The crisis in the healthcare sector has been in the headlines repeatedly since the coronavirus pandemic. However, this crisis dynamic did not begin with the pandemic, nor was it caused by it. The problems of contemporary healthcare systems in Global North countries lie much deeper and manifest themselves in a series of increasingly acute contradictions. On the one hand, health has improved, and life expectancy has increased, not least due to medical advances. On the other hand, social inequality in healthcare is rising and there are considerable staff shortages underpinned by difficult working conditions. The sector is divided into economically viable areas and areas that are considered a cost burden. At one end of the spectrum, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies and medical technology companies make profits, while at the other end of the value chain, the care-intensive areas such as nursing and social care are under pressure. In her talk Emma Dowling asks: What makes it so difficult to provide care in the current healthcare system and what can be done about it?
Emma Dowling is a faculty member of the Department of Sociology at the University of Vienna. Her research focuses on the transnational dynamics of crisis and change in welfare, health and social care systems, and she has a long-standing interest in how emotions are put to work in contemporary capitalism. She is the author of The Care Crisis - What Caused It and How Can We End It? (Verso Books, 2021). In 2023 she received a Kurt-Rothschild Award for her work on the care crisis.