Challenging the bystander effect: Towards a socially-just global health academic culture
1
Mohammed VI University of Sciences and Health, Casablanca, Morocco
2
City St George’s, University of London,, London, United Kingdom
3
University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
4
University College London, London, United Kingdom
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A701
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Global health operates firmly within social, political, and historical contexts, and researchers’ work is inseparable from these broader structures. The entanglement of politics, structural violence, and health is evident throughout history, from colonial exploitation to contemporary responses to HIV/AIDS among others. While frontline workers are recognized for reporting human rights violations, we argue that global health researchers and academic institutions also have an ethical obligation to acknowledge and challenge the broader causal chains producing inequities. This workshop aims to firstly critically reflect on their role in actively challenging political and conflict-related determinants of ill health and secondly, develop practical strategies for action.
METHODS:
Four approaches for researcher engagement with political and conflict-related determinants of health will be presented (e.g. boycott, disruptive participation, public and social media contestation, institutional governance). Participants will be divided into small groups to examine these approaches through an interactive SWOT-style analysis, considering feasibility, potential impact, collective vs individual action, and possible career or personal consequences. Each group will present reflections, followed by an open discussion. Participants will then prioritize approaches through live voting using interactive tools.
RESULTS:
The workshop is expected to generate a collective SWOT analysis and a ranked set of approaches based on feasibility, impact, and relevance. These outputs will inform a position paper guiding socially just global health research culture, particularly with regards to contexts and populations affected by structural violence and conflict.
CONCLUSIONS:
This workshop will encourage critical reflection on the responsibilities of global health researchers and academic institutions and will introduce practical strategies to move from observation as a bystander to meaningful action. It will contribute to advancing a socially just research culture where researchers and institutions are active agents who call out structural inequities and lead concrete action to address historical and ongoing injustices.
Global health operates firmly within social, political, and historical contexts, and researchers’ work is inseparable from these broader structures. The entanglement of politics, structural violence, and health is evident throughout history, from colonial exploitation to contemporary responses to HIV/AIDS among others. While frontline workers are recognized for reporting human rights violations, we argue that global health researchers and academic institutions also have an ethical obligation to acknowledge and challenge the broader causal chains producing inequities. This workshop aims to firstly critically reflect on their role in actively challenging political and conflict-related determinants of ill health and secondly, develop practical strategies for action.
METHODS:
Four approaches for researcher engagement with political and conflict-related determinants of health will be presented (e.g. boycott, disruptive participation, public and social media contestation, institutional governance). Participants will be divided into small groups to examine these approaches through an interactive SWOT-style analysis, considering feasibility, potential impact, collective vs individual action, and possible career or personal consequences. Each group will present reflections, followed by an open discussion. Participants will then prioritize approaches through live voting using interactive tools.
RESULTS:
The workshop is expected to generate a collective SWOT analysis and a ranked set of approaches based on feasibility, impact, and relevance. These outputs will inform a position paper guiding socially just global health research culture, particularly with regards to contexts and populations affected by structural violence and conflict.
CONCLUSIONS:
This workshop will encourage critical reflection on the responsibilities of global health researchers and academic institutions and will introduce practical strategies to move from observation as a bystander to meaningful action. It will contribute to advancing a socially just research culture where researchers and institutions are active agents who call out structural inequities and lead concrete action to address historical and ongoing injustices.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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