The DOSA project aims to establish an Observatory for the Social Sciences of Antibiotic Resistance. It includes both research on the digital spaces of antimicrobial resistance and the development of a French network for the social sciences of antimicrobial resistance.
Our aim is to develop, coordinate and internationalize French research in the social sciences of antimicrobial resistance. To this end, we are working to disseminate and popularize our work to a wide range of audiences, including healthcare professionals, public decision-makers and the general public. In particular, the creation of this website in autumn 2024 and a cycle of conferences and debates began in spring 2023.
The project aims to produce studies on the digital spaces of antibiotic resistance, i.e. the various arenas where, on the web, discourses and controversies on antibiotic resistance and antibiotic use are produced. The three OneHealth domains are considered: human health, animal health and the environment. Studying digital spaces is a recent challenge for the social sciences, and one that has not yet been addressed in relation to antibiotic resistance.
DOSA proposes to study at least three of these specific spaces. Firstly, we will study the scientific arenas that can be captured from large digital databases such as the Web of Science (WoS) or PubMed. Social networks and media will also be studied during the course of the project, but this work has not yet begun.
Based on a scientometric study, we aim to find out how this space is structured and how controversies unfold within it. In particular, we want to determine to what extent the OneHealth principle “exists” or not, i.e. whether the human, animal and environmental components of antibiotic resistance interact.
Ultimately, DOSA aims to create a hub for the French social sciences of antibiotic resistance. Indeed, while there is a dynamic international network, its hubs are primarily located in the UK, which has spearheaded the social sciences on the subject. Dame Sally Davies, who was the UK's Chief Medical Officer for an entire decade (2010-2019), has been a strong supporter of these disciplines alongside the biomedical sciences. The country's public health culture (as opposed to the more clinically-oriented professional culture of France) is also a powerful factor in the integration of social sciences into healthcare issues.