*New* Call for Extended Abstracts for Special Issue of Social Science & Medicine – Population Health (SSM-PH) (05/15/26)
Posted: 4/9/2026 (Conference)
Social Science & Medicine – Population Health (SSM-PH) will publish a special issue with papers by IAPHS members on the theme “Reimagining Population Health Science to Build Trust and Influence.” This special issue will bring together a collection of conceptual and empirical papers that will identify the reasons for the current lack of trust and influence in public/population health science; provide evidence on ways to rebuild trust and influence; examine how trust and influence affect population health outcomes and disparities; and offer concrete and policy-relevant solutions based on both historical and contemporary evidence. Submit your extended abstract as a pdf by May 15 here. Extended abstracts should be a maximum of 2 single-spaced pages using 12-point Times New Roman Font and one-inch margins.
Focus of Special Issue
Recent years have witnessed a decline in public trust of scientists – especially population/public health scientists – and the governmental agencies charged with monitoring health such as the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The decline in trust, and corresponding decline in the influence of population/public health experts, must be rectified through better and more effective ways of conducting and communicating population/public health science. Population/public health is at a crossroads.
This special issue will bring together a collection of conceptual and empirical papers that will identify the reasons for the current lack of trust and influence in public/population health science; provide evidence on ways to rebuild trust and influence; examine how trust and influence affect population health outcomes and disparities; and offer concrete and policy-relevant solutions based on both historical and contemporary evidence.
We encourage papers focused on a wide range of countries, especially low-and-middle-income countries, in addition to the United States.
How to Submit an Extended Abstract
All abstract submitters must be IAPHS members.
If you submitted a short abstract via the IAPHS 2026 conference website, and you checked the box for your abstract to also be considered for the special issue, you will receive a separate email from IAPHS asking you to submit an extended abstract.
If you did not submit a short abstract via the IAPHS 2026 conference website, you can still submit an extended abstract for consideration in the special issue. The abstract must explain (a) the significance and contribution of the to-be-written paper, (b) its strong fit with the theme of the special issue, and (c) the theoretical frameworks and methods to be used in the paper.
Extended abstracts should be a maximum of 2 single-spaced pages using 12-point Times New Roman Font and one-inch margins.
Submit your extended abstract as a pdf here
Key Dates
- May 15, 2026: extended abstracts due
- June 8, 2026: all extended abstract submitters will be notified about whether they are invited to submit a full paper to the special issue. All papers submitted to the special issue will go through the standard SSM-PH peer reviewer process
- Fall 2026 – Summer 2027: invited papers will be submitted to the SSM-PH special issue and go through the standard peer review process