Topical Collection: Nature, Mindfulness and Social Isolation in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Dear Colleagues,

The current global pandemic, COVID-19, continues to have profound effects on our daily lives. At the time of this writing, over 55 million people have been infected globally. The human race has been attempting to socially and physically isolate to reduce viral transmission and save lives. Large-scale human isolation, and the inevitable lack of human contact and touch, has profound psychological, physiological, and spiritual implications. To find solace and protection from the rapid transmission of the virus indoors with others, people are flocking to nature. Nature spaces, green and blue, are needed now more than ever to provide antidotes for human anxiety, fear of the unknown, loneliness, decreased immunity, and other health issues. Another option, uptake of mindfulness practices, is known for its multitude of benefits: increased immunity, connection with self, decreased anxiety and depression, and increased well-being.

During these uncertain and stress-filled times, we make an urgent call for contributions to this Special Issue in an effort to assist practitioners and researchers in learning ways to help people flourish while living with isolation during the pandemic. Articles of interest may:

• Illustrate how nature-based and/or mindfulness practices alleviate or mitigate social isolation (e.g., social distancing, quarantine, self-isolation, and shelter-in-place) side effects;
• Demonstrate a variety of research methods (e.g., meta-analyses, state-of-the-art reviews, randomized controlled trials, longitudinal studies, case reports or case series, qualitative and mixed methods studies);
• Highlight innovative technologies (e.g., Internet-based videos, cell-phone applications, music, and artistic contributions);
• Apply these approaches, methods, or technologies in important subpopulations, such as the elderly, homebound, deprived and vulnerable communities, adults, adolescents, or children.

Researchers and practitioners interested in these topics are invited to submit manuscripts to this Special Issue on providing nature and/or mindfulness solutions for the human isolation, loneliness, and lack of human contact or touch occurring in times of pandemic.

Dr. Margaret Mary Hansen
Ms. Reo Jones
Prof. Dr. Sara L. Warber
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2500 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.