Medical trends since the pandemic

Last year, the World Health Organisation declared the end of the pandemic. But months on, we’re still seeing knock-on changes to the way we live and work. Our habits and interests have shifted and that’s even clear in the type of medical research that’s being focused on and funded. So, today, we’ll look at pandemics in general, the evolving approach to global health challenges, health equity & social determinants and climate change’s impact on health. We’ll talk about what governments are doing and the innovations and programmes which could support better outcomes in the future. These topics intersect in various ways, giving us a clear picture of medical trends since the pandemic. So, if you’re studying to enter the medical profession, this list will highlight some trends and research in this space that you might get to participate in and contribute to.

Pandemics

Pandemics are global health crises that highlight the interconnectedness of our world. From the impact of international flights to how one country’s response impacts the others; addressing pandemics will require an understanding of government action plans, infectious disease spread and differing levels of access to healthcare. Students are getting more interested in public policy around health and response plans as a result. We’re getting introspective as a field and thinking about what we could do better.

● WHO’s new PRET approach - They state this new plan will, “help countries better prepare for future pandemics, WHO launched a new initiative today that provides guidance on integrated planning for responding to any respiratory pathogen such as influenza or coronaviruses”

● UK government’s plan to help - At the UN Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response High-level Meeting in 2023, the UK government minister outlined the UK’s desire to help mid and lower-income countries manage health threats better while boosting our own NHS preparedness 

● We’ve lost ground in gender equality - The British Medical Journal highlights, “From sex differences in exposure, infection, illness, hospital admission, and death, to the gendered burdens of caregiving, homeschooling, interpersonal violence, and professional loss, the pandemic preyed on and worsened inequities between men and women”

● We’re not sure how much it will cost - To create a robust pandemic preparedness and response (PPR) system, we need an accurate forecast of the costs involved but that’s stalling things as experts can’t agree on who or what to include. They’ll need to resolve this quickly so they can get to the real work of improving systems

Global health challenges

On top of any pandemic countries may face, many already have spreading infectious diseases of their own, poor maternal and child health or issues with rural healthcare and systemic health disparities within their own populations. Preventing the impact of another pandemic may come down to how well we solve these existing challenges, putting everyone on equal footing before facing another global outbreak. Medical students are getting involved here, with boots on the ground alongside organisations that are combating these issues be they charitable or government programmes.

● Transatlantic partnership to address post-pandemic global health issues - The Pan American Health Organisation, World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe and the United States Department for Health and Human Services are now collaborating on strengthening health systems and services across regions 

● Progress toward universal health coverage stagnates - The report states, “over the past two decades, less than a third of countries have improved health service coverage and reduced catastrophic out-of-pocket health spending. Moreover, most countries for which data are available on both Universal Health Coverage dimensions (96 out of 138) are off-track in either service coverage, financial protection, or both”

● The UK is looking to deploy more global health resources - Investment in life sciences, supporting global health research and participating in global disease surveillance systems will spot health risks faster so resources can be mobilised quicker than during the COVID-19 pandemic 

● Surgeons need to take a lead on global health - A report by the NIHR Global Health Research Unit for Global Surgery GlobalSurg Collaborative notes the impact of access, equity, inclusion, diversity, climate change and public health on the surgical profession and how surgeons need to focus beyond the operating table to fix the issues we’re currently tackling 

Health equity and social determinants

We’re seeing; more than ever, that income, education and access to quality healthcare have a massive impact on positive health outcomes. As such, after the pandemic, we’re noticing increased interest in health equity, social justice and advocacy among medical students like you. Fixing the systems we have in place and making sure the NHS and similar programmes are available to all will better prepare us for the next global health threat.

● Health and gender equality leads to peace - “The Lancet Commission on Peaceful Societies through Health Equity and Gender Equality illustrates how improvements in health equity and gender equality transform societies, placing them on pathways to enduring peace”

● WHO updates its guidance on monitoring health equity - The pandemic has made it necessary to accurately monitor and focus efforts on building societies that benefit everyone and the WHO has updated its recommendations on how this monitoring should take place

● Wearables having an impact on health equity - Deploying wearable sensors amongst vulnerable patient populations can improve health outcomes. Similar devices can connect patients to the whole of a healthcare system tracking their biomarkers and reacting quicker to an incident

● Health inequity widens with rare diseases - The piece states that “people living with rare diseases often have a lengthy diagnostic journey, lack treatment options, and encounter limited awareness of their conditions. For people living with a rare disease, health inequity remains a major barrier to their care”

Climate change

Perhaps a bit less intuitive, the health impacts of climate change are becoming more obvious as time goes on. The effects of extreme weather events, air pollution and vector-borne diseases are exacerbated by climate change. And so, we’re seeing medical students become more interested in advocacy for climate action and sustainability in healthcare.

● World Bank explains why climate change makes health issues worse - They highlight heat-related conditions, changing disease transmission, increasing pandemic occurrences, floods, droughts and extreme weather events

● COP28 demands from 40 million health professionals - The health sector made its voice heard in 2023 as they called for a move to clean energy and a strong response to the health challenges caused by climate change

● UK £100m to climate-vulnerable countries - At the same COP28 summit, the UK government ministers highlighted part of their £1.6billion climate aid package that will focus just on helping vulnerable countries tackle climate change

● Commonwealth Secretariat + PATH accelerator for climate change on health - The Accelerator for Resilience in Climate and Health will source, roll out, finance and ramp up innovations to help communities mitigate the impact of climate change. It has a pipeline of 20 high-impact solutions ready for deployment in Commonwealth countries already

So, it’s clear that the pandemic has highlighted some gaps in our global health systems and strengthened our resolve to end the disparities and emerge stronger than ever. If you’d like to be a part of this change, why not talk to the University of Bolton about getting a focused medical degree? As a warm and inclusive university, we’re always here to support you, so please talk to us about any questions you have.