Call for Papers for Special Series on Health Disparities

In recognition of the importance of health disparities (Smedley, Stith & Nelson, 2002) and to encourage research on this topic in our field, the Editors of Health Psychology are calling for manuscripts that reflect the breadth of issues related to health disparities.

We will publish special sections, 2–3 times a year, each consisting of 3–4 papers on a specific theme. Empirical papers are preferred although theoretical or review papers will also be considered if they make a unique contribution to understanding disparities.

The goal of this special series is to encourage research that seeks to explain or address disparities, not merely to report serendipitous differences among groups. Papers across the lifespan, including pediatric samples, are encouraged.

There are two themes for 2012.

It has been almost a decade since the Institute of Medicine published its report on health disparities (Smedley et al., 2002). With well over 600 references, most of the literature documented the continuing problem of racial/ethnic health disparities first identified in the 1980s.

One real possibility is that these disparities are the result, in part, of discrimination and racism. This discrimination could be related to disparities in one of two ways.

First, being the victim of racism or discrimination could serve as a unique stressor that increases the likelihood of developing a disease or decreases the likelihood of engaging in health-promoting behaviors. Second, these disparities could be the result of individual racism or discrimination on the part of health care providers, either on a conscious or unconscious basis.

Research designed to test these possibilities is sorely needed. Papers for this special series should focus directly on discrimination, prejudice, and racism to determine possible biological effects these have on individuals, and to explore the possibility that these factors play a role in medical decision-making.

The deadline for submitting papers for this special series is February 1, 2012.

Authors should contact Elizabeth Klonoff, PhD regarding the Discrimination, Racism, and Health series.

A recent review reveals that racial and ethnic disparities in acute, chronic, cancer, and palliative pain care continue to persist across the life span and treatment settings (Anderson et al., 2009). These disparities are often multiply determined by biological, genetic, psychosocial, institutional factors, and they are observed in a variety of research contexts including pain epidemiology, access to quality pain care, and pain assessment and treatment research.

The aim of this special series is to highlight novel developments in basic, epidemiological, and intervention research that have the potential to improve theory and practice in health psychology. The focus of this series will be on explaining and intervening, rather than merely documenting disparities.

We welcome papers that investigate these issues at the level of the individual patient (e.g., genetic, psychological), the health care provider (e.g., clinical-decision making, training), and health care systems (e.g., access), as well as their interactions.

The deadline for submitting papers for this special series is May 1, 2012.

Authors should contact Jos Bosch and Annmarie Cano regarding the Disparities in Pain series.

Papers must be prepared in full accord with the Health Psychology Instructions to Authors and submitted through the Health Psychology Manuscript Submission Portal.

All submissions will be peer reviewed, with 3–4 selected for publication in the special section. Some papers not included in a specific special section may be accepted for publication in Health Psychology as regular papers.

Please indicate in the cover letter accompanying your manuscript that you would like to have the paper considered for the Special Series on Health Disparities.

Anderson et al. (2009). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Pain: Causes and Consequences of Unequal Care. Journal of Pain, 10, 1187–1204.

Smedley, B.D., Stith, A.Y., & Nelson, A.R. (Eds.), for the Committee on Understanding and Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. (2002). Unequal treatment: Confronting racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine.