The Future of Health Systems In an Age of Turbulence

In the contemporary world marked by several turbulences, health systems are central to the social protection of populations, and, more broadly, to the sustainable development of our societies. They reduce vulnerabilities, support equity, and strengthen social cohesion (OECD, 2024). Their capacity to respond to crises became an important concern for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Armed conflicts and forced migration have exposed the difficulty of maintaining access to essential health services for vulnerable populations (Spiegel et al., 2024). Inflationary pressures and rising structural costs have affected the financial sustainability of health systems, raising the question of how health systems can remain solvent while preserving universal access (World Health Organization, 2024). Healthcare workforce shortages have challenged the continuity of service provision (Boniol et al., 2022). Also, digital technologies and AI are continuously reshaping healthcare organisation, governance, and service delivery, introducing new opportunities alongside new forms of inequality (OECD, 2024).

This session thus proposes examining how health systems navigate these transformations, sustain their financial viability, build resilience to recurring crises, and preserve equity as the social contract underpinning healthcare is renegotiated.

The session welcomes both theoretical and empirical contributions, including comparative analyses, that address the relationship between contemporary social transformations and future development of health systems worldwide. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the effects of armed conflict, forced displacement, and migration on access to health care; social inequalities in service provision; and the impact of demographic change, workforce shortages, digitalisation, and AI on health systems governance and delivery.