Thea de Gruchy, Jo Vearey: The “covidisation” of migration and health research: Understanding the implications of the pandemic on the field

Groupe de travail « migration en temps de Covis-19 » / Arbeitsgruppe „Migration in zeiten von Covid-19“ Thea de Gruchy / Jo Vearey The “covidisation” of migration and health research: Understanding the implications of the pandemic on the field The Covid-19 pandemic has affected most fields of research, including migration and health. Migrant and mobile populations have faced particular challenges during the pandemic. Pre-existing challenges, including access to health care and documentation, have been exacerbated, and, in addition, state responses to Covid-19 have often penalised those reliant on mobility as a livelihoods strategy, those in the process of migrating, and those without immigration documentation. Within this context, research with these populations is imperative, but also practically and ethically challenging. In addition, researchers have faced personal and professional difficulties as a result of the pandemic, and the field itself has been affected by funding cuts and shifting research priorities. To improve our understanding of the ways in which the field has been affected by the pandemic, we organised a series of three consultations – two global and one regional – with researchers in the field of migration and health in 2021, and conducted interviews with migration and health researchers in 2022. Analysis of these discussions showed that researchers’ concerns broadly fell into three key areas: (1) the covidisation of the research agenda, and the implications thereof for other important research questions; (2) the exacerbation of existing inequities in the field, particularly for early career researchers; and (3) the lack of investment in the ‘new normal.’ During this seminar, we will outline these concerns, and reflect on the ways in which the pandemic has informed understandings of ethical and equitable partnerships and ways of doing research. Kontakt Johara Berriane: berriane@cmb.hu-berlin.de Nikola Tietze: nikola.tietze@wiku-hamburg.de