The establishment of a national federation representing health workers from ethnic minorities

ContextThe Federation of Ethnic Minority Healthcare Organisations (FEMHO) was established in 2022 in light of the disproportionate inequalities experienced by this group before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.The FEMHO is as a multidisciplinary consortium representing Ethic Minority organisations and individuals within the health and social care in the UK. At the time of writing, FEMHO represents over 55,000 individual members, covering various disciplines, specialisms and levels of seniority, spanning across 43 organisations and interest groups. As a self-governed union, FEMHO encourages organisations to collaborate and work collectively to achieve better outcomes through the implementation of improved policies and opinion formers as well regulators and commissioners both locally and nationally.Issue/ChallengeOf the 1.2 million staff employed by NHS, 20.7% belong to Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background. However, analysis of deaths of NHS Staff during the pandemic showed that 64% of those who died belonged to a BAME background. Such disproportionate impacts were seen when the number of deaths amongst doctors and nurses were further analysed, where 20% of nursing staff identified as BAME yet 64% of nurses who died were BAME and 44% of medical staff identified as BAME and 95% of doctors who died were BAME.Doctors from BAME backgrounds also reported:Feeling less confident that appropriate adjustments had been made to mitigate riskFeeling less confident about PPE provision and feeling safe to report PPE shortagesHigher rates of bullying and harassment during the pandemic periodSuch inequalities are believed to be as a result of a number of structural inequalities that existed well beyond the pandemic. it also hypothesised that several inequalities may persist well beyond the pandemic, such as the disproportionate impact of long-covid of health workers from an ethnic minority, which is currently being investigated by researchers at the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leicester Biomedical Research Centre.In view of these challenges, the FEMHO was established as a method of collaborating and co-ordinating the efforts of grassroots organisations, policy makers, regulators and commissioners to ensure that the lived experiences and potential solutions offered by organisations and individuals within this group can be better heard and acted upon.Assessment of issue and analysis of its causesThe FEMHO was established to promote a more concerted approach for the advocacy for health workers from ethnic minority backgrounds, with the aim of reducing the inequalities experienced by this group. A two pronged approach of galvanising grassroots organisations already working tirelessly to support ethnic minority health workers along with lobbying and collating interests amongst policy makers, commissioners and regulators was utilised.For grassroots organisations, a mixed methodology of targeted invitations and open advertisement of opportunities for membership was utilised. Several mediums were used to spread the word of such opportunities, including social media posts, word of mouth and email.For policy makers and systems leaders, a more targeted approach was adopted to acquire their support. A targeted email campaign was developed to raise awareness of FEMHO's work with the aim of acquiring their official support, particularly in the form of endorsing FEMHO's call for the inclusion of race inequality in the COVID-19 public enquiry.ImpactAt the time of writing, the FEMHO has been successful in galvanising the membership and support of both grassroots organisations and policy makers respectively at a national level.FEMHO now represents over 55,000 individual members, covering various disciplines, specialisms and levels of seniority, spanning across 43 organisations and interest groups.The targeted email campaign saw the achievement of 39 cross party MPs officially supporting FEMHO's call for inclusion of race inequality in the COVID-19 public enquiry.An inaugural meeting was also held within th Houses of Parliament, where grassroot organisation leads as well as MPs were invited to discuss the strategic priorities and direction of the organisation such as the organisations contribution to the COVID-19 public enquiry, to ensure that inequality is truly at the ‘forefront' of issues.Feedback acquired during the inaugural meeting from MPs and front-line workers was incredibly positive, with attendees welcoming this concerted approach to effect change.Challenges faced in this process largely themed around the limited time availability of the several individuals involved with this project. Executive members of the union as well as grassroots member leads largely worked full time in a variety of demanding healthcare professionals, making communication, organisation and prioritisation of voluntary roles such as contribution to FEMHO work difficult at times.InterventionThe intervention, being the development of a national union equipped with the lived experience and expertise of members who are able to effectively advocate for the interests for health workers from ethnic minority backgrounds, has had numerous positive outcomes:A shared space for grassroots organisations to share best practice for support of healthcare workers from ethnic minority backgroundsA concerted voice to contribute to policy change to address the structural inequalities that adversely impact healthcare workers from ethnic minority backgroundsFrom this experience thus far I have learnt that leadership, with regards to solving complex problems, can often be a journey of harnessing the voices, expertise and influence of several individuals and organisations to effect change. Such a journey can come with numerous hurdles: from stakeholder mapping to initiatives to promote cross-specialty, cross-seniority, cross-political party discussions. But I have learnt, particularly from the exec leadership team, made up Ade Adeyemi MBE (a Global Health Policy Expert) and Professor JS Bamrah CBE (Chair, British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin), and other notable individuals, that such efforts to galvanise individuals who have seemingly different priorities is often possible when you are able to see beyond this as a leader and define, clarify and communicate where such individuals share interests and focuses in common.Involvement of stakeholders, such as patients, carers or family members:As mentioned, the main stakeholders that had to be consulted within this process were front-line care workers from ethnic minority backgrounds and any relevant organisations who may work at a grassroots level to support them.Such stakeholders were involved through the establishment of communication channels as well as feedback sessions to ensure that the FEMHO was sufficiently and accurately representing the interests of the group in question.Key MessagesSolving complex problems as a leader requires the ability to create a collaborative environment that often sees the development, nurturing or new relationships at both an individuals and organisation levelLeaders are able to harness human energy through the development and forecast of a vision and mission that is inspiring and compelling, encouraging individuals to sacrifice their time for a matter bigger than themChange that is sustainable and impactful can often be slow, as seen with the policy changes we continue to advocate for as an organisation, but leaders must be patient.Lessons learntAs mentioned, I have learnt that to effect change, one must be patient as a leader. Our policy activities has taken a great deal of time to be heard and seen, and it can often be tempting to grow impatient and quit.Future barriers to our work include the degree to which can promote regular communication and collaboration amongst member organisations who are often time poor, competing with a number of other priorities such as a demanding full time career in healthcare. Other barriers include maintaining political interest from policy makers, commissioners, MPs, many of which may not hold positions for a long-term basis, as a r sult of the political nature of many of their positions.Measurement of improvementWe will measure the effect of our initiative through a series of feedback forms, particularly of member organisations and their members to assess the degree to which front-line care workers from ethnic minority backgrounds feel that progress in being made in the level of advocacy and campaigning on their behalf. Additionally, we will seek to gather feedback on our members perception of ways of working and any suggestions to ensure that all member organisations feel empowered to influence the direction of the federationStrategy for improvementAfter each feedback round, held on a quarterly basis, executive members of the FEMHO will analyse findings and implement changes accordingly where possible

