Health and Society

Cancer, diabetes, and heart conditions have dramatically increased in our societies, urging the questions: Why have these non-infectious diseases spread so widely in the past decades? How do local forms of lifestyle and nutrition influence such an increase? And how do traditional and cultural conceptions of illness, healing, medicine, and food relate to these diseases?

Health and medical conditions are embedded within an increasingly complex, globalized, and multifactorial context. Therefore, the AGYA Working Group Health and Society recognizes and respects the need for an interdisciplinary approach to studying and addressing disease, thus bringing together members from disciplines as widely ranging as public health, medicine, biology, pharmacology, environmental science, sports, nutrition, psychology, sociology, and history.

As members of the Working Group Health and Society, we map, explore, and compare the contemporary health challenges faced by societies in both Germany and the Arab countries. We also examine how culture-specific health policies and legislation impact the general health and wellbeing of citizens and how health programs can be improved by taking into account the social and ethical dimension of health.

We adjust our focus to address contemporary challenges: Looking into the ongoing abuse of antibiotics; exploring how developing hand sanitizers could reduce the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic; illuminating the connection between gender, class, and maternal health; and seeking to educate the public on overcoming obesity.