Global Health and Health Care Services: Social Psychological Determinants of Health and Well-Being
A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 June 2026 | Viewed by 49
Special Issue Editor
Interests: social determinants of health and psychosocial wellbeing; implicit biases; health-related stigma; the role of social and interpersonal factors in modulating health outcomes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As health and well-being become a global priority, it is increasingly evident that clinical factors alone do not determine the health outcomes of individuals or populations. Social psychological factors, such as social identity, social norms, perceived discrimination, affective reactions, and cognitive representations of illness, play a pivotal role in influencing health and well-being as well as healthcare provision, help-seeking behaviors, treatment adherence, and long-term health trajectories. These factors also shape healthcare delivery, patient–provider interactions, and the effectiveness of health policies worldwide.
This Special Issue is aimed at scholars, clinicians, public health practitioners, policy makers, and interdisciplinary researchers with an interest in the psychosocial foundations of health and well-being. By fostering dialogue across disciplines and contexts, it aims to bridge the gap between social psychological theory and global health practice and inform both academic inquiry and practical interventions at local, national, and global levels.
We welcome original empirical research (either qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods), theoretical papers, systematic reviews, policy analyses, and case studies that critically examine how social environments, structural inequalities, and social psychological processes interact to influence health outcomes and the delivery of healthcare services worldwide. Contributions that propose innovative interventions, or that translate social psychological theory into actionable policy or healthcare practice, are especially encouraged.
We encourage submissions that address the following areas, among others:
- Stigma, self-stigma, and public attitudes toward chronic illness and their impact on health-seeking behavior and treatment adherence;
- Affective and cognitive responses to chronic illness and their influence on mental health, coping, and self-management;
- Social identity, marginalization, and health disparities, particularly in relation to access to care and health equity;
- Cultural beliefs and illness representations and their role in health decision-making and patient-provider communication;
- Health behaviors, help-seeking, and barriers to healthcare access;
- Social support, community resources, and collective efficacy in fostering resilience and long-term well-being;
- Trust in healthcare systems and institutions and its implications for patient satisfaction, compliance, and health outcomes;
- Intersectionality and its implications for healthcare;
- Psychological effects of poverty, migration, conflict, and discrimination on health and well-being;
- Psychosocial resilience and coping mechanisms in diverse populations and their clinical and public health applications;
- Integrating social psychological insights into healthcare policies and interventions.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Edita Fino
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- health and well-being
- social psychological determinants
- stigma of chronic disease
- social identity and healthcare disparities
- affective reactions and cognitive representation of illness
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