Balancing the Drinking Act: A Grounded Theory of Youth Drinking, Policy and COVID-19 in Botswana

Stakeholder and consumer participation is generally seen as a critical part of effective alcohol policy making as it has a direct impact on policy implementation. In the advent of COVID-19, the views and experiences of stakeholders and consumers were integral to how countries responded to the virus. The involvement of alcohol stakeholders and consumers raises critical questions about policy making practices. Using Grounded Theory (GT) methods amongst 20 drinkers and six alcohol stakeholders, I examined the views and experiences of stakeholders and alcohol consumers in Botswana during COVID-19. I identified two interrelated core categories of Balancing the Drinking Act and Problematic Youth Drinking that were prominent as the country dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. First, I argue that balancing the drinking act suggests the need for government to balance alcohol regulation with the needs of drinkers. Second, I highlight that problematic youth drinking relates to an emerging yet consistent belief that young people in Botswana are collectively responsible for alcohol "problems." These key themes center consumer and stakeholder participation in alcohol policy development. Moreover, the current analysis demonstrates the interplay between alcohol use and prohibition during COVID-19, and how it might be mediated by cultural scripts used by consumers and stakeholders in Botswana.

Is There a First Mover Advantage in Lobbying? A Comparative Analysis of How the Timing of Mobilization Affects the Influence of Interest Groups in 10 Polities

The first mover advantage is a critical factor for the productivity of firms that enter new markets. Surprisingly, however, the importance of timing is rarely explored in studies of interest groups and their influence on new policy agendas. In this article, we therefore develop a theory of first mover advantages in lobbying. We argue that especially more resourceful and more highly affected organizations should be able to benefit from early lobbying. Using granular survey data on the timing of lobby efforts by interest groups on Covid-19 related policies in 10 European democracies, we test this novel theory. Our results show that timing is an important predictor of lobbying influence, but that interest groups which are hardly affected by a new policy cannot benefit from early mover advantages in the same way as affected organizations. Moreover, we give evidence for differences in first mover advantages depending on organizational staff resources.

Public choice and public health.

Public choice scholars have attended only modestly to issues in public health. We expect that to change rapidly given the Covid-19 pandemic. The time therefore is ripe for taking stock of public-choice relevant scholarship that addresses issues in public health. That is what we do. Our stock-taking highlights three themes: (1) Public health regulations often are driven by private interests, not public ones. (2) The allocation of public health resources often reflects private interests, not public ones. (3) Public health policies may have perverse effects, undermining instead of promoting health-consumer welfare.

