427 From evidence to action - navigating complexities of violence and mental health in migrants living in precarity

Abstract WKS 30: From evidence to action - Navigating complexities of violence and mental health in migrants living in precarity, B305 (FCSH), September 5, 2025, 10:15 - 11:15 Rationale / Purpose The cyclical relationship between gender-based violence (GBV) and mental health (MH) is critical for migrants living in precarious conditions who face heightened vulnerabilities and barriers to accessing support. GEMMS global health research group is actively working to disrupt this cycle in India, Cambodia, South Africa, Nepal and Zimbabwe by undertaking a comprehensive programme of work, informed by multi-methods research. This workshop aims to deepen participants’ understanding of the research gaps surrounding the complex GBV-MH syndemic and share collaborative methodologies and insights from diverse contexts to inform best practices for effectively engaging communities in research. Methods: The workshop will emphasise the necessity for a theoretically informed, migrant-inclusive, and contextually grounded approach to research and action. It will feature three presentations. The opening presentation will highlight the empirical and methodological gaps in researching migrants’ health, identified by combining systematic reviews with rapid ethnographies, transect walks and stakeholder engagements via community and local advisory boards. Utilising these methods revealed the diversity of migrant populations and movements and spaces and contexts that traditional methods and instruments do not reach, reinforcing the imperative for research frameworks that are adaptive and grounded in local contexts and informed by migrant voices. The following presentations will each describe how stakeholder and community engagement strategies were adapted in Cambodia and South Africa, illustrating the importance of longitudinal, inclusive and participatory research designs. The presenters will share experiences and challenges in localising research instruments and processes, anchoring local expertise, emphasising ethnographic methods to define research sites and sampling frames prior to conducting research. Specific attention will be given to navigating the ethical complexities of studying vulnerable populations, building partnerships and trust, and engaging migrants with intersecting precarities will also be shared. Projected learning outcomes