August 9, 2022  — Dr. Nina T. Castillo-Carandang, Health Sociologist, Professor, and Vice Chair for Administration, UP College of Medicine Department of Clinical Epidemiology spoke in a virtual roundtable discussion (RTD) that sought to clarify the future directions of Social Sciences in Global Health alongside exploring priority areas where social scientists should focus on. It is the first of a series of collaborative work between the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) and the Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC). It encouraged knowledge sharing and collegial collaboration between and among social scientists and global health experts in Asia and the Pacific in order to deepen the discourse on the role of social sciences and global health in preventing future pandemics.

Five other speakers were in the RTD: Dr. Jose G. Rimon III, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Dr. Maria Minerva Calimag, University of Santo Tomas; Dr. Judith McCool, University of Auckland; Dr. Edmund W.J. Lee, Nanyang Technological University; and Dr. Jonathan Guillemot, Universidad San Francisco de Quito.

“I don’t like the term new normal because we haven’t learned the bitter lessons of the pandemic if we’re just going back to what we used to have. So the context and the lived experiences of people and community, especially marginalized groups, vulnerable groups, including our frontline healthcare workers, are particularly important given the challenges of the pandemic,” Professor Castillo-Carandang asserted when asked about  the role of social science, of social scientists, and the use of social science research during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Dr. Castillo-Carandang, the role of the social sciences is to document all of what is happening, our lived experiences, and to counterpoint with what it will take us to be able to transition to a better every day. With the worsening impact of climate change, growing populations, and increased poverty, the health sociologist believes that the state of our planet is very fragile – the likelihood of yet another pandemic happening is not far-fetched – and there is a global crisis in mental health and a growing concern with monkeypox.

Dr. Castillo-Carandang explained that the narratives and the discourses are part of what the social sciences have contributed. The social sciences has given a lens to governance, a voice to the resistance and to the human agency and emergent agency which are very much part of the social science response. The disruptions brought about by the pandemic have also spawned the emergence of new actors, issues, coalitions, and repertoires. This gives an opportunity to actually shape and reshape our societies, citizen-state relations, and give a good nudge to government and to the agencies that this is not enough.

The hashtag #NowIsNotTheTimeToBeSilent is both Dr. Castillo-Carandang’s position and what she believes as something that the social sciences can contribute. Dr. Jonathan Guillemot, a gerontologist, agreed with Dr. Castillo-Carandang’s notion of “no silence”, looking at it as an essential role of the social scientists. Dr. Guillemot says that the notion helps us point to the issues that arise or have risen around COVID-19.

On the term “social distancing”, Dr. Castillo-Carandang noted that it is obvious that the term came about without consulting a social scientist. The health sociologist reminded everyone that we need to be socially connected but physically distant. Unfortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) only started changing this after their attention was called. Dr. Jose G. Rimon II confirmed Dr. Castillo-Carandang’s point, citing personal experience when communicating with faith-based groups and business groups.

Dr. Castillo-Carandang mentioned three main ideas on the role of social scientists. It is important for social scientists to decide on their own ethical boundaries. There is a need to be “glocal”, meaning, to “think global, act local” because there are local solutions to the global crisis. There is also a need to think across disciplines, for transdisciplinary critical engagement and collaboration, including going out of one’s comfort zone. Finally, Dr. Castillo-Carandang exhorted scientists that  “now is not the time to be silent”  for them to give their opinion, solicited or not, because there is always room for evidence-based science.

Dr. Nina T. Castillo-Carandang is also a member of the WHO Social Science Technical Working Group for COVID-19 and of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group for the COVID-19 Vaccine in the Philippines, the only sociologist in the group.

Haziel May C. Natorilla