FOR 2928: Refugee migration to Germany: a magnifying glass for broader public health challenges (PH-LENS)

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Forced migration, and subsequently refugee health, is currently treated as a singularity. We postulate that this constitutes a socially as well as scientifically impoverished approach in two respects. Firstly, a singularity perspective may ultimately have adverse effects on refugee health because of the resulting further social marginalization, or ‘othering’, of forced migrants. Secondly, treating refugee health as a singularity constitutes a missed opportunity for improving population health in general as it fails to realize an inherent analytical potential: In view of the diversity in Germany’s society today, refugee health can be interpreted as an exacerbation and accumulation of factors that affect also other population subgroups, and ultimately – to varying degrees – all members of society in Germany. In this Research Unit, we will analyse two such factors, (i) contextual (small-area) effects on health; and (ii) challenges to the health system (which we conceptualize as its resilience), as well as their interactions, from a truly interdisciplinary perspective. The process of ‘othering’ will serve as the conceptual link between these factors. We aim to identify health inequalities related to these factors, determine the underlying pathways including societal exclusion processes, and formulate concepts and strategies for reducing them. By rejecting the singularity perspective, our results, both in terms of methodology and of scientific content, will be applicable more broadly to public health in Germany’s increasingly diverse society. This innovative concept clearly stands out from the work of many on-going refugee health projects.