An opportunity for what? Interest groups facing the impact of COVID 19 on the tourism sector

The sustained growth of tourism activity for more than seven decades and its resilience to crisis led to the consolidation of a tourism policy arena in which public decision-makers and some interest groups from the tourism sector participated on a regular basis. In the context of this policy domain, the narrative on tourism and tourism policy also responded to a robust rhetoric which, regardless the circumstances, was already dealing with negative feedback that pointed out different problems related to the sustainability of the model such as overcrowded destinations or poor quality of jobs in the tourism sector among others. The effects of the health crisis caused by COVID-19 in the tourism sector were particularly significant mainly due to mobility restrictions. In order to cope with this situation much more active positions from both governments and interest groups were required. The article examines the impact on the stakeholder map as well as possible changes in the strategies adopted by the players involved. The research conclusions support the idea that stakeholders continue to perform their duties without any significant change, although a more relevant contribution is demanded during the difficult moments we are currently experiencing. This situation is pushing them to assume more proactive and open to dialogue positions.

Interest Group Strategic Responses to Democratic Backsliding

In this article, we offer insights into the plurality of interest groups' strategic responses to the socially, politically, and economically transformative phenomenon of democratic backsliding. For the purpose of the article, the term "ideational plurality” has been coined to refer to a plurality of interest groups' ideas leading their activities in general and their choice of strategies concerning the government in particular (attitudinal and behavioural aspects). Two policy fields and two types of interest groups engaged in an institutionalised social partnership—advocacy NGOs (operating in the environmental policy field) and economic groups (trade unions)—are studied comparatively in Slovenia using a mixed‐methods approach. The key findings are that strategic responses to democratic backsliding vary between environmental NGOs and trade unions, as do their ideational plurality, and that environmental NGOs' ideational plurality damages their potential to struggle against democratic backsliding. In contrast, trade unions' ideational homogeneity enables them to jointly struggle against governmental destruction of one significant segment of democratic order (institutions of social partnership) without demanding that the government step down for misusing the Covid‐19 pandemic to establish a system of governance that resonates with Viktor Orbán's ideas of illiberal democracy.

The Unequal Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Political Interest Representation.

The COVID-19 pandemic is viewed by many as the biggest global crisis since WWII and had profound effects on the daily lives of people and decision-making worldwide. Using the pandemic as a system-wide agenda shock, we employ a difference-in-differences design to estimate its causal effects on inequalities in political access, and social media prominence among business interests and NGOs. Our argument is twofold. First, the urgency and uncertainty of crises incentivized decision-makers to privilege providing access to business groups over securing inclusivity in the types of interests consulted. Second, NGOs compensated by increasing prominence in public communications. Our analysis of data from over 10,000 interest groups from over 100 countries registered in the European Union supports these hypotheses. Business interests successfully capitalized on the crisis in insider access, while NGOs increased prominence on social media. The results have wider implications for understanding how large-scale crises affect inequalities in representation. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11109-022-09842-x.

The pox of politics: Troesken's tradeoff reexamined.

In The Pox of Liberty, Werner Troesken details the tradeoff between liberal institutions and communicable disease. According to Troesken, individual freedom presents a danger to the public health in the face of infectious disease, while constitutional constraints restrict the government's ability to implement effective policy. Contra Troesken, I argue that decision-makers, amidst a crisis of contagion, neglect intertemporal tradeoffs, thereby discounting long run costs while favoring short run policies. These policies, once implemented, are difficult to reverse due to the path dependent nature of political institutions. Irreversible and self-reinforcing growth in political institutions established to enhance health can have an unintended negative impact on health during future crises, where political agents must operate in a more cumbersome and error-prone institutional environment. Using events from the history of public health in the U.S. as support for my theory, I conclude that Troesken's alleged tradeoff ought to be met with greater skepticism.

Factors Evaluating the Crisis Preparedness of a City in the Era of New Normal: Based on an Analytic Hierarchy Process Survey of Korean Experts *

This study aimed to identify the key components of crisis preparedness and understand the relative importance of various public relations (PR) factors to suggest efficient ways to prepare for a pandemic crisis, such as COVID-19. We highlight the process-oriented approach of crisis preparedness in addition to the static readiness in response to a crisis. Specifically, we conducted an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) using focus group interviews and a pairwise comparison questionnaire with 25 PR experts írom academia, industry, and local governments. The experts highlighted a three-level hierarchical structure of crisis preparedness. At the highest level, issue management (43.3%) was relatively more important than crisis communication (30.4%) and risk communication (26.3%). Overall, we observed that process-oriented crisis preparedness (e.g., monitoring issues, building positive and resolving negative issues, and reporting crisis) are relatively more important than the static preparedness system (e.g., budgets and printing periodicals, or classic offline PR tactics such as communication with different stakeholders and interest groups). Overall, we highlight the importance of pre-crisis readiness over post-crisis readiness, preemptive PR over typical offline PR activities, and intangible trust-building based on systematic information monitoring.

