenth Congolese outbreak being controlled. However, medical NGOs encountered many obstacles, ranging from mistrust by the local population, to an unsafe working environment, lack of infrastructure, etc. This paper identifies building trust as one of the key ele ments for NGOs to optimize cooperation with the local population. Our data, gathered from semi-structured interviews, showed that establishing a relationship of trust with affected people and their communities is a crucial step in the Ebola virus outbreak response. This includes building a better comprehension by medical care workers of the local dynamics and cultural affinities. Therefore, we created a questionnaire to be used by medical aid organizations to increase their understanding of the local situation from an anthropological perspective. Such an understanding will contribute to building trust between the local community and medical aid organizations working in the field. This will hopefully enable them to anticipate future problems, and do their job in a more profound and comprehensive way, incorporating the local community as a partner for success. We have summarized our conclusions in a small 10-minute video.
{"title":"A Transdisciplinary Approach to Get a Deeper Insight in the Context of Ebola Virus Outbreaks in War-torn Regions: A Comprehensive Guide for NGOs","authors":"Jef Baelen, Karolien Coolen, Benoit Deforche, Hanne-Lise Frateur, Joachim Langeraet, Imogen Van Oystaeyen, Tony Wawina-Bokalanga, A. Vandamme","doi":"10.11116/TDI2020.4.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11116/TDI2020.4.3","url":null,"abstract":"Ebola virus disease is a deadly disease with mortality rates ranging from 25% to 90%. The previous outbreak in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) posed extra challenges since it took place in a war-torn region. The roots of this conflict can be traced back to the\u0000 beginning of colonization (at the end of the 19th century) and have led to struggles concerning land tenure and local identity. The political and socioeconomic situation further complicated an adequate Ebola virus outbreak response. Early efforts and control strategies taken by\u0000 the DRC Ministry of Health, supported by the WHO, UN peacekeepers and a number of humanitarian aid organizations eventually resulted in the tenth Congolese outbreak being controlled. However, medical NGOs encountered many obstacles, ranging from mistrust by the local population, to an unsafe\u0000 working environment, lack of infrastructure, etc. This paper identifies building trust as one of the key ele ments for NGOs to optimize cooperation with the local population. Our data, gathered from semi-structured interviews, showed that establishing a relationship of trust with affected\u0000 people and their communities is a crucial step in the Ebola virus outbreak response. This includes building a better comprehension by medical care workers of the local dynamics and cultural affinities. Therefore, we created a questionnaire to be used by medical aid organizations to increase\u0000 their understanding of the local situation from an anthropological perspective. Such an understanding will contribute to building trust between the local community and medical aid organizations working in the field. This will hopefully enable them to anticipate future problems, and do their\u0000 job in a more profound and comprehensive way, incorporating the local community as a partner for success. We have summarized our conclusions in a small 10-minute video.","PeriodicalId":316049,"journal":{"name":"Transdisciplinary Insights","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114876730","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-12-28DOI: 10.11116/TDI2020.4.10.SI.COVIPENDIUM.INTRO
M. Denis
{"title":"The place of the Covipendium within the growing amount of Covid-19 literature","authors":"M. Denis","doi":"10.11116/TDI2020.4.10.SI.COVIPENDIUM.INTRO","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.11116/TDI2020.4.10.SI.COVIPENDIUM.INTRO","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":316049,"journal":{"name":"Transdisciplinary Insights","volume":"47 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130833421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Denis, V. Vandeweerd, Rein Verbeeke, A. Laudisoit, Tristan J Reid, E. Hobbs, L. Wynants, D. Vliet
{"title":"Covipendium: Information available to support the development of medical countermeasures and interventions against COVID-19","authors":"M. Denis, V. Vandeweerd, Rein Verbeeke, A. Laudisoit, Tristan J Reid, E. Hobbs, L. Wynants, D. Vliet","doi":"10.5281/ZENODO.4273202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.4273202","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":316049,"journal":{"name":"Transdisciplinary Insights","volume":"36 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121594513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. C. Herrmann, Jenny Lushaba, L. Michielsen, Nicklas Quirós, R. Saesen, C. Louw, M. Jordan, A. Vandamme, Astrid Van den Eede, A. Kiekens
Abstract This article is concerned with transdisciplinarity as a framework for addressing the wicked problem of rising HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) rates in Africa and its implications. According to data published by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), even though the number of AIDS-related deaths has declined by 48% between 2005 and 2016, this significant decrease is now threatened by a rise in resistance of HIV to antiretroviral drugs in several regions, including Africa. Through the application of transdisciplinary research methods, the team identified various factors with an impact on HIVDR, of which they found adherence to be the one most reasonable to address in the context of their research project. Subsequently, the team sought to characterise factors influencing non-adherence among HIV+ individuals. By identifying the current state of the problem, existing gaps in knowledge needed to tackle the issue and stakeholders with a pronounced impact on HIV+ individuals’ adherence and beliefs, non-governmental organisations and community health workers were established as particularly important actors. As a result of discussions with external experts and a review of the literature, the poor health-seeking behaviour of men, who represent a group particularly challenging to engage, became the focal point of the project. Eventually, investigating the possibility of setting up a health helpline providing peer-to-peer support to men living with HIV in South Africa was agreed upon as a concrete objective of the project in collaboration with Dr. Coenie Louw of the Gateway Health Institute. The attributes such a helpline would need to be useful and attractive to its target audience will be explored further in the near future by means of interviews with local community health workers as well as through focus group discussions with male HIV+ individuals in South Africa. A transdisciplinary approach to the problem of HIVDR facilitated the sharing of knowledge across multiple disciplines, which in turn facilitated the exchange of thoughts and ideas between students from different academic backgrounds and various stakeholders with expertise relevant to the project.
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