Public Health calls for papers / publications

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Health, Culture and Society: Translating Happiness: Medicine, Culture and Social Progress

This year the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) proclaimed March 20th the International Day of Happiness. This day is premised on international recognition of the pursuit of happiness as a fundamental human goal, and a means of promoting sustainable development. International acknowledgement of the important role that happiness plays in development is also displayed in the 2012 World Happiness Report, as well as a host of recent changes to national social policies, community infrastructures and health services.

This special issue of Health, Culture and Society (HCS) explores the multiple and contested ways of knowing happiness. We are particularly interested in research that analyzes the translations of happiness. According to Nikolas Rose, translation provides for the possibility of government: “In the dynamics of translation, alignments are forged between the objectives of those wishing to govern and the personal projects of those organizations, groups, and individuals who are the subjects of government” (1999, p. 48). This issue aims to construct a comprehensive picture of the important role that translations of happiness – as made to appear in social philosophy, featured in the emerging field of positive psychology, mapped in global happiness indexes, or communicated in concepts such as ‘well-being’ or ‘quality of life’ – play in contemporary understandings of the ‘human’ and ‘human development.’ Papers are sought that explore the relations between happiness and health, and examine the social, cultural and political contexts of medical translations of happiness. Papers that share comparative analyses of happiness or that adopt a critical paradigm and analyze the role of conceptions of happiness in the diagnosis of individual and social ills and the reproduction of inequality are especially welcome.

Potential topic areas include:

• Happiness and Disability/Disablement/Ableism

• Happiness, Health Services and Social Policy

• Politicization of Happiness (Happiness Indexes)

• Cartographies of Happiness (e.g., ‘Happiness Maps’)

• Happiness and Constructions of ‘the Human’/Humanity

• Economic Paradigms of Happiness

• Ecological Perspectives

• Happiness and National Development (e.g., Gross National Happiness and/vs. Gross National Domestic Product)

• Happiness and Imperialism/The Colonial Continuum

• Happiness and Racialization/Racism

• Happiness and Global Governance

• Happiness and Self-Governance (e.g., The Emergence of Self-Help Literature)

• Happiness and Choice/The Making of the ‘Rational Subject’

• Happiness and Disciplinary Knowledge

• Happiness and Social Order (incl.: Happiness and Social Change; Happiness and the Pathologization of Resistance)

• Genealogies of Happiness (Historical Perspectives)

• Happiness Across the Lifecycle/The Role of Happiness in ‘Positive’ or Healthy Aging

• Happiness, Identity and Community/Solidarity and Subjective Well-being

• Happiness, Gender and Sexuality

• Happiness and Patriarchy

• Happiness, Heterosexism and Homophobia

• Happiness and Spirituality

• Happiness, Leisure and Lifestyle

• The Commodification of Happiness/Happiness and Consumer Culture

• (Re)Discovering (Un)Happiness – Diagnostic Tools and their Discontents (e.g., The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition)

• Happiness, Resilience and Recovery

• A Poetics of Happiness/Happiness and the Art of Living

• Happiness and Desire

• Happiness and a Politics of Love

• Embodiment and Happiness Research/Phenomenological Perspectives

Interested contributors are invited to send a 250 word proposal to katieaubrecht@gmail.com no later than July 15th. Prospective contributors will be notified of acceptance by July 30th. For accepted proposals full papers will be due September 27th. Manuscripts submitted for inclusion in this special issue must be in APA format, be original work and should not be under consideration by any other journal.

Works Cited:

Rose, N. (1999). Powers of freedom: Reframing political thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

About the Journal:

Health,Culture and Society (HCS) is an important contribution to the medical humanities and the social history of health. It will promote critical studies, disseminate important contemporary research and act as an international podium for the exchange of new ideas, strategies and practices. The journal is geared towards an inter-disciplinary approach to issues of health, culture and society inviting contributions from a diversity of fields. HCS will reflect the very real developments in ideas that shape our modern understandings of health, and how cultural and social factors are important to its paradigm. The journal encourages original and funded research into regional developments which can impact upon the global image of health, society and culture.

HCS is the product of initiative, research and debate centered on the history and development of the health paradigm. The facilitation of the University of Pittsburgh, the CNPq and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, as well as the Wellcome Trust and the University of Western Santa Catarina (UnoChapeco), made it possible to eventually bring together important and emerging voices in the debate of health which define the new critical perspectives, and research from the physical and social sciences. HCS serves as a platform which has been developed to meet the contemporary necessity for international dialogue, partnerships, collaboration, knowledge transformation and global integration.