Science, Rulemaking, and COVID-19 in the Philippines : Evaluating the Scientific Basis of the Motorcycle Pillion Shield Regulation

This article evaluates the Philippine government’s science-based response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the field of administrative rulemaking. Specifically, it evaluates the effectiveness of the Motorcycle Pillion Shield Regulation (MPSR) to implement social distancing and prevent COVID-19 infections in motorcycle back-riding. Applying Max Weber’s view on the necessity of scientific expertise in rulemaking, and using government and media reports, the article analyzes the scientific foundation of the MPSR rulemaking by the Philippine Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) and National Task Force (NTF), the country’s top task forces against COVID-19. It argues that a truly science-based approach to rulemaking must be based on sound scientific evidence and consultation with scientists, experts, interest groups, and motorcycle riding public, before crafting and implementing a regulation. Results showed that use of shield in motorcycle back-riding can cause the spread of the virus instead of preventing it, especially in motorcycle taxis. The use of common helmet and the inevitable physical contact between the driver and the back-rider may cause infection if one rider is positive, as scientific studies indicate that touching contaminated surfaces can cause a transmission. It is also an added expense, unsafe, and prone to accident as the shield obstructs the motorcycle’s aerodynamics and balance. Lastly, no comprehensive scientific study and consultations with experts and riders before the MPSR was crafted and implemented by the NTF. Ultimately, this article contends that the government’s claim to a science-based strategy against COVID-19 can remain elusive if it fails to address the country’s lack of a reliable scientific advisory group and if it fails to amend the new Philippine Administrative Code to require regulators to strictly follow sound science in rulemaking.

Political Trust

INTRODUCTION Political trust-trust in government and democracy-has been declining across the democratic world for several decades.1 This phenomenon is especially pronounced in the United States, where it is accompanied by a fall in social trust-trust in society generally. Other political groups have eagerly defended the vaccine. [...]trust requires thinking that the trustee is competent to perform the action we trust her to perform.4 As Annette Baier has argued, "Trust . . . is reliance on others' competence and willingness to look after, rather than harm, things one cares about which are entrusted to their care. "16 Philip Nickel argues that acting from moral obligation is the right motive.17 Amy Mullin claims that we can trust others only if we believe that they comply with social norms.18 Colin O'Neil offers a similar point that a trustee warrants trust when she believes in her obligations.19 And Jones, once an advocate of the goodwill condition, claims that trustees need only respond appropriately to "another's dependency.

We Need to Do Better: Five Notable Failings in Science Communication

Despite significant growth in interest and investment in science communication, the field has demonstrated some high-profile failures in recent years—exemplified by anti-vaccine and anti-climate change beliefs—supported by interest groups that are often highly effective at promoting anti-science messages. This paper looks at five key areas where science communication research and practice need to do better, and offers some solutions, in order to achieve the impact that science communicators strive for. Copyright: © 2022 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Pandemic Pluralism: Legislator Championing of Organized Interests in Response to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has induced a system-wide economic downturn disrupting virtually every conceivable economic interest. Which interests do legislators publicly champion during such crises? Here, we examine mentions of particular industries across thousands of press releases issued by members of Congress during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (January to June 2020). We show that members consistently emphasized interests significant to their constituency and party network, but less so their direct campaign contributors or ideological allies. This suggests that members believe that they must be seen as good district representatives and party stewards even when national crises could justifiably induce them to favor any number of interests.

A CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF ARTICLE 16 OF THE IRELAND–NORTHERN IRELAND PROTOCOL

Article 16 of the Ireland–Northern Ireland Protocol annexed to the EU–UK Withdrawal Agreement is an escape clause which allows the parties to deviate from their obligations under certain conditions. This article maps out the main features of the safeguards provision in the Protocol in light of international trade law and international relations literature on treaty design. It provides a detailed examination of the safeguards provision in the Protocol and highlights the key design flaws associated with this regime as well as some potential solutions to such flaws.

