Deprived Health: the Collaborative Pursuit of Health Capability in Contexts of Socioeconomic Deprivation

Multidisciplinary Workshop

University College Dublin, Ireland

20 November 2026

Organizers: Ilaria Galasso, Meaza Haddis Gebeyehu, Susi Geiger

Main Theme:

Engagement with trauma-sensitive participatory research in contexts of deprivation and vulnerability to understand and dismantle epistemic and structural barriers to health, healthcare and wellbeing.

Keynote speaker: Prof Sridhar Venkatapuram, Senior Lecturer in Global Health and Philosophy at Kings’ College London.

Description:

Health inequalities remain a major global challenge, particularly among populations living in socioeconomic deprivation due to migration, homelessness, or conflict-driven displacement. These contexts are disproportionally exposed to the social determinants of health, while they are also affected by multiple barriers to accessing healthcare services and to achieving wellbeing.

By bringing together scholars from different disciplines (philosophy, social sciences, anthropology, human rights studies, equality studies, public health and other relevant disciplines), this workshop aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogues on how to expand people’s real opportunities or capabilities to achieve valued vital goals and health outcomes in contexts of vulnerability and deprivation, and on how to appropriately frame collaborative research in this regard and translate it into concrete interventions to greater social justice and equity.

 Sub-themes:

1.          Health Capability and Social Justice

Building on Sen’s capabilities approach and on Venkatapuram’s notion of health capability, this sub-theme seeks to explore how health literacy and other forms of empowerment (including the provision of appropriate structural conditions) interact in the framing of health capabilities and social justice, and how policies aimed at reducing health inequalities in deprived contexts can be informed accordingly.

2.          Trauma-informed participatory research in contexts of vulnerability

This sub-theme focuses on the ethical and methodological challenges of conducting collaborative research and interventions with vulnerable populations, particularly those affected by trauma, displacement, or social marginalization. It aims to foster exchanges about casting trauma-informed participatory research in contexts of vulnerability by fully protecting both the research participants and the researchers (e. g. from vicarious trauma), and about translating research findings into concrete interventions by engaging with relevant policymakers.

Objectives

The event aims to:

• Promote interdisciplinary dialogue on health capability and equity in contexts of poverty, migration and social deprivation.
•  Examine the role of capabilities, empowerment, and health literacy in improving health outcomes and in relation to social justice.
•  Explore trauma-informed and participatory approaches in health research in vulnerable contexts.
•  Identify policy and institutional strategies to address health inequities.
•  Foster collaboration and academic exchanges among researchers from different disciplines.
•  Discuss how to feature a “Deprived Health” international and interdisciplinary research group and prepare its launch.

Submission process:

We welcome empirical as well as conceptual papers relevant but not limited to the following topics:

-          Barriers to health, healthcare, wellbeing and social inclusion for migrant, conflict-displaced, homeless, and other socioeconomically deprived and marginalized people.

-          Framing and pursuing health capability and health justice in contexts of deprivation.

-          Trauma-sensitive participatory research in vulnerable and deprived contexts.

-          Translating academic research into concrete social interventions.

To apply to present at this conference, please submit an abstract of up to 300 words of your research to Dr Ilaria Galasso ([email protected]) by 10 July 2026. Successful applicants will be notified by early September 2026. Should you have any questions, please contact Dr Ilaria Galasso.

Travel bursaries:

For early career researchers there are a limited number of travel bursaries available to present at this workshop. Early career applicants who are interested in applying for a travel bursary can specify this in their email when submitting the abstract, and please provide a breakdown of the anticipated cost for travel, accommodation and subsistence expenses. The travel bursary will cover a maximum of 2 nights in a hotel. In the assignment of the bursaries, priority will be given to: unfunded and underfunded applicants, applicants based in low- and middle-income countries, and applicants whose research interests are particularly relevant to the theme of the workshop.

This workshop is organised in the context of the SFI-IRC Pathway project "From health (il)literacy to capability: building a dialogue on barriers to health and healthcare in deprived contexts" ("DEPRIVED HEALTH"), funded by Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland, Grant N. [22/PATH-A/10633].