The ongoing advancement of our understanding of how racism impacts health - both directly and structurally - is crucial for addressing the deep-rooted health inequities that persist globally. Structural racism shapes health outcomes among racialized populations, contributing to inequities in healthcare access and quality, and impacting social, political, or environmental determinants of health. Existing research also connects direct and visible manifestations of racism, such as major and everyday discrimination, to negative health outcomes. At the same time, racism does not operate in isolation. A growing body of research shows how it intersects with other systems of oppression—such as classism and patriarchy—and with broader social determinants of health, producing compounded and context-specific inequities. An intersectional lens is therefore essential to understand how overlapping structures of power and exclusion shape health and healthcare experiences. These insights are essential in conducting rigorous and thorough health research, guiding anti-racist health policy, and ultimately, ensuring equitable health for all.

Looking forward, research holds the potential to develop new methodologies and indices and unveil complexities in how racism manifests within healthcare systems and societal structures. By deepening our collective understanding, we can develop more effective interventions that target the root causes of health inequities.

We invite researchers to contribute to this special Collection on Racism and Health, focusing on advancing our understanding and addressing health inequities. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

- Racism as a structural determinant of health

- Racism as a direct determinant of health

- Racialized health outcomes in different populations

- Intersectionality and inequities in health, healthcare access and quality

- Nexuses between social, political, and environmental determinants of health and systemic discrimination

- Anti-racist health policy frameworks and systems

- Impact of racism on mental health

- Health inequities in reproductive, maternal, and child health

- Obstetric and reproductive violence

- Community-based interventions for equitable health

- Decolonizing health research and global health epistemologies

We strongly encourage contributions from racialized scholars and authors with lived experience or expertise in addressing systemic discrimination in health research.

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3, Good Health and Well-Being and SDG 10, Reduced Inequalities.

All submissions in this collection undergo the journal’s standard peer review process. Similarly, all manuscripts authored by a Guest Editor(s) will be handled by the Editor-in-Chief. As an open access publication, this journal levies an article processing fee (details here). We recognize that many key stakeholders may not have access to such resources and are committed to supporting participation in this issue wherever resources are a barrier. For more information about what support may be available, please visit OA funding and support, or email OAfundingpolicy@springernature.com or the Editor-in-Chief.

Human health is increasingly shaped by the interconnected pressures of climate change, environmental degradation, and socio‑ecological disruption. These planetary‑scale changes influence not only the epidemiology of infectious diseases, but also the public health systems, social structures, and community capacities that determine exposure, vulnerability, and resilience. This Collection adopts a planetary health perspective to explore how climate variability, ecosystem disruption, and human–environment interactions affect infectious disease risks and the public health responses needed to address them.

We welcome research that examines how shifts in temperature, precipitation, humidity, extreme weather events, land‑use change, biodiversity loss, and urbanization influence pathogen ecology, transmission pathways, and population vulnerability. Beyond epidemiological patterns, the Collection seeks contributions that address preparedness, surveillance, health system resilience, risk communication, governance, and cross‑sectoral interventions aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate‑related infectious disease threats.

Studies leveraging epidemiological datasets, climate and environmental records, spatial mapping, and predictive modeling are encouraged, as are qualitative, policy‑focused, and implementation‑oriented works that illuminate barriers and opportunities within public health systems. Particular attention is given to inequities in exposure and resilience, the needs of high‑risk populations, and the role of community‑level and institutional adaptation strategies.

By integrating epidemiology, environmental science, and public health practice, this Collection aims to advance understanding of climate–disease interactions, strengthen early warning and response systems, and inform adaptive strategies that protect and promote planetary health in a rapidly changing world. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• Climate‑sensitive infectious diseases and changing transmission patterns
• Impacts of extreme weather events and environmental disruption on disease risk
• Public health preparedness, surveillance, and early warning systems
• Health system resilience and climate adaptation strategies
• Socio‑ecological vulnerability, inequities, and community resilience
• Land‑use change, biodiversity loss, and zoonotic spillover
• Modeling climate, environmental, and disease interactions
• Governance, policy, and multisectoral responses to planetary health threats
• One Health and Planetary Health approaches to infectious disease prevention

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 13, Climate actions.

All submissions in this collection undergo the journal’s standard peer review process. Similarly, all manuscripts authored by a Guest Editor(s) will be handled by the Editor-in-Chief. As an open access publication, this journal levies an article processing fee (details here). We recognize that many key stakeholders may not have access to such resources and are committed to supporting participation in this issue wherever resources are a barrier. For more information about what support may be available, please visit OA funding and support, or email OAfundingpolicy@springernature.com or the Editor-in-Chief.