LIST OF PANELS

Context and Objectives:

Global migration health remains critically under-researched, especially in low- and middle-income regions like South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where complex migration patterns leave the health needs of migrants unmet. Time constraints further limit responsive policy design due to persistent evidence gaps. The Migration Health South Asia Network (MiHSA) has developed a standardized multi-method protocol, MigPolX, to bridge this policy-practice gap and support migration-aware and migrant-sensitive health policies, tested by GEMMS, an NIHR-funded global-health research group that aims to disrupt cycles of gendered violence and poor mental health among migrants in precarious settings. This panel will discuss insights from the development, application and GEMMS’ site experiences of MigPolX.

Scientific Relevance:

Migrants’ health and the field of migration health is affected by decision making at multiple levels from global to local, across the health and non-health sectors(Onarheim et al., 2021). These decisions inform policies that impact service provisions, entitlements and access and knowledge production on migration health(Kapilashrami et al., 2023). Experts have been calling for adopting rights-based approaches while developing migration policy  (Kapilashrami, et al., 2020). However, there are limited tools available to benchmark integration or equitability of policies on migrant health. A range of tools have been developed to assess the adequacy of provision, and the extent of inclusiveness of policies in meeting the needs of vulnerable populations. However, tools like MIPEX (Migrant Integration Policy Index) largely stems from EU’s need to effectively manage as well as protect border while managing migration and asylum due to displacement prompted by the events of political and military unrest in Southern Mediterranean (European Commission, 2011). The IMPEX adaptation focuses on intra-country policy integration for India  (Manatschal, 2011) (Aggarwal, Solano, Singh, & Singh, 2020). There is the JAHEE country profile and frameworks like Equiframe, all lacking local adaptation, contextualization and considerations in design and results.

Research Questions and Hypotheses:

The panel will address the following research questions:

1.     How do local contexts influence the responsiveness and adaptability of migration health policies?

2.     What are the comparative benefits of using tools like CHNRI, MigPolX, Delphi, MIPEX, and EQUIFRAME for policy appraisal and reforms?

3.     How can participatory protocols align global and local migration health needs to foster system-wide improvements?

The panel will open with an overview of MigPolX’s development, rationale, and practical implications, drawing on lessons from implementation in diverse regions including Cambodia, Nepal, and South Africa, followed by a discussion on how other indices and tools like MIPEX, IMPEX, JAHEE and EQUIFRAME have informed its design—detailing each nation’s experiences implementing MigPolX and adapting standardized tools to local migration health contexts. The panel will include Prof Kapilashrami (Chair), Prof Vearey (Co-Chair) and Dr Aziz (Co-Chair). They will discuss the practical considerations of how standardized policy tools, when adapted to diverse national contexts, can reveal insights into the adaptability and limitations of current policy responses to migration health, and how a participatory protocol can lead to forward-thinking, migration-responsive health agendas that meet the evolving needs of migrants, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

The panel invites papers on “Building a Transformative Agenda for Health through Responsive Policy Analysis and Design,” which seeks to explore diverse applications of policy appraisal tools designed to enhance responsiveness in health policies for vulnerable groups. This panel will focus on innovative uses and adaptations of standardised tools and frameworks and their adaptability and effectiveness to support the development of migration-aware and migrant sensitive health policies across various contexts to shape responsive health agendas.

Submissions are encouraged to share both practical applications and theoretical insights on applying standardized appraisal frameworks and tools. We aim to collect perspectives that examine how these tools can be adapted across settings to respond to context-specific challenges, reflecting on how local adaptations can reveal both the strengths and limitations of existing frameworks in policy responsiveness.

The panel is especially interested in papers that examine:

Case studies showcasing diverse applications of policy appraisal tools and frameworks to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations.
Comparative analyses on the effectiveness of tools in assessing policy inclusiveness, from decision makers, service providers and users’ perspectives.
Experiences in adapting standardized appraisal tools to regional health contexts, including lessons learned and breakthrough innovations.
Frameworks that leverage participatory approaches to align global health agendas with the evolving needs of vulnerable groups, including but not limited to migrant populations.
Selected papers will contribute to an enriching discussion on how these tools can bridge research-practice-policy gaps and support systemic improvements in health policies, providing actionable lessons to create responsive, inclusive health systems.