The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health (NIMHD/NIH) recently announced a call for papers for a special theme issue on obesity prevention called “Advancing Obesity Prevention: Quality Improvements, Emerging Models, and Best Practices.” The issue will be published in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (JHCPU) in May 2013. The submission deadline is Sept. 21.
Background
The obesity epidemic presents a major threat to the health of the U.S. population across all ages, races, and socioeconomic groups, and in particular within disadvantaged and underserved communities. Obesity is a major contributor to serious health conditions including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Promoting healthy weight requires concerted efforts, including quality improvement, from health care, public health, and communities.
Quality improvement is the continuous and ongoing effort to achieve measurable improvements in the efficiency, effectiveness, performance, accountability, outcomes, and other indicators of quality in services or processes which achieve equity and improve the health of the community. Innovative strategies and approaches are needed, as well, to translate and sustain effective interventions at the community level. This special issue seeks to address quality improvements, emerging models, and best practices with respect to obesity prevention. Specifically, the intent is to address the following questions:
- What evidence-based interventions or promising practices in obesity prevention yield improved, sustainable outcomes across U.S. populations, particularly within populations at disproportionate risk for obesity and related co-morbidities? Of specific interest are efforts that target urban, rural, and low-income populations, ethnic and racial minorities, and children.
- How can primary care, public health, and community organizations effectively integrate to address obesity prevention? Innovative approaches that demonstrate integration of evidence-based programs and best practices are encouraged.
- What approaches have the potential to translate and disseminate obesity research/interventions into widespread and sustainable practice and policy? Approaches at the community level are of particular interest (e.g., community-based participatory research [CBPR]).
- How can the application of quality improvement and collaborative models accelerate change and achieve measurable improvements in obesity prevention?
Submission, review process, and timeline
Manuscripts should be submitted as an attachment to jhcpusupplement@hrsa.gov by Sept. 21, 2012. Authors should also include the following information in the email:
- Contact author’s name, affiliation, email address
- Manuscript title
- Type of manuscript (original paper, brief report, commentary, etc.)
- Abstract
- Explanation of how the manuscript fits the purposes of the special issue
Manuscripts will be reviewed by HRSA/NIH guest editors and selected authors will be notified by Oct. 5, 2012 as to whether or not his/her submission has been selected to undergo peer review by the JHCPU. Authors will then be asked to submit selected manuscripts directly to JHCPU no later than Oct. 12, 2012 using their online submission process.
Please visit JHCPU author guidelines for additional information on types of manuscripts accepted by the JHCPU, as well as for logistics on the JHCPU submissions process if an author’s submitted manuscript is selected for the special theme issue.
For additional information or questions, please contact Guest Editor at jhcpusupplement@hrsa.gov
Guest Editors: HRSA: Sarah Linde-Feucht, M.D., Natasha Coulouris, M.P.H., and Eliza Heppner, M.P.A.; NIH/NIMHD: Nishadi Rajapakse, Ph.D., M.H.S, Rick Berzon, Dr.PH., and Paula Goodwin, Ph.D.