CALL FOR PAPERS
COVID-19 Pandemic and Global Mental Health
PLOS MEDICINE
Submit to this PLOS Medicine call for papers to contribute to the global awareness of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global mental health. Submission deadline, July 15th 2022.
Jul
15
2022
Photo by Ümit Bulut is licensed under Unsplash License
SCOPE
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic, just months after the first known cases were identified in December, 2019. Two years on, the world has been transformed by the SARS-CoV-2 virus: lockdowns and physical distancing have decimated social support structures for many, while loss of income, loneliness, disruptions in routine health care and reductions in physical activity have widened pre-existing health inequities. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, a hidden pandemic of mental health disorders is already underway.
PLOS Medicine is calling submissions that work with the potential to mitigate the mental health consequences of the current pandemic and strengthen the global response to future pandemics. Work that examines contextual differences in the mental health impacts of the pandemic and strives to elucidate underlying mechanisms is of great interest.
RESEARCH TOPICS
- Vulnerable populations and the pandemic’s impact on existing inequities in global mental health
- Public mental health
- Health system responses to increased demand for mental health care services
- Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials
- Evaluations of policy interventions
- Mental health consequences of the pandemic from a life course perspective
Never has mental health been as much in the global spotlight as in the past two years due to the unprecedented impact of the pandemic, and containment policies, on population mental health. This is a historic opportunity to document how such cataclysmic events affect mental health in bi-directional ways and how societies can build effective safety nets to protect and promote mental health and be better prepared for an increasingly unsettling and uncertain future.

Vikram Patel
Harvard Med School
Find out more about this upcoming collection

GUEST EDITORS

Vikram Patel
Harvard Med School

Toshi A Furukawa
Kyoto University

Lola Kola
University of Ibadan

Daisy Fancourt
University College London
JOURNAL INFORMATION
PLOS Medicine publishes articles relevant to clinicians, policymakers, and researchers across a range of settings that address the major biological, environmental, social, and political determinants of health.
Email questions to plosmedicine@plos.org
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READY TO SUBMIT?
Submit your paper to PLOS Medicine to be considered for this Collection.
Mention the COVID-19 Pandemic and Global Mental Health CFP Call for Papers in your cover letter. The Collection will publish later in 2022.
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