“Syndemic Theory, Methods, and Data”
This article, co-written by Emily Mendenhall, Timothy Newfield and Alexander Tsai, introduces an Special Issue of Social Science & Medicine, focused on Rethinking Syndemics through time, space, and method. The authors refer to the theory of syndemics, and how it has been used to explain particular dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The studies they present provide a comprehensive view of how syndemics emerge, converge, and change, and what are the best methods to measure these interactions. Taken together, they illustrate the importance of understanding how diseases emerge, interact, and change through time.