Call for Submissions: Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet (JCHI), Health Sitings Column

Submissions are now being accepted on an ongoing basis for the Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet (JCHI)’s newly combined column, Health Sitings.

The Health Sitings column is a merge between the two previously published columns, Health Sitings and Global Health Sitings. The column will showcase reviews of reliable, accurate and quality health information websites produced either in the US or internationally.

Any information professionals interested in submitting a review should contact Saori Wendy Herman, MLIS, AHIP at saori.w.yoshioka at gmail dot com. In the subject line, please enter “JCHI Health Sitings”.

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Social Science & Medicine: Medical Humanitarianism: Culture, Health, and States of Emergency

Guest Editors:

Sharon Abramowitz, University of South Florida
Mary-Jo Good, Harvard University
Byron Good, Harvard University
Arthur Kleinman, Harvard University
Catherine Panter-Brick, Yale University

Social Science & Medicine is soliciting papers for an Interdisciplinary Special Issue on Medical humanitarianism, broadly defined as the health care delivery by relief organizations.  Social scientists find themselves increasingly working alongside humanitarians in states of emergency, armed conflict, food crises, and natural disasters.  The goal of this Special Issue is to provide state-of-the-art analyses of medical humanitarianism from a variety of disciplinary perspectives.  For this issue, we seek to develop a base for comparative analysis and insight, and promote dialogue between social scientists and humanitarian practitioners.

We seek: (i) systematic, comprehensive, or critical reviews of the literature, (ii) original research articles that make a substantive empirical contribution, and (iii) well-articulated critiques that go further than a simple overview or commentary. Papers must make strong empirical and/or theoretical research contributions, speak to an interdisciplinary audience, and have strong policy relevance.

Of interest are the following issues:

The content of medical humanitarian services, and their uniqueness in terms of healthcare delivery.

Insights generated from a comparative perspective on medical humanitarianism.

The characteristics of relations and transactions in medical humanitarian encounters.

How medical humanitarian actors bring culture, social relations, and issues of demography, equity, and justice into quotidian practice.

How personal relations structure the dynamics and shape of medical humanitarianism.

How medical humanitarians negotiate need vs. scarcity, limits vs. access, independence vs. negotiation, and other critical conflicts in humanitarian practice.

Medical humanitarianism’s integration into International Criminal Court proceedings, human rights testimonies, or political witnessing.

Social, political, and historical analyses of the growth of medical humanitarianism, and assessment of risk and resilience in populations facing health crises.

Other issues of funding, policy, translational research, legal protection, clinical care, and public health interventions.

Authors may submit their papers at any time after 30th August 2013 up until 15th October 2013. Please consult our ‘Guide for Authors’ (http://ees.elsevier.com/ssm). All submissions must meet author guidelines, and publication is contingent on a rigorous peer-review process.  Please contact sabramowitz@ufl.edu and Catherine.Panter-Brick@yale.edu for further questions.

Call for Papers for a Special issue of the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health: eHealth in the Region of the Americas

The Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health, published by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), announces a call for papers for its next special issue.

The theme will be eHealth, to be published in 2013. Accepted contributions will include original research papers, special reports, and/or systematic reviews.

Manuscript submission deadline: 15 July 2013

Rationale:

In 1998, the World Health Organization (WHO), in its document entitled “Health-for-all policy in the twenty-first century,” confirmed its commitment to advocate for the appropriate use of health technologies within the general health for all policy and strategy.

This same year, Resolution WHA51.9 established the lines of action regarding the cross-border advertising, promotion, and sale of medical products through the Internet.

At the 2003 World Summit on the Information Society, eHealth—or the application of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to the field of health care—was recognized as a discipline that could have a positive impact on the quality of life of the global population.

In 2005, WHO report EB115/39 and Resolution EB115.R20 on eHealth addressed the need of the Member States to formulate eHealth strategies reflecting principles of transparency, ethics, and equity. Within this context, it encouraged them to develop the necessary legal framework and infrastructure and to promote multisectoral participation via public-private partnerships.

Later that same year, at the Fifty-eighth World Health Assembly, the WHO Member States adopted Resolution WHA58.28, which established the linchpins of the WHO eHealth Strategy.

Three ministerial conferences on the Information Society were organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in 2005, 2008, and 2010. At each of these, regional plans of action were adopted that included the area of health.

In 2006, WHO published the results of a survey examining the usefulness of eHealth tools that included responses from nine countries in the Region of the Americas. All of these countries reported that such tools were either useful or very useful.

