Social Determinants of Health, Conflict and Displacement: Health System Responses and Continuity of Care
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66328/ijprmh.2025.010201Keywords:
Social determinant of health, Noncommunicable disease, Health system responses, Continuity of careAbstract
Armed conflict and forced displacement are not only humanitarian crises, but they are profound public health emergencies shaped by, and in turn reshaping the social determinants of health. Poverty, disrupted education, food insecurity, unsafe housing, gender inequities, and weakened governance interact powerfully with violence to erode health outcomes across generations. As conflicts become increasingly protracted and urban, and displacement more prolonged, the central challenge for health systems is no longer limited to emergency trauma care. It is the preservation of continuity of care and equity in access amid instability, mobility, and social fragmentation.
References
1. AlKhaldi M, Abuzerr S, Obaid HA, Alnajjar G, Alkhaldi A, Alkaiyat A. Social Determinants of Health in Fragile and Conflict Zones Before and During Coronavirus Pandemic: the Focus on the Gaza Strip. Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 I. Laher (ed.), Handbook of Healthcare in the Arab World, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74365-3_203-2.
2. Cicurel A, Sagy YW, Feldhamer I, Yaron S, Caspi-Regev S, Netzer D, Arbel R, Lavie G. Primary healthcare delivery adaptations in war-induced population displacement. Israel Journal of Health Policy Research. 2025;14(35). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13584-025-00698-0.
3. Valand P, Pandya AN. The deleterious effects of war and conflict on the provision of health care for vulnerable populations andthe potential effects of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations in conflict zones. International Journal of Surgery: Global Health (2020) 3:e36.
4. Aljadeeah S, Sy H, Michielsen J, Konijnenburg CVD, Ebadu JD, Procureur F, Heine M. Access to medicines and continuity of non-communicable diseases care for forcibly displaced populations: a call for rights-based, comprehensive responses. BMC Global and Public Health. 2025; 3(49).
