2024 Faculty research day report : navigating health disparities in vulnerable communities

Abstract

Faculty Research Day is an inspiring annual research conference hosted by the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS). Faculty Research Day is traditionally organised by the Research Office on behalf of the FHS. This event allows staff and students, research entities, and partner organisations to interact, share knowledge, and showcase their innovative research. Our 2024 Faculty Research Day theme, ‘Navigating Health Disparities in Vulnerable Communities,’ is well aligned with the FHS Research Office’s mission to stimulate an inclusive, collaborative, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research environment. This theme emphasises interventions to promote health care for vulnerable populations, maternal and child health, chronic disease management, and the paradigm shift for patient care—from diagnostics to therapies to clinical management, including responses to the impact of climate change on health. Our Faculty Research Day provides educational opportunities through keynote addresses on these critical areas by experts and thematic oral and poster presentations. Additionally, this event allowed students and staff from various schools and departments to connect, work together, and develop innovative research projects aimed at navigating health disparities in vulnerable communities, advancing the FHS’s transdisciplinary research mandate while improving the visibility and impact of our work, and promoting transformative research that leads to social impact. The FHS Research Day has traditionally involved undergraduates, postgraduates, and postdoctoral fellows as key participants and part of the organising team. In the 2022 and 2023 Faculty Research Days, undergraduate students were emphasised. The establishment of the TURF Symposium in 2022 and 2023 reinforced this inclusive approach. However, the 2024 Faculty Research Day shifted its focus towards postgraduate students, incorporating research methods workshops to support them in efficiently completing their research projects.