ABSTRACT
Public health emergencies and disasters are events that impact society, affecting people’s, live and their health and safety conditions. Social sciences play a fundamental role in the analysis of such events, by providing a critical perspective on the dimension of the social, cultural, political, and economic structures involved. This article seeks to address the interchangeable concepts of public health emergencies and disasters, and their interrelationships with social aspects, by analyzing how social theorists consider the issue from a risk perspective, in order to better understand the processes of vulnerability. To this end, an exploratory study was carried out that focused on sociological, conceptual, and epistemological approaches, seeking to provide elements for the construction of ideas, technologies and practices that can be added to risk management actions. The results highlight the need for (re)analyses of such phenomena from the broadening of the discussion in search of a greater approximation between the social sciences and the interdisciplinary bases, towards the structuring of a more consensual and plausible theoretical framework on the complex issues observed in the emergency and disaster situations and their impacts on contemporary society.
KEYWORDS
Disasters; Emergencies; Public health; Social sciences; Risk