We are in the midst of a period of global political turbulence that is upending decades of stability in systems that have supported research. This instability is disorienting, particularly for researchers and scholars whose work is shaped by government funding that has been paused or withdrawn. But the moment also presents a critical opportunity to revisit our principles and recommit to the foundational work that animates what we do in health policy and health services science and scholarship. Central to this work of JAMA Health Forum is our commitment to publish papers that advance health equity. The goal of this work remains simple, urgent, and inseparable from the work of population health: to create conditions that allow all people to live longer, healthier lives.

As national and global priorities change, how do we protect health equity efforts from becoming peripheral to the work of population health or impossible to carry out? The answer lies, in part, in scholarship. We need more research that examines how equity principles can improve health outcomes, how health systems can embed equity into their operations, and how turbulent conditions might enable transformation—provided there is sufficient willingness to engage with these challenges.