Racial and geographic diversity in health research: from ethics to governance

Racial/ethnic minorities in multicultural societies and countries from the Global South are underrepresented in health research. Their non-inclusion or deliberate exclusion can lead to interventions, policies, and knowledge that may not fully account for their biological characteristics and their social, cultural, and environmental milieu.

This presentation will outline the DECRA and APIP projects that aims to develop recommendations for the equitable inclusion of cultural minorities in Australian mental health research and for just partnerships in North-South collaborative health projects, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. It will provide an overview of their conceptual frameworks, the methods that will be used, and implications of findings for various stakeholders.

In addition to presenting the intended contributions of these studies to conceptualisations of research ethics and epistemic justice, John will also be inviting feedback on how various governance concepts and approaches can enrich these projects.

About the speaker

is an ARC DECRA fellow at RegNet’s Justice and Technoscience laboratory, where he is developing an anti-racist neuroethics framework to promote epistemic justice in mental health research. He was previously an ANU-CSIRO postdoc in responsible innovation in precision health, where he investigated diversity and equity considerations in health research and promotion. John has co-authored publications on inclusive science communication and research, encouraging greater engagement with and participation of racial minorities, LGBT individuals, pregnant women, and people from the Global South. He is also interested in ethical aspects of neuroscience, with his PhD exploring the impacts of neurosurgical procedures for people with dementia.

COVID protocols

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This seminar presentation is a dual-delivery event. Registration is not required for in-person attendance as neither the 91ÊÓƵnor ACT Health conduct contact tracing.

If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan please email regnet.communications@anu.edu.au.

Image credit: Image of multicultural faces arranged in the shape of an Australian map, from the cover of an Australian Government publication ‘The People of Australia: Australia’s Multicultural Policy’, launched 16 Feb 2011 from , free to use under .