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Resilience and Renewal: Decolonial Perspectives on the Social Determinants of Health in Marginalized Communities
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Health and wellbeing are deeply shaped by the social and cultural contexts in which people live, learn, work, and connect. For marginalized communities, including First Nations peoples and other groups historically impacted by colonization and systemic inequity, these determinants often manifest as barriers to care, exclusion, and poorer health outcomes. Yet these communities also embody remarkable strengths, resilience, and knowledge systems that sustain wellbeing in the face of adversity.
This Special Issue, “Resilience and Renewal: Decolonial Perspectives on the Social Determinants of Health in Marginalized Communities,” invites contributions that move beyond deficit narratives to highlight resistance, agency, and cultural continuity. We encourage submissions that explore Indigenous and community-led approaches, decolonial frameworks, and strengths-based methodologies that advance health equity and social justice. Interdisciplinary research that amplifies lived experience, community collaboration, and policy innovation is particularly welcome. By weaving together diverse worldviews and scholarly voices, this issue aims to reimagine how we understand, measure, and nurture health in ways that honour cultural sovereignty and collective resilience.
Prof. Dr. Tinashe Dune
Dr. Stephen Bolaji
Dr. Virginia Mapedzahama
Dr. Michaels Aibangbee
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- decolonial health
- first nations wellbeing
- strengths-based approaches
- social determinants of health
- health equity
- community resilience
- indigenous knowledge systems
- cultural safety
- structural determinants
- healing and sovereignty
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