Health & wellbeing
Island health systems face a paradox: geographic isolation constrains resources, yet tight-knit communities create conditions for innovative, people-centred care. This theme explores the full spectrum of island health, from chronic disease to mental health to community-driven solutions.
About this theme
Small island communities carry a disproportionate burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), diabetes, hypertension, obesity, often linked to dietary transitions, sedentary lifestyles, and the collapse of traditional food systems. At the same time, isolation creates unique mental health challenges, particularly for youth and elderly populations.
Yet islands are also places of innovation: community health workers, telemedicine, traditional healing, and preventive care models have all flourished in island contexts where formal health infrastructure is limited. This track asks what lessons island health systems offer for universal health coverage worldwide.
Curaçao navigates a complex health landscape: a middle-income island with a mixed public-private health system, strong NCD burdens, a skilled healthcare workforce, and significant health tourism potential.
Topics of interest
- →Non-communicable disease burden and prevention strategies on islands
- →Mental health, social isolation, and wellbeing in island communities
- →Traditional and indigenous healing practices
- →Telemedicine and digital health innovation for remote communities
- →Health workforce challenges: brain drain, training, and retention
- →Food systems, nutrition transitions, and food sovereignty
- →Maternal and child health in small island settings
- →Climate change and health: heat stress, vector-borne disease, water security
- →Health equity, access, and universal health coverage on islands
Submission formats welcome
Quantitative studies, qualitative research, policy analyses, and practitioner reflections are all welcome. Interdisciplinary work connecting health with governance, climate, culture, or economics is particularly encouraged.