This special issue will explore and promote the integration of public health and disaster medicine, responding to the growing needs for active, vibrant, and novel collaboration between these fields in addressing the wicked challenges of modern global health threats. Recent pandemics, climate change fueled disasters, and armed conflicts have exposed critical gaps in the current training, resilience, and implementation frameworks of public health and disaster health.

The importance of close coordination between public health and disaster health entities became highly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. For most jurisdictions, the lack of an integrated epidemic response model impaired the ability of both entities to respond in a timely and effective manner to mitigate the high rates of COVID-19 transmission and its subsequent morbidity and mortality. There is a need for transformational change to bring these disciplines closer together, restore trust in public health leadership, and facilitate a learning systems’ approach based on meaningful and sustained coordination across systems.

This is an Association of Public Health Schools in the European Region (ASPHER) call for papers. The call is being run in collaboration with the Swiss School of Public Heath (SSPH+) in the two SSPH+ journals: Public Health Reviews (PHR) and the International Journal of Public Health (IJPH).
For PHR, we invite high quality Reviews (all types) and Policy Briefs. For IJPH we invite original articles. Possible topics of interest include:
• Shared learning, policy initiatives, process improvements. and other activities to integrate public health and medical care systems
• Staff leadership, training, safety and welfare
• The resilience of public health systems in disasters and emergencies
• Inequalities in emergency and disaster care
• Trust building in crisis responses

The call for papers is open from November 12 2024 until October 31 2025. IJPH and PHR publish Gold Open Access. Article processing charges (APCs) apply. Contributions from researchers and practitioners working in both high-income and low- and middle-income countries are encouraged. The IJPH’s GLOBEQUITY program offers a limited number of APC waivers for first authors from low- and middle-income countries.

IJPH and PHR double-blind peer-review and author guidelines apply. Submitted manuscripts must fully comply with journal rules for article type, length and format (please consult the information for authors on the IJPH or PHR website).

Please submit the complete manuscript. In case of acceptance after peer review, articles will be published in the online special issue approximately 3 weeks after acceptance.

Contact:
PHR Editorial Office: phr@swisstph.ch
IJPH Editorial Office: ijph@swisstph.ch

Article types and fees

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Commentary
• Editorial
• Guidance
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Society Statement
• Systematic Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Commentary
• Editorial
• Guidance
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Society Statement
• Systematic Review

Keywords: climate change fueled disasters, pandemics, disaster health, public health policy, emergency health