In 2010, WHO’s second global eHealth survey provided information of interest on 11 Member States of the Americas that had responded to the survey.

In 2011, PAHO’s 51st Directing Council endorsed a strategy urging the Organization to work to improve health services accessibility and quality through the use of ICTs.

The objective of the Strategy and Plan of Action on eHealth  is to help ensure the sustainable development of the Member States’ health systems, including veterinary public health. Adoption of the eHealth Strategy and Plan of Action is envisaged as a means of improving health services access and quality, based on the use of ICTs, the development of digital literacy and ICTs, access to information based on scientific evidence, and ongoing training. This will facilitate progress toward the goal of societies that are more informed, equitable, competitive, and democratic. In such societies access to health information is considered a basic right of the people.

The special issue of the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health will provide a platform for countries in the Americas to take stock of what has been done in the area of eHealth since the adoption of the Strategy and Plan of Action.

Main theme:

The main theme of this special issue will be “eHealth in the Region of the Americas,” which will address some of the key components and strategic areas that were identified in the Strategy and Plan of Action on eHealth approved in 2011 by PAHO Member States.

Key components:*

a. Electronic medical records (or electronic health record): a real-time longitudinal electronic record of an individual patient’s health information that can assist health professionals with decision-making and treatment;

b. TeleHealth (including telemedicine): this involves the delivery of health services using ICTs, specifically where distance is a barrier to health care;

c. mHealth (or health through the use of mobile devices): a term for medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, and other wireless devices;

d. eLearning (including distance education or learning): the use of ICTs for learning. It can be used to improve the quality of education, to increase access to education, and to make new and innovative forms of education available to more people;

e. Continuing education in information and communication technologies: the provision of courses or programs (not necessarily formally accredited) for health professionals that help them to develop information and communication technology skills for application in health. This includes current methods for sharing scientific knowledge, such as e-publication, open access, digital literacy, and the use of social networks;

f. Standardization and interoperability: the term “interoperability” refers to communication between different technologies and software applications for the efficient, accurate, and sound sharing and use of data. This requires the use of standards−that is, rules, regulations, guidelines, or definitions with technical specification−to make the integrated management of health systems viable at all levels.

* World Health Organization. Atlas eHealth Country Profiles: Based on the findings of the second global survey on eHealth. (Global Observatory for eHealth Series, 1). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2010.

Strategic Areas:

1. Endorse and promote the formulation, execution, and evaluation of effective, comprehensive, and sustainable public policies on the use and implementation of ICTs in the health sector;

2. Improve public health through the use of tools and methodologies based on innovative ICTs;

3. Promote and facilitate horizontal cooperation among countries for development of a digital health agenda for the Region;

4. Knowledge management, digital literacy, and education in ICTs as key elements for ensuring the quality of care, health promotion, and disease prevention activities, guaranteeing training and better access to information in an equitable manner.

Language of Submissions:

Papers will be accepted in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. The manuscript selection process will follow the Revista’s/Journal’s standard peer review procedures.

Authors are encouraged to send manuscripts in their native language.

Publishing Standards:

In submitting papers, authors should follow the Instructions to Authors of the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health, available at the Journal site..

All papers should be submitted at the Revista/Journal site through this link http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rpsp

Instructions:  http://bit.ly/WLo9Xu

The cover letter should indicate that the manuscript being submitted is for the special issue  “eHealth in the Region of the Americas.”

Manuscript submission deadline: 15 July 2013

Call for Papers for a Theme Issue of Health Services Research: State Health Policy Research

Submission deadline:  October 1, 2013

Sponsored by: a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) at the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health.

Health Services Research (HSR) and the State Health Access Reform Evaluation (SHARE) initiative are partnering to publish a Theme Issue on State Health Policy Research

Health Services Research invites papers for consideration in a Theme Issue on the implementation and outcome of state efforts to expand health insurance coverage and access to health care services under health reform.  The Journal is interested in both single and multi-state evaluations of the implementation of federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) to inform state health policy and to advance the field of health services research.  Relevant policies and programs include but are not limited to:  the impact of the Medicaid expansion in improving coverage rates; the effectiveness of outreach and enrollment activities; persistent barriers in access to care; implementation and use of state-based and federally-facilitated health insurance exchanges; payment and delivery system reform specifically linked to access and coverage;  employer response to new coverage options; research on provider supply as well as the impact of the ACA on the safety net.  The Journal is specifically interested in rigorous quantitative research and evaluation research to advance the field of state policy-based research.   This call will not consider disease-specific treatment and outcome research, research on the quality of health care services, qualitative work without a quantitative component, or discussion pieces or commentaries.

