International Journal of Behavioral Medicine - Call for Papers on Advancing the Science of Behavioral Medicine: Meta-Analyses and Foundational Reviews

Special Issue Editors: 

Michael A. Hoyt, PhD University of California, Irvine 

Chun-Qing Zhang, PhD Sun Yat-Sen University 

Ren Liu, PhD University of California, Merced

Letter of Intent Deadline: December 1, 2022 (rolling) 

The International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (IJBM) approaches its 30-year anniversary. In commemoration of this momentous milestone, IJBM is organizing a special issue focused on systematic, scoping, and integrative literature reviews and meta-analyses that synthesize the state of the science in foundational areas of behavioral medicine. Submissions that integrate the existing science and point the field to opportunities for future progress are desired. 

All scientific areas within the field of behavioral medicine are welcome. Meta-analyses and literature reviews of behavioral medicine research across the translational spectrum will be considered. Further, research that bridges the intersections of behavioral medicine and other areas of research (e.g., neuroscience, medical practice, nursing, public health, education, health psychology, environmental science) are likely to make strong contributions. Areas of work might include:

• Behavioral Interventions 

• Adaptation to Chronic Illness and Symptom Management 

• Chronic Pain 

• Translational Sleep Science 

• Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Health and Illness 

• Health Behavior Change 

• Health Disparities and the Health of Underrepresented Populations 

• Technology-based Behavioral Medicine 

• Social Processes and Health 

• Resilience and Positive Psychology 

• Behavioral Medicine and Theory 

This special issue provides a unique opportunity to simultaneously pause to organize accumulated knowledge and to provide the groundwork for the next generation of research in our field, including work that will achieve large steps forward for the discipline and its global impact. Thus, all submissions will be meta-analyses or reviews. Meta-analyses are a family of methods which allow for the aggregation and quantitative synthesis of a body of prior empirical findings. Literature reviews aim to synthesize an accumulated body of knowledge to inform new research efforts. Such reviews consolidate and synthesize existing literature through a transparent and replicable method. 

Editorial Process: 

Letters of Intent (LOIs) must include the following five sections and be no longer than 1,000 words. 

1. Description of the primary purpose of the meta-analysis or systematic review, including a general detail of the literature that will be reviewed and why it first the theme of “advancing the science of behavioral medicine”. 

2. Specific hypotheses or research questions, if applicable. 

3. Broad description of your intended search and/or meta-analytic approach and methods, including key constructs. 

4. A statement regarding the progress to date and the intended timeline to complete the manuscript. 

5. A list of all authors, co-authors, and funding sources (as applicable). 

6. Reviews that are pre-registered on PROSPERO (or equivalent) are highly encouraged. Please declare pre-registration status. 

Please send your LOI as a pdf to the Special Issue editors at IJBmed@uci.edu. LOIs will be evaluated by the Special Issue Editors in terms of the study’s significance and contribution to the field; methodological adequacy; and the overall comprehensibility and clarity of the writing. 

LOIs that pass the first stage of review will be invited for full manuscript submission and peer review on a rolling basis, but no later than December 1, 2022. Final manuscripts will be due by May 1, 2023. 

IJBM is the official scientific journal of the International Society for Behavioral Medicine (ISBM) and seeks to present the best theoretically-driven, evidence-based work in the field of behavioral medicine from around the globe.