Deconsolidation of Liberal Democracy in the Baltic States. The Issue of Compliance with the EU Standards at Institutional and Value Levels

This article analyses compliance of the post-Soviet Baltic States with the EU liberal-democratic standards, at both institutional and value levels. The authors prove that fulfilment of the Copenhagen criteria for EU accession did not determine an enhancement of the quality of democracy in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. This study highlights that, in recent years, the Baltic States have entered a phase of stagnation of liberal-democratic transformations and that they need a more active position of the state on institutional reforms and resocialization of citizens to strengthen adherence to the political and legal values that the EU is based on. The article emphasises how the global financial crisis of 2008, the European migration crisis (2015) and the current coronavirus pandemic have all had an impact on the quality of democracy in the Baltic States. The authors focus on the incomplete process of value reforming among the Baltic population against the EU liberal-democratic standards. The article highlights that the post-totalitarian rotation of values in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is slow and faces rejection of European liberal-democratic values to a greater or lesser extent. It underlines the preservation of the totalitarian (Soviet) vestiges of political culture, which contradict the EU paradigm of values and prevent the Baltic States from improving the quality of democracy. It is noted that, in terms of the radicalization level in defending national interests, the Baltic countries take the intermediate position between the Nordic and the V4 countries, particularly Hungary and Poland that develop illiberal democracy patterns.

DELIBERATIVE COMMUNICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF AUTHORITARIAN SENTIMENTALISM AND DISINFORMATION CHAOS

In an era of multiplatform journalism and the extraordinary ease of presenting views online, democracies face a key challenge, namely convincing citizens of the rightness of the solutions put forward. The concepts of "deliberative communication" offer a seemingly simple solution to the search for social consensus. However, citizens are much more exposed than in the past to disinformation, misdirection and purposeful manipulation. This study examines the quality of public debate in the adoption of major health legislation in the Slovak Republic. The aim is to highlight the different attitudes of the participants to the debate and the different motivations of the participants in the broad public debate. The study presents an analysis of the outputs of professional organisations and political representatives at national and regional level. It highlights the biased coverage of local media and the level of debate involving an exceptionally large range of speakers.

LA REPRESENTACIÓN DE INTERESES EN TIEMPOS DE CRISIS (Introducción)

El objetivo de esta sección monográfica de la Revista Española de Ciencia Política (RECP) es analizar la movilización de los grupos de interés durante la pandemia generada por el virus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). En un contexto de gran incertidumbre, los grupos de interés refuerzan su papel como actores clave en el proceso de elaboración de las políticas públicas. Por un lado, estos grupos pueden contribuir a simplificar el debate político canalizando frente a los poderes públicos las diferentes formas de entender los problemas derivados de la pandemia. Por otro, sindicatos, patronales, colegios profesionales y organizaciones no gubernamentales pueden contribuir a garantizar la eficiencia de las respuestas políticas a la crisis a través de la elaboración de indicadores, informes y estudios en profundidad sobre problemas concretos. Esta información es especialmente relevante en un contexto de crisis, en el que ningún actor del sistema político por sí solo dispone de los instrumentos para prever y definir respuestas eficaces a los riesgos derivados de la propagación de un virus a nivel global. Del mismo modo, los grupos pueden contribuir a legitimar las decisiones políticas y a reducir los conflictos potenciales derivados de la implementación de estas decisiones entre los diferentes colectivos que representan.

Exploring Hybrid: A (hybrid) SIG to discuss hybrid conferences

In this special interest group (SIG), we follow up on previous conversations around hybrid models for conferences, conducted in open sessions by the ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI) Executive Committee (EC). The COVID-19 pandemic led to a sudden shift to virtual conferences;as we start to go back to in-person events, it is important to reflect on the types of events we desire, and design these accordingly. With this SIG, we hope to share experiences from previous conferences (successful or not) and discuss potential solutions to pending issues. This SIG will be led by VP at Large Adriana S. Vivacqua, with the participation of other EC members. © 2022 Owner/Author.

ADVOCACY ORGANISATIONS IN CEE HEALTHCARE - DOES EXPERTISE MATTER?

The role of expert knowledge in policy-making processes has come to occupy a prominent position in scholar debates. In addition, expertise is a well-recognized resource, facilitating interest groups' access to decision-makers. It is expected for evidence-based knowledge to be of high importance especially in the healthcare sector. However, we still know very little about the role of expertise in healthcare policy in CEE. The region itself is not a monolith, as it covers countries at various stages of economic, social, and democratic development. This article aims to overcome this research gap by examining the importance of expertise developed and provided by interest groups operating in the healthcare field as well as the extent to which this expertise translates into their access to policy-making apparatus. By examining different types of expertise (scientific, legal, economic, and impact), the Authors provide a unique approach to the topic, presenting data gathered just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which undoubtedly revealed the importance, but also the crisis of the approach to expert knowledge.