The deadline for initial submission of manuscripts is October 1, 2013.  Criteria for selection of manuscripts include: (1) quality, rigor and originality, (2) significance and usefulness for enhancing our understanding of state efforts to expand coverage and access to health care services under health reform; (3) and clarity of writing and presentation.  All manuscripts must follow the “Instructions for Authors” listed at: http://www.hsr.org/hsr/information/authors/instrucauthors.jsp.

Manuscripts submitted for the Theme Issue will first undergo the same HSR peer review process as all regular manuscripts. However, due to the timeline for publishing the Theme Issue, HSR will monitor the progress of manuscripts through the review process and try to shorten the overall process; likewise, authors should expect to be especially timely in returning revisions. All accepted articles will be published electronically within a brief period after acceptance using Wiley-Blackwell’s Early View process. Articles published through Early View are fully published, appear in PubMed, and can be cited.

Accepted articles submitted for the Theme Issue will then undergo an additional selection process for inclusion in the printed Theme Issue, which will be widely promoted. Approximately 6 to 8 articles will be selected, based on the most original and significant work addressing the theme.  Accepted manuscripts that are not selected for the Theme Issue will be automatically scheduled for print publication in a regular issue. The print publication date for the Theme Issue will be February 2015.

Key dates for authors:

Oct 1, 2013: Submission deadline of manuscripts for the Theme Issue

May 1, 2014 – Sept 19, 2014: Notification of accepted papers to HSR (dependent on date of initial submission)

Oct 1, 2014: Notification of assignment of accepted papers to the Theme Issue or Regular Issue

February 2015: Print Publication Date for Theme Issue

For questions, please email HSR Managing Editor, Meighan Schreiber at mschreiber@aha.org

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of the Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research: Reports on Systematic Reviews of Empirical Research

Guest Editor: Julia H. Littell, PhD

Submission Deadline: September 1, 2013

The Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research announces a special issue dedicated to enhancing the dissemination of scholarly knowledge by issuing a call for papers exploring the methodologies and examining the results of systematic reviews such as those published in the Cochrane Collaboration or Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews. Submissions should summarize key findings and discuss applications to social work and public policy.

As a part of the same special issue, the journal is seeking papers that will contribute to ongoing scholarly debate regarding the development and use of scientific methods for reviewing and synthesizing research on social and health problems, programs, and policies.

For this special issue, we are seeking full-length articles and brief reports on systematic reviews of observation and intervention studies as well as papers on related methodological issues. Interdisciplinary-authored papers are welcome.

Suggested topics include:

Completed systematic reviews on the epidemiology, assessment, prevention, or treatment of specific biopsychosocial problems;

Completed systematic reviews on the processes and outcomes of specific interventions or policies.

Methodological research on strategies for minimizing bias and error in systematic reviews;

Methodological research on strategies for improving efficiency and accuracy in systematic reviews;

Systematic analyses of strategies to enhance dissemination and utilization of systematic reviews.

We also invite review papers on other topics related to systematic reviews, meta-analysis, and the science of research synthesis.

All papers are subject to masked peer-review. The deadline for paper submissions is September 1, 2013. The issue will be published in spring of 2014.

Potential authors may contact the guest editor to discuss ideas for submissions. All submissions must be formatted in compliance with JSSWR Author Guidelines (available at http://www.jsswr.org/about/submissions#authorGuidelines).

Guest Editor Contact Information:

Julia H. Littell, PhD
Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research
Bryn Mawr College
300 Airdale Rd., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
jlittell@brynmawr.edu

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of World Medical & Health Policy: Alcohol and Public Policy

This special issue of World Medical & Health Policy seeks to contribute to understanding and improved health policy related to alcohol consumption, including medical, social, behavioral and economic outcomes. Papers evaluating the effectiveness of alcohol-related policies, in the United States* and around the world, are encouraged, with an eye to improving public health, wellbeing and general welfare.

Research that advances methodological investigation and improves measurement in studying relationships between alcohol-related public policies and health-related behaviors and outcomes is also welcome.

*The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's (NIAAA) Alcohol Policy Information System is particularly encouraged as a resource for proposed research

Abstract submission deadline: August 30, 2013

Contact: Bonnie Stabile, Deputy Editor, bstabile@gmu.edu

Notification of selected abstracts: September 20, 2013

Completed papers due: January 24, 2014

Presentation of research at half-day summit on Alcohol and Public Policy (tentative date: March 7th, 2014)

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Leprosy Review: Children and Leprosy

Leprosy Review is planning a special issue on children and leprosy and invites contributions on any aspects of leprosy related to children. Papers could be epidemiological, clinical, psychosocial, operational in nature.

