Governance of the Covid-19 response: a call for more inclusive and transparent decision-making

Rajan, Dheepa; Koch, Kira; Rohrer, Katja; Bajnoczki, Csongor; Socha, Anna; Voss, Maike; Nicod, Marjolaine; Ridde, Valéry; Koonin, Justin

doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002655

Cited by 156 publications

(146 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The observation drawn here is also valid for the management committees which, in the seven countries analysed in this paper, as elsewhere in the world [21], have effectively neglected to involve representatives of users, patients or NGOs. As everywhere, the power of these committees remains inexorably in the hands of clinicians, as the interdisciplinary, intersectoral or health promotion approach has been totally ignored [21]. Similarly, the presence of women has been completely side-lined, here as elsewhere, yet, as Bali et.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…However, communities are still far from the process of re ection and formulation of health measures to be introduced within the context of COVID-19. This unfortunate observation has also been made for COVID-19 in Europe and elsewhere [21,37]. However, community engagement will be undoubtedly essential when testing the eventual vaccine, as was the case for Ebola [38].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, voices are being raised to question the lack of inclusion and equity in the governance bodies governing the management of the crisis and the public measures taken [21]. Similarly, amid rumours of the exploitation of the virus for political purposes and the ineffectiveness of public health measures and/or treatment, these issues are also being hotly debated in the public sphere.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The COVID-19 Pandemic in Francophone West Africa: From the First Cases to Responses in Seven Countries

Bonnet¹,

Bodson

Marcis³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: In early March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit West Africa. Countries in the region quickly set up crisis management committees and organised drastic measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus. The objective of this article is to analyse the epidemiological evolution of COVID-19 in seven Francophone West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal) as well as the public health measures decided upon during the first four months of the pandemic. Methods: Our method is based on quantitative and qualitative data from the pooling of information from a COVID-19 data platform and collected by a network of interdisciplinary collaborators present in the seven countries. Descriptive and spatial analyses of quantitative epidemiological data and content analyses of qualitative data on public measures and management committees were performed. Results: Attack rates for COVID-19 range from less than 10 per 100,000 inhabitants (Benin) to more than 45 per 100,000 inhabitants (Guinea). The spatio-temporal analysis shows three phases of incidence clusters. By the end of June 2020, case numbers had plateaued in some countries (Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali) while others continued to see the number of infections increasing (Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal). The countries all reacted quickly to the crisis, in some cases before the first reported infection, and implemented public measures in a relatively homogeneous manner. None of the countries implemented country-wide lockdowns, but in some cases implemented partial or local containment measures. At the end of June 2020, countries began to lift certain restrictive measures, sometimes under pressure from the general population or from certain economic sectors. All the countries have adopted response plans and organized multiple crisis management committees, although their content and functioning have not always been transparent or easy to understand. Conclusion: Much research remains to be done in West Africa. It will be necessary to better understand the dynamics of the pandemic, which appears to be largely under control, as well as the effectiveness and implementation of the state responses, which have been rapidly formulated.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The COVID-19 Pandemic in Francophone West Africa: From the First Cases to Responses in Seven Countries

Bonnet¹,

Bodson

Marcis³

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…These ndings support anecdotal reports that women academics have been underrepresented in newspaper coverage and evidence-based data demonstrating the exclusion of women from academic publication and leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. [1][2][3][4] The proportion of women experts cited in newspaper articles about the COVID-19 pandemic is greater than previous studies of the representation of women in news media. In a 2008 study of UK newspapers, only 16% of all quoted scientists were female.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2,3 Further, women are underrepresented in pandemic decision-making and leadership roles. 4 Altogether, this growing evidence highlights that women academics are being excluded from key opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of these exclusions on the career trajectories for women academics is not yet known and may not be realized for years to come.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gender of COVID-19 Experts in Newspaper Articles: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Fletcher

Joe

Hernandez

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Pre-existing gender-based disparities in academia may have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is anecdotal and peer-reviewed evidence that women in academia have been underrepresented in prestigious, pandemic-related opportunities. Being citated as an expert source in newspaper articles about COVID-19 may increase an individual's research or leadership profile. In addition, visibility in a newspaper article is an important component of representation in academia. Objective: We sought to determine whether women were underrepresented as COVID-19 expert sources in print newspapers in the United States. Design: We undertook a cross-sectional study of English-language newspaper articles that addressed the COVID-19 pandemic that were published in the top ten most widely read newspapers in the United States between Apr 1 and Apr 15, 2020. Main Measures: We extracted the names of all people cited as expert sources and categorized each expert sources as men, women, or another gender based on pronoun usage within the article or on a business, university, or organization website. Key Results: Of 2,297 expert sources identified, 35.9% (95% CI 33.9-37.8%; n=824) were women, 63.7% were men (95% CI 61.8-65.7%; n=1,464) and for 0.4%, gender could not be assigned (n=9). After removing duplicate experts, 1,738 unique individuals were cited, of which 34.6% were women (95% CI 32.3-36.8%; n=601), 64.9% were men (95% CI 62.7-67.1%; n=1,128), and 0.05% whose gender was unknown (n=9). Of articles with multiple experts referenced (n=374), 102 cited only men experts (27.3%) and 44 cited only women experts (11.8%).Conclusions: Altogether, this result supports that men are overrepresented compared to women as COVID-19 experts in newspaper articles.

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Representation of Women Among Editors in Chief of Leading Medical Journals

et al. 2021

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IMPORTANCE Women remain underrepresented among editors of scientific journals, particularly in senior positions. However, to what extent this applies to medical journals of different specialties remains unclear.OBJECTIVE To investigate the gender distribution of the editors in chief at leading medical journals. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSCross-sectional study of the editors in chief at the top 10 international medical journals of 41 categories related to the medical specialties of the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Journal Citation Reports in 2019. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Proportion of women as editors in chief. RESULTSThis study found that, overall, women represented 21% (94 of 44) of the editors in chief, with wide variation across medical specialties from 0% to 82%. There were 5 categories for which none of the editors in chief were women (dentistry, oral surgery and medicine; allergy; psychiatry; anesthesiology; and ophthalmology) and only 3 categories for which women outnumbered men as editors in chief (primary health care, microbiology, and genetics and heredity). In 27 of the 41 categories, women represented less than a third of the editors in chief (eg, 1 of 10 for critical care medicine, 2 of 10 for gastroenterology and hepatology, and 3 of 10 for endocrinology and metabolism).

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Governance of the Covid-19 response: a call for more inclusive and transparent decision-making

Cited by 156 publications

References 7 publications

The COVID-19 Pandemic in Francophone West Africa: From the First Cases to Responses in Seven Countries

The COVID-19 Pandemic in Francophone West Africa: From the First Cases to Responses in Seven Countries

The Gender of COVID-19 Experts in Newspaper Articles: A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Representation of Women Among Editors in Chief of Leading Medical Journals

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