Integrated social, geographical, medical and technological approaches to understand health challenges and opportunities of vulnerable population groups

Vulnerable groups at the margins of societies in Europe, such as residents of deprived neighbourhoods, people with low socio-economic status, representatives of ethnic minorities, often live under problematic conditions, excluded from access to health-promoting services with increased exposure to environmental hazards and infectious disease. Understanding the extent of related high health risk, and providing assistance through targeted interventions are complicated by the invisibility of such groups, and the inaccessibility of reliable, up-to-date information.

Several inter- and transdisciplinary research projects will be presented that (i) combine in a novel way social, geographical, medical and technological approaches to (ii) understand complex health challenges in vulnerable groups, (iii) co-create health-promoting solutions, and (iv) assess and reflect on the feasibility of different methods in research with vulnerable populations.

Health challenges addressed include
- Environment and health insecurity in ethnic minority communities in Slovakia
- Climate-sensitive and health-promoting spaces for vulnerable urban populations in the Netherlands
- Water and health insecurity and implications of extreme weather in people experiencing homelessness in Germany