Antimicrobial Resistance, Vulnerabilities and Justice in Healthcare

The 5th ISA Forum of Sociology will take place in Rabat, Morocco on July 6-11, 2025. Its aim is to bring together sociologists from all over the world around the theme of “Knowing Justice in the Anthropocene”. The Forum brings together 67 research committees, working groups and thematic groups to help shape the debate.

The Sociology of Health Research Committee (RC15) proposed 30 research sessions, including a specific one on “Antimicrobial Resistance, Vulnerabilities and Justice in Healthcare”.

Indeed, in a context where antimicrobial resistance is a widespread phenomenon worldwide, the coordinators of this session propose to explore “he multifaceted social dimensions of AMR, encompassing a broad array of topics related to social context, healthcare environments, and ethical considerations, particularly in the context of justice”. Contributions are invited on the following themes :

• “how gender, ethnicity, age, social class, and other vulnerabilities impact medical decision-making over antibiotic prescription;

• the role of social and economic vulnerabilities in shaping individual and community exposure to AMRhow cultural beliefs and practices influence antibiotic use and perceptions of AMR (with a particular focus on comparative studies of antibiotic consumption and prescription practices in different cultural settings)

• how knowledge regarding antibiotic consumption and prescription is produced and disseminated in different cultural contexts and professional fields

• Ethical dimensions of AMR policy and practice – exploring justice-focused approaches to ensuring equitable access to antibiotics and preventing AMR”

This session is organized by:

• Ana Patricia HILARIO, Instituto de Ciências Sociais da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal, patriciahilario@gmail.com
• Alice SCAVARDA, Universita degli Studi di Torino, Italy, alice.scavarda@unito.it
• Jaroslava MARHANKOVA jaroslava.marhankova@fsv.cuni.cz

The call for papers is now closed, but you can find all the related information here and the Forum information here.