This conference on the 16th of October 2026 is organized as part of the Cluster of Research Excellence (CoRE) in Migration & Health and provides a platform for scholars from different countries and disciplines, working on topics at the intersection of health and migration to share their research and come together to discuss advancements in the field. The event is also part of the RUNOMI Sectorplan program on Digitalization, Migration & Health funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The conference is organized in connection with the RUNOMI PhD Autumn School “Supporting Health(-Care) among Migrant Residents: Methodological, Ethical and Empirical Dilemmas”.
The full programme can be found below:
09:00-09:30 – Registration
09:30-09:45 – Welcome by Organizing Committee (Dr. Amalia Gilodi)
09:45-10:45 – Keynote Speech by Dr. Soorej Jose Puthoopparambil (Uppsala University)
10:45-12:15 – Session 1: Migration Governance and Structural Vulnerability (Chair: Dr. Pascal Beckers)
Contributions:
Fabián Chavarría Calderón (in person): Situated Resilience and Health Access under Unequal Migration Governance: Nicaraguan Youth in Urban Costa Rica
Lasse Vermeer (in person): The Cost of Healthcare for Undocumented Migrants: How Financing Systems Influence Access in the Netherlands and Spain
Jutta Bissinger & Julia de Freitas Sampaio (in person): Structural Vulnerabilities in the Healthcare System: Everyday Barriers Faced by Immigrants in Luxembourg.
Tihomir Sabchev (in person): From ordinary human suffering to Adversity-Activated Development: acknowledging the complexity, uniqueness, and totality of asylum seekers’ hotspot experiences
12:15-13:00 – Lunch
13:00-14:45 – Session 2: Healthcare needs, access and provisions (Chair: Dr. Lothar Smith)
Contributions:
Lydia Moyo (online): Negotiating Care Beyond the Clinic: Health-Seeking Practices among Labour Migrants in Musina, South Africa
Davide Donatiello, Antonella Meo, Chiara Pagliuca (Hybrid): “No one is excluded”: the access to health services for people with migrant background in a Northwestern Italian small-medium town
Rahmatullah Arianpoor (in person): Health Needs and Access to Healthcare Challenges for Afghan Migrants in Turkey
Sophia M. Iosue (online): Gendered Health Harms Among Female Migrant Farmworkers in Italy and the UK
Angels Escriva (online): Steps Toward Better Health‑Care Provision for Seasonal and Cross‑Border Agricultural Workers: Insights from Huelva.
14:45-15:00 – Coffee break
15:00-15:30 – Session 3: Poster session: With some of the participants of the RUNOMI PhD Autumn School 2026- Supporting Health(-Care) among Migrant Residents: Methodological, Ethical and Empirical Dilemmas
15:30-17:00 – Session 4: Culturally Responsive and Communicative Care (Chair: Dr. Amalia Gilodi)
Contributions:
Els Rommes, Nienke Peters-Scheffer (in person): Comprehensive Framework for Cultural Sensitivity in (Mental) Health Care Facilities
Ransford Kwaku Afeadie (in person): Development and Preliminary Testing of a Culturally Competent Behaviour Change: Intervention Framework to Enhance Utilisation of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services among Migrant Adolescents in Ghana
Elizabeth Groom, Rena Zendedel (in person): Kraamzorg as care and beyond: migrant mothers’ perceptions of maternity care assistants in the Netherlands
Lina van Otterdijk, Marina Ruiter, Julia van Calis, Kris Bevelander, Enny Das (online)
How to empower people with communicative vulnerabilities to make informed health-related decisions during a pandemic
17:00-17:15 – Final Remarks
17:15 onwards – Drinks