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Special issue on maternal, child and family health

JBI Evidence Synthesis opens submissions for papers

JBI Evidence Synthesis invites researchers, academics, and health professionals to submit manuscripts for a special issue dedicated to maternal, child, and family health. 

The special issue, ‘Maternal, Child, and Family Health: From Prevention to Care’, is scheduled for publication in April 2027. It will be guest-edited by researchers from the University of Nottingham: Professor Catrin Evans, Co-Director of the Nottingham JBI Centre for Evidence-Based Healthcare, and her colleague Dr Hannah Degge. Together, they will curate a collection of systematic and scoping reviews, protocols, and commentary and discussion papers.

Broad and inclusive scope

The special issue is designed to be wide-ranging in its reach. Submissions are welcomed across the full continuum of life, from preconception through to young adulthood, and from diverse countries and cultural contexts. 

Eligible topics span physical, social, and mental health, encompassing health promotion and prevention as well as acute and palliative care.

Accepted manuscript types include:

  • Systematic reviews
  • Scoping reviews
  • Systematic and scoping review protocols
  • Methodological investigations of evidence synthesis in this field
  • Discussion and correspondence papers.

Support for authors

JBI Evidence Synthesis is committed to supporting authors throughout the submission process. 

The Editorial Office offers a streamlined submissions process, which aims to address a significant pain point for researchers, clinicians and others who seek to publish with JBI Evidence Synthesis: the time-consuming task of formatting manuscripts for submission.

With the streamlined submissions process, authors are no longer required to fully format their reviews or protocols for initial submission. This includes relaxed requirements for referencing style, language preferences, section ordering, and word count limits. 

However, authors must still adhere to submission guidelines which include adherence to gold standard JBI methodologies and JBI-endorsed methodologies; PRISMA reporting guidelines; registering the review in PROSPERO, OSF etc; and ethical standards for scholarly publication.

Equity-focused initiatives

JBI Evidence Synthesis is committed to being an avenue for authors from all backgrounds and settings to publish their research, and recognises that authors from resource-limited settings and those who speak English as an additional language are underrepresented in published research syntheses. Read an outline of some of the equity-focused initiatives to help all authors who want to contribute to the global evidence base through publication in JBI Evidence Synthesis. 

Portrait images of Mara Lambert - Managing Editor and Melanie Dankel - Editorial Officer along with the cover of 'JBI Evidence Synthesis' and a quote: "Making scientific research more accessible to everyone, regardless of where they liver or what language they speak, should be a common goal among entities that publish and disseminate this research."

Help with disseminating your research

The Editorial Office works closely with the JBI Communications Office to disseminate published research more broadly, helping authors to maximise research impact from the moment of publication. 

Helpful guidance is also provided to authors via a suite of practical resources such as checklists and top tips for research dissemination. These resources include a guide for creating a video abstract, filming at home, and communicating your research through blogs. 

Masthead: Research Dissemination - A practical guide for JBI authors, with the JBI logo.

Information for authors

Comprehensive information for authors is available on the journal's website, including templates tailored to diverse manuscript types: systematic reviews, scoping reviews, SWARs, and methodology manuscripts.

The journal publishes reviews that follow JBI methodology for eight different types of evidence syntheses, including qualitative evidence syntheses; mixed-methods systematic reviews; systematic reviews of aetiology and risk; umbrella reviews; and more. 

In addition, three more different types of reviews are published that use JBI endorsed methodology, ie systematic reviews of prevalence and incidence that follow PERSyst methodology; systematic reviews of diagnostic test accuracy that follow methodology by the Cochrane Screening and Diagnostic Test Methods Group; and systematic reviews of measurement properties using COSMIN (Consensus based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments. 

Methodological guidance for conducting diverse types of evidence syntheses, and links to JBI endorsed methodologies are provided in the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. 

JBI Evidence Synthesis: beyond systematic reviews of effectiveness

JBI Evidence Synthesis is a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal focused on disseminating rigorous, high-quality research to inform healthcare policy and practice. It is the premier channel for diverse evidence syntheses that move beyond the inclusion of randomised controlled trials and experimental studies, providing the best available evidence for a range of healthcare contexts and health conditions. 

The journal publishes qualitative evidence syntheses; mixed-methods systematic reviews; systematic reviews of aetiology and risk; umbrella reviews, and more. 

The journal holds a Journal Impact Factor of 4.5 and is ranked in Quartile 1 (Q1) across three categories: Health Care Sciences & Services (JIF percentile of 88.4), General Nursing, and General Medicine.

Submit your manuscript

Researchers and clinicians working in maternal, child, and family health are encouraged to submit your manuscript by 31 August for the special issue. 

Other special issues 

JBI Evidence Synthesis also invites submissions for a special series focusing on Studies Within a Review (SWARs), an emerging extension of the systematic review process. 

  • Manuscripts exploring a range of SWARs topics are welcomed, including:
  • Evaluations of search strategies, screening processes, methodological quality assessments, data extraction techniques, and data synthesis methods
  • Investigations into tools supporting evidence syntheses and the role of automation
  • Analyses of reporting standards and adherence to these standards
  • Evaluations of the development, sharing, and utilisation of review findings.

In addition to submissions for the SWARs series, JBI Evidence Synthesis welcomes manuscripts for original research investigating and/or informing methodological conduct of evidence syntheses and reporting practices. 

The journal publishes high-quality methodology papers year-round and dedicates a special issue to methodology each March to coincide with Methodology Month. Methodology manuscripts are invited year-round.