Call for papers: special issue on health implications and medical risks of the war in Gaza
The ongoing conflict in Gaza continues to take an unbearable toll, with severe implications for healthcare. Since the beginning of the war in October 2023, hundreds of aid workers have been killed and nearly all of the Gaza population (about 85% as of end of May 2024) has been displaced severally. Many of them live in makeshift, overcrowded, unsanitary, and insecure shelters and camps with insufficient food, water, healthcare, and other basic necessities.
The frequent attacks on healthcare have caused serious fatalities and grossly degraded the capacity of the health system to respond to healthcare needs in the territory. Only 16 of the 36 public hospitals and less than half of the primary healthcare facilities are operational, partially or minimally. One of the direct consequences of these is the outbreak of diseases such as diarrhoea, respiratory diseases, hepatitis A, etc. For example, there has been more than 23-fold increase, above the 2022 figures, in the monthly reported diarrheal cases among under-5 children, and, recently, polio virus was detected in wastewater samples.
The Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMHJ) is calling for submissions for an expedited special issue that will focus on the impact and implications of the war in Gaza for healthcare, as well as lessons and policy implications for the healthcare sector.
Types of manuscripts expected
Manuscripts can be developed and submitted as commentaries, original research articles, short research communication, review articles, and reports. We are particularly interested in system-focused articles that have implications for policymaking. Key areas of focus include, but not limited to:
Maternal, neonatal, child and reproductive health
Functionality of hospitals and healthcare centres in Gazafectious disease outbreaks and associated risks
Antimicrobial resistance as a result of atrocities
Complications resulting from non-availability of non-communicable disease services
Mental health, including psychosocial impact of the war
Epidemiologic trends and data
Assistive technology, including innovative limb and other forms of support
Impact of displaced populations on health services in neighbouring countries
Submission information
Interested authors should submit their manuscripts through the Editorial Manager at: https://www.editorialmanager.com/emhj/default.aspx
Manuscripts must comply with the “Information for authors” available at:
https://www.emro.who.int/emh-journal/authors/
Please indicate in your submission that the manuscript is for consideration for the special issue on health implications and health risks of the war in Gaza.
Call for papers: Special edition on digitalization of health information systems
Call for papers: Special edition on digitalization of health information systems
Background and rationale
A robust health information system (HIS) is the backbone of a well-functioning healthcare system. HIS is essential for providing timely and quality data to inform national, sub-national, and facility-level decision-making. At the global level, data from HIS is key for monitoring progress towards Universal Health Coverage, Sustainable Development Goals and World Health Organization's General Programme of Work.
Recent developments in HIS provide opportunities which, if leveraged, can contribute to increasing the efficiency, safety, and quality of healthcare delivery as well as reducing inequalities in access to services and health outcomes. These opportunities include the implementation of electronic systems that capture data at individual, health system and population levels; implementation of electronic medical records; availability of health insurance claims data; the potential to link clinical and service utilization data with other data sources; and linking hospital information systems with clinical guidelines and clinical decision support tools.
Objectives of the special edition
- Document progress, review experiences, and share lessons learned by countries and partners in digitalizing HIS.
- Document findings from research on digitalization of healthcare from different countries and research settings.
- Highlight specific areas such as the often-neglected aspects of the institutional changes required to digitalize HIS and to respond to possible controversies.
Manuscripts should explore:
- Countries' experiences in strengthening HIS: challenges, successes and lessons learned
- Developing sustainable HIS that can survive changing funding priorities
- Institutional changes needed to digitalize data, e.g. capacity building
- Going beyond data warehouses and dashboards: transforming data into information and evidence that can be used to inform decision-making and create an information culture
- The holy grail: is digitalization the solution to all problems affecting HIS?
- Contributions and limitations of HIS digitalization for improving health outcomes
- Any other aspects relevant to HIS.
Submission information
Manuscripts can be submitted in Arabic, English or French in the form of original research articles, short research communication, commentaries, reviews, and reports. Interested authors should submit their manuscripts through the Editorial Manager at: https://www.editorialmanager.com/emhj/default.aspx.