Papers to be sent to Irene Allen: IreneA@leprahealthinaction.org

If you wish to discuss a potential contribution write to C Ruth Butlin at drbutlin@yahoo.com

Deadline for submission: September 2013.

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Psychology of Popular Media Culture: Video Games and Children

February 1, 2014: submission deadline

The degree to which video games do or do not impact children, both positively and negatively, continues to be a topic of discussion and controversy in the scholarly community and general public. The ensuing debates have made clear the divergent opinions within the scholarly community regarding the potential impact of violent video games on children's behavior.

At times, these debates have become acrimonious, arguably because these debates are not merely academic, but entwined with both phenomena related to societal violence and "culture war" debates about what media content is moral. The tenor of such debates, both within the scholarly community and general public can, at times, stifle efforts by scholars with differing perspectives to find common ground and understand their divergent views and data.

This special issue is viewed as an opportunity to provide a public forum for scholars on all sides of these debates to discuss new data and new directions in video game science.

Thus, papers addressing the influences of video games on children are invited. It is expected that a range of differing views and data will be included in the final special issue.

These are some guidelines for papers that will be particularly competitive for inclusion in the special issue:

Empirical papers will be given priority over review or theoretical papers. Review/theoretical papers that advance understanding beyond past "video games are good/bad" debates may be competitive, however.

All papers should consider influences on children or teenagers. College student samples will not be given priority.

To avoid publication bias issues, papers finding statistically significant effects as well as those finding null results will be given equal weight. In all cases, careful consideration of the interpretation of effect sizes should be given greater emphasis than a binary statistical significance decision.

Papers examining both positive and negative outcomes are welcome. Papers need not be on aggression/violence or mental health, but could also consider cognition, problem solving, stress, etc.

Papers should be no more than 30 pages in length, total, including references.

By exchanging views and data across debates in this field it is hoped that the special issue will provide a new start for collegial discussion of these issues as the field moves forward.

Manuscripts can be submitted through the Journal's Manuscript Submission Portal. Please note in your cover letter that you are submitting for this special issue and send in attention to Christopher J. Ferguson.

Questions about the special issue can be addressed to the guest editor Christopher J. Ferguson.

First submission papers will be accepted through February 1, 2014.

Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Child Maltreatment: Child Maltreatment & Emerging Adulthood: Developmental Outcomes & Service Delivery

Child Maltreatment, the journal of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, is preparing a special issue on developmental outcomes and service delivery during emerging adulthood. The purpose of this special issue is to highlight research examining empirical links between child maltreatment and developmental outcomes during emerging adulthood, broadly defined as that period of development from 18 to 25 years of age when young people living in technologically oriented cultures make the transition from adolescence to early adulthood.

Guest Editors Thomas J. McMahon, Ph.D. & Tanya Nichols, M.A., Yale University School of Medicine

Developmental outcomes of potential interest include, but are not necessarily limited to:

• Subjective identity

• Emotional stability

• Substance use

• Sexual behavior

• Quality of friendships

• Quality of romantic relationships

• Vocational-educational adjustment

• Quality of family relations

• Financial support

• The transition to independent living

• The transition to marriage

• The transition to parenthood

• Community engagement

Developmental outcomes representing both psychopathology and social competence will be acceptable; and the journal is particularly interested in papers that highlight positive developmental outcomes in the face of early adversity that represent resilience. Reports of research done within survey, case control, and longitudinal designs will be considered. Papers that draw upon the strengths of longitudinal designs with consideration of mediating or moderating influences are preferred.

This special issue will also highlight empirical research on service delivery during the transition from child to adult oriented systems of care for young people with a history of child maltreatment. The journal is particularly interested in papers that describe psychosocial intervention and patterns of service utilization for young people leaving the care of the child welfare system.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is September 2, 2013. All manuscripts submitted for consideration will be subjected to peer review. Full length manuscripts should be limited to 35 double spaced pages, inclusive of tables, figures, and references. Manuscripts should also be formatted according to guidelines outlined in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, and they should be accompanied by a letter requesting the paper be considered for this special issue on emerging adulthood.

If you have any questions about this special issue, please do not hesitate to contact Thomas McMahon at (203) 974-
5950 or thomas.mcmahon@yale.edu