Entire populations around the globe are robbed of the opportunity to reach their full health potential. Social and structural determinants of health such as unstable housing, food insecurity, unjust historical policies and educational inequalities drive health inequities across the lifespan. A large body of research documents the relationships among these determinants and poorer health outcomes. However, there remains a critical need to apply what we’ve learned about these relationships to ameliorate inequities and optimize health for all individuals. Research with attention to equity (customized tools that address inequalities proportionate to need) and justice (fixing the systems causing inequities) can be used to transform existing paradigms toward a healthier international community. Thus, this Topical Collection aims to highlight novel ideas and research findings to inform programs, interventions, policies, clinical practice and curricular changes, and other means of ensuring that all individuals have an opportunity to reach their full health potential. We welcome submissions that apply an equity and/or justice lens to leverage research to improve health across conditions, populations, life course stages, and social and structural health domains. There are no restrictions on the types of papers that will be considered as theoretical/conceptual, methodological, applied, policy and other papers are needed to advance the science in this key area. Papers that showcase the work of transdisciplinary teams, cross-sectorial partnerships or authentic, longstanding engagement with affected communities are of the highest priority. Purely descriptive papers that do not provide recommendations to eliminate health inequities will not be considered responsive to this call. We strongly encourage authors to outline action steps based on their conceptualizations or data to achieve the greatest impact from this Collection. Authors must submit high-quality, original work that has neither appeared in nor is under review by another journal.

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 1, SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 10, and SDG 11

This collection invites submissions that critically examine the intersections between political determinants and health outcomes, with a focus on understanding how policies and political forces shape health systems and contribute to health inequities globally. We encourage research that adopts a transdisciplinary approach, analyzing political determinants often overlooked in public health discourse, such as war, sanctions, legislative restrictions, and other socio-political factors that, though external to healthcare systems, disrupt healthcare access and destabilize health infrastructure. These forces often precipitate public health emergencies, leading to humanitarian crises, shortages of essential medicines, and compromised health services.

Submissions may explore the lived experiences of scholars addressing politically sensitive health topics, examining how repression and professional risks impact knowledge production, mental and physical well-being, and the broader goals of equity and justice in global health research. The collection aims to question the limitations of existing frameworks, such as humanitarian and human rights lenses, and to promote community-centered approaches for addressing social and health inequities. We invite work that applies an intersectional perspective, focusing on how structural power dynamics shape health outcomes across social identities and exploring historical and contemporary examples of community-rooted resistance against forces driving inequity.

Topics of Interest, include but are not limited to the following:

1. Impacts of political forces (e.g., colonialism, war, sanctions, genocide) on health systems and public health outcomes.

2. Experiences of repression, censorship, and erasure in health scholarship on political determinants.

3. Inequities in humanitarian aid, research funding, and platforms for health and social justice discourse.

4. Health outcomes among refugees and displaced populations affected by political crises.

5. Challenges in public health surveillance during political and public health crises.

6. Community-centered policies and interventions addressing health inequities.

7. Comparative analyses of humanitarian crises, natural disasters, and targeted destruction of health infrastructure.

8. Intersectional perspectives on health needs in marginalized communities affected by political conflict.

9. Public health and legal responses in politically unstable regions (e.g., Afghanistan, Lebanon, Palestine, United States).

10. The role of international organizations in communities during political instability.

11. Exploring political determinants beyond healthcare (e.g., transportation, education) and their impact on health outcomes.

We welcome submissions that provide original qualitative and/or quantitative research, theoretical frameworks, case studies, and personal narratives that contribute to a deeper understanding of these critical issues. Submissions from transdisciplinary fields are especially encouraged, including (but not limited to) medicine, behavioral and social sciences, sociology, psychology, gender studies, refugee and migration health, epidemiology and data science, development studies, law and political science, history, humanities, economics, geography, and literature. These and other cross-cutting disciplines are issues of public health and play a vital role in advancing knowledge and science of public health.

Keywords:Health Emergencies, Structural/Social/Political Determinants of Health, Erasure, Censorship, War, Interventions, Genocide, Humanitarian Crisis, Transnationalism, Epistemology.