PhD Research

Power and Participation in Humanitarian Aid Assemblages: A Case Study of a Paediatric Noncommunicable Disease Unit in Lebanon

My PhD thesis focusses on the structures of humanitarian healthcare in Lebanon. This research was a case study of a thalassemia service, I selected this illness because there is no cure and often treatment requires frequent blood transfusions. Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees per capita in the world. Compounding shocks, including the economic collapse, the harbour explosion and Covid-19, have contributed to the state being dependent on international humanitarian organisations to deliver healthcare. The first objective was to determine how participants with thalassemia understood their illness and navigated their care. The second objective was to apply participatory methods to explore what is needed for more equitable, patient involvement in humanitarian healthcare.