Manuscripts must comply with the "Information for authors" available at: https://www.emro.who.int/emh-journal/authors/.
Deadline for manuscript submissions is 31 December 2024.
Call for papers: Investing in noncommunicable disease control: Tobacco products and sugar-sweetened beverages taxation
Call for papers: Investing in noncommunicable disease control: Tobacco products and sugar-sweetened beverages taxation
Health taxation is administered on products that have negative public health impact, such as tobacco and sugar- sweetened beverages (SSBs). Health taxation policies aim to save lives and prevent disease while advancing health equity and mobilizing revenue for government budgets by making products that increase the risks for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) less affordable, to reduce their consumption.
Tobacco taxation can help save lives, lessen the enormous burden on healthcare, and reduce economic losses due to tobacco-related diseases. Similarly, taxation on SSBs can help countries reduce sugar consumption, fight NCDs and make people healthier. Applying taxation appropriately and increasing investments in NCDs are expected to produce the desired results and support countries in achieving the global NCDs control target.
The Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMHJ) is pleased to invite manuscript submissions on different aspects of investments in noncommunicable disease control, particularly taxation for tobacco products and sugar- sweetened beverages, for a special edition of the journal planned for April 2024. This special edition aims to highlight lessons, experiences and challenges, and offer recommendations for controlling the consumption of tobacco and SSBs products and related NCDs in the EMR. Suggested focus areas include, but are not limited to:
- Country experiences in tobacco products and SSBs taxation and challenges in imposing health taxes
- Country experiences in financing and budgeting for NCDs, sugar consumption and tobacco control
- Investing in NCDs, tobacco and SSBs control
- Lessons from multi-sectoral approaches to health taxation
- How health taxation can support country health budgets
- Specific country EMR experiences e.g. from the GCC countries, Egypt, Islamic Republic of Iran, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, and Tunisia
Multicountry collaborative studies are encouraged.
Sumbission information
Manuscripts can be submitted in Arabic, English or French in the form of original research articles, short research communication, commentaries, reviews, and reports. Interested authors should submit their manuscripts through the Editorial Manager at: https://www.editorialmanager.com/ emhj/default.aspx
Manuscripts must comply with the “Information for authors” available at: / emh-journal/authors/
Please indicate in your submission that the manuscript is for consideration for the special edition on “Investing in noncommunicable disease control: Tobacco products and sugar-sweetened beverages taxation”.
Deadline for manuscript submissions is 30 November 2023.
Call for papers: Special edition of EMHJ on Bioethics in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Ethical questions have been an inseparable part of healthcare from ancient times, and the scope of health ethics continues to expand to answer new complicated ethical questions. It covers such areas as clinical ethics, research ethics, public health ethics, ethics of emerging technologies, ethics of health policy, and environmental ethics. Stronger relationships, intellectually and technically, on bioethics governance are needed to achieve sustainable health systems.
The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean continues to play a central role in enhancing bioethics discourse by Member States in the Region, especially through its work with the WHO Collaborating Centres hosted by institutions in Islamic Republic of Iran, Lebanon and Pakistan. Efforts to improve cooperation and collaboration on bioethics in the Region have led to improvements in bioethics awareness, implementation and compliance.
The Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal (EMHJ) is pleased to invite manuscript submissions on different aspects of bioethics for a special edition of the journal to be published in December 2023. This special edition aims to highlight priorities, recent developments and gaps in bioethics in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Suggested focus areas for manuscripts for this edition include, but not limited to:
- Bioethics situation in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
- Bioethics governance and policies by Member States of the Region
- Bioethics research and research priorities
- Recent developments in bioethics in the Region
- Gaps and priorities for further development of bioethics nationally and at regional level
Submission information
Manuscripts can be submitted in Arabic, English or French in the form of original research articles, short research communication, commentaries, reviews, and reports. Interested authors should submit their manuscripts through the Editorial Manager at: https://www.editorialmanager.com/ emhj/default.aspx
Manuscripts must comply with the “Information for authors” available at: / emh-journal/authors/
Please indicate in your submission that the manuscript is for consideration for the special edition on bioethics.
Deadline extended until 31 October 2023