Engaging with Romani health across disciplinary boundaries

Panel coordinators: Andrej Belak, PJ Safarik University in Kosice (andrej.belak@upjs.sk), Edit Szenassy (Charles University in Prague) and Eirik Saethre (University of Hawaii at Manoa)

While Romani groups around the globe have persistently experienced poorer health outcomes than majority populations, there is still a dearth of research exploring the dynamics of this disparity. Even as medical and public health researchers have a growing interest in Romani health and a newfound willingness to address the social determinants of wellness, such as discriminatory practices in health care, these approaches often disregard pervasive historical, social, and economic factors. This is in part because biomedical and social scientists work in isolation from one another with contrastive goals and methodologies. Survey-based studies provide descriptive, statistically representative assessments of illness but are uninformed by existing social science research on particular Romani communities. In contrast, ethnographic studies often focus solely on critical and theoretical perspectives which lack concrete strategies for realistically improving the health status of Roma. Striving to facilitate dialogue between diverse disciplines, this panel examines the boundaries and intersections of Romani health research. We invite sociologists, anthropologists, public health researchers, psychologists, and medical professionals to reflect upon their research goals, methodologies, outcomes, and ethical considerations. Through interdisciplinary engagement, this panel addresses longstanding debates regarding the division between, and value of, applied and theoretical research.

The deadline for receiving abstracts for the panel is 31 March 2017. Papers intended for the open panel will be reviewed by the program committee and the panel organizers.