Call for Papers:
Special issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
Women’s reproductive health in sociocultural context
This special issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (IJBM) will be devoted to women’s reproductive health, focusing on women’s experiences, challenges, relationships and interactions with healthcare in sociocultural contexts. This issue will draw attention to gendered and sociocultural aspects of health as they relate to the health of women internationally. It will be of interest to scholars in behavioral medicine, psychology, and other social sciences.
Women deal with gender-specific reproductive health issues, or experience some health issues differently to men, because of biological, social, and psychological differences. The social construction of gender is related to health and health behaviors, as well as to barriers and inequalities in health and healthcare. Reproductive health matters such as pregnancy, childbirth, infertility, cervical and breast cancer, concern women across the globe and have social and financial implications for women, their families, and society in general. A major emphasis will be placed on the sociocultural contexts in which women live and how they resonate with gender, beliefs, attitudes, and health behaviors, and influence healthcare and health policy.
The purpose of this issue is to encourage research that focuses on women and their health in the multidimensionality of their lives. In every culture there are gender role expectations that shape women’s lives, and to fully understand women’s health issues, they must be studied in context.
Questions that could be addressed include:
o How do the multiple ways in which gender is constructed relate to women’s reproductive health?
o How does the intersection of gender, race, and class in local and global contexts have implications for health?
o What are the important issues regarding women’s reproductive health in professional and organizational contexts?
o What new issues relating to women’s health arise from advances in health technology and in social media?
o What health issues are important for girls and women from a life span perspective?
This special issue is intended to add to the theoretical and empirical knowledge about women’s reproductive health and consider implications for the practice of health psychology and behavioral medicine across the globe. We encourage submission of original, empirical studies as well as theoretical papers, methodological papers, systematic reviews or meta-analyses. We encourage submissions:
o From health psychology and behavioral medicine and with interdisciplinary perspectives
o With different methodological approaches, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
o From a range of local contexts
o Focusing on the concerns of the full spectrum of women, including Indigenous women; immigrant and refugee women; ethnicity; ageing; social inequalities and social exclusion
o Addressing intergenerational issues
o Examining social media and other modern/post-modern phenomena
Papers and short communications should follow the IJBM instructions for authors www.springer.com/medicine/journal/12529. All submissions will undergo anonymous peer review.
Please submit your manuscripts by June 20, 2016 through https://www.editorialmanager.com/jbme/Default.aspx . Publication is expected in 2017.
Guest Editors:
Yael Benyamini, Tel Aviv University, Israel (benyael@post.tau.ac.il)
Irina Todorova, Health Psychology Research Center, Bulgaria (ilgt1@comcast.net)
The International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (IJBM) is the journal of the International Society for Behavioral Medicine, a federation of 26 national and regional scientific societies. It is a fully peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer (http://www.springer.com/medicine/journal/12529 ). It publishes original research and reviews in all aspects of the interactions between sociocultural, psychosocial and behavioral factors on the one hand and biological processes, physical health, and illness on the other. Published six times a year, the journal is in its 23rd year of publication and has a current impact factor of 2.210 (H index = 39). It is abstracted/indexed in: Social Science Citation Index, Journal Citation Reports/Social Sciences Edition, PubMed/Medline, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Google Scholar, EBSCO, CSA, Academic OneFile, Academic Search, CINAHL, CSA Environmental Sciences, Current Contents / Social & Behavioral Sciences, EMCare, ERIH, Expanded Academic, OCLC, PSYCLINE, SCImago, and Summon by ProQuest.