General call for papers: volume 6, issue 3, 2020

Public Health Panorama would like to invite authors to make unsolicited submissions.

We are welcoming papers that showcase examples and research results from the WHO European Region and that are intended for policy-makers, planners, researchers, public health specialists, clinicians, educators, civil society and other interest groups.

Priority will be given to papers that describe outcome-oriented approaches, successful practices, innovative solutions and lessons learned. In particular, papers that document experiences in low-resource and transitional economies are sought and welcomed. Manuscripts may be submitted in either English or Russian, and accepted papers will be published in both languages.

Papers must be written in the form of original research articles, case studies, policy and practice papers and reviews.

All manuscripts must include two paragraphs indicating what they add to the already published literature. The paragraphs should briefly explain:

• what was already known about the topic concerned;
• what new knowledge the manuscript contributes.

Below, you can find a more detailed explanation of what we are expecting to see in each paper type.

Original research article

Original research articles are full-length descriptions of novel and evidence-based research. Articles of this type should follow the IMRaD format: Introduction; Methods; Results; and Discussion. The introduction should provide sufficient background to enable the reader to understand the scope of the research followed by a clear presentation of the study’s aims. The methods section should be presented clearly enough to allow for the study to be duplicated and should include an ethics section where relevant. The discussion should avoid repeating the results section and focus on the interpretation of findings and their implications. The study limitations should also be presented within the discussion and a separate conclusions paragraph with the aim of looking forward may be added at the end.

Examples of previously published original research articles:

Nielsen S M, Franklin B A K, Jackson C, Ceban A, et al. New vaccine introduction: strengthening health literacy to increase health equity. Public Health Panorama. 2019;5(‎2−3)‎:291−300. (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/327062).

Salagai O, Sakharova G, Antonov N‎. Results of the state policy on tobacco control in the Russian Federation. Public Health Panorama. 2018;4(3):289−298. (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/324919).

Jovanović D D, Paunović K Ž, Schmoll O, Shinee E, Rančić M, et al. Rapid assessment of drinking-water quality in rural areas of Serbia: overcoming the knowledge gaps and identifying the prevailing challenges. Public Health Panorama. 2017;3(2)‎:175−185. (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/325307).

Review article

A review article should provide a critical assessment of research on topics of relevance to public health in the Region. This should be done through summary, analysis and comparison; providing perspective on the field in question; perhaps identifying specific gaps or problems in the available literature to provide recommendations for future research. However, new data from the author's own research should not generally be included. Each review article should contain sections dealing with objectives, sources, methods of selection, compilation and interpretation of data and conclusions. Literature reviews and systematic reviews with and without meta-analyses, are accepted.

Examples of previously published review articles:

Intemann T, Hebestreit A, Reisch L A., Williams G, Lissner L, et al. Obesogenic diets in European children: from nutrients to upstream factors. Public Health Panorama. 2017;3(4):663−675. (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/325205).

Clair A, Stuckler, D. Structured review of the evidence on intersection of housing and health policy in the WHO European Region. Public Health Panorama. 2016;2(2):160−183. (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/325432).

Ølholm A M, Christensen J B, Kamionka S L, Eriksen M L, Sodemann M, et al. Hospital based case management for migrant patients: a systematic review. Public Health Panorama. 2016;2(4)‎:515−526. (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/325348).

Policy and practice

Policy and practice manuscripts can cover a wide range of activities in the field of health policy and practice, from description of trends, reforms or processes in a specific context; to the introduction of new policies, strategies or tools; and policy analysis or evaluation exercises. They can also be a synthesis of the best-available global or local evidence for future policy priorities. Given the varied nature and objectives of these manuscripts there is no strict required format. However, we suggest the use of five sections, comprising background/problem; local context; approach; relevant changes; and lessons learned, along with an abstract outlining the main points of the paper. Authors may use tables or boxes for summarized presentation of findings, where deemed necessary.

Examples of previously published policy and practice manuscripts:

Fazzo L, Bianchi F, Carpenter D, Martuzzi M, Comba P, et al. Hazardous waste: a challenge for public health. Public Health Panorama. 2017;3(2):247−252. (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/325310).

Jewell J, Rayner M, Breda J, Nishida C, Galea G, et al. Addressing the challenge of food marketing to children: the WHO Regional Office for Europe nutrient profile model as a common tool. Public Health Panorama. 2015;1(3):221−229. (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/325447).

Case study

Case studies are focused, in-depth narratives on the planning and implementation of a public health programme in a specific country or region, and its implications for future planning and priorities. There is no strict required format but studies should begin with a clear detailed description of the case, and end with a section on lessons learned/ lessons from the field.

Examples of previously published case studies:

Rolke K, Wenner J, Razum O. Organization of access to primary health care for newly arrived refugees in Germany: a case study in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Public Health Panorama. 2018; 4(4)‎:586−591. (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/324856).

Ali N, Ellis B, Woolf A, Hamilton S, Fenton K, et al. Developing partnerships and a whole-system approach for the prevention of musculoskeletal conditions in England. Public Health Panorama. 2018; 4(3)‎:407−414. (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/324935).

Puerto K L I. Case study: nutrition education as a vector for sociocultural integration? Lessons from the case study of the “Roma” families of the Sénart project, France. Public Health Panorama. 2017;3 (‎1)‎:97−104. (https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/254730).

Please note that manuscripts that exceed the presented maximum word counts will not be accepted.

a) To allow for the fact that Russian texts can be slightly longer than their counterparts in English, articles submitted in the Russian language are allowed to exceed their respective word counts by a maximum of 10% (i.e. for the main text of an original article where the maximum word count is 3500, the maximum allowed for a Russian text would be 3850)
b) Excluding the accompanying abstract, references, tables and figures
c) Must be accompanied by a structured abstract divided into: Objectives; Methods; Results; and Conclusions

Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the guidelines for authors and contributors.

All submissions should be sent to eupanorama@who.int and consist of the manuscript, the duly filled in and signed cover letter template mentioning this call for papers, and a signed licence agreement.

For further queries, please contact eupanorama@who.int.