Social Work in Public Health

For several decades, despite the U.S.’s pronouncements on maintaining and achieving health equity for members of historically excluded groups, Black men have continued to be disproportionately excluded in discourse regarding the intersection between race, gender, and health promotion. Black scholars (e.g., Brown and Hargrove, 2018; Gilbert et al., 2016; Griffith, Ellis, and Allen, 2012; Watkins et al., 2006; Williams, 2003) have continuously discussed the ways existent health disparities (e.g., mental health, environmental, economic, and physical health) continue to impede this particular groups’ overall quality of life.  Given this knowledge, discussing the full scope of Black men’s health necessitates identifying and culturally nuancing the potential racial and gendered differences in health promotion methods that will facilitate practical approaches toward prevention and awareness of Black men’s health.

 This special issue aims to invite scholars whose primary aim is disseminating innovative and substantive scholarship exploring practical solutions (i.e., prevention, intervention) for Black men at the intersection of social work and public health. Manuscripts that are of interest include the following but are not limited to:

• Factors (i.e., social determinants of health) associated with increased health risks for Black men.
• Manuscripts that refine social work or public health theoretical frameworks highlighting associations between religiosity and/or spirituality and health among Black men. However, these types of papers must be well-grounded in evidence-based knowledge.
• Theoretical/conceptual papers that will offer a deeper, more culturally nuanced understanding of existent or emerging health-related disparities (e.g., housing, cancer, cardiovascular disease, cognitive disorders) among Black men.
• Clinical/practice-based papers identifying effective, evidence-based interventions explicitly aimed at Black men’s health.

All manuscripts must focus specifically on Black men and the issue of health. Here are some examples of what fits the call:

• Cancer epidemiology and outcomes for Black Men
• Psychosocial Challenges with HIV+ Older Black Men
• Substance Abuse Disparities among Black Men
• Housing as a Method for Harm Reduction among Black Men
• Best practices of intervention strategies, culturally focused, to treat suicidal ideations or attempts in Black men.
• Examining the multidimensionality of DSM-IV diagnoses among middle-aged and older Black men.

The editors of this special issue are interested in disseminating full-length manuscripts and brief reports, quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies, literature reviews, and conceptual papers. Evidence-based commentaries are also possible if they address intersectional vulnerabilities of Black men and health from prevention to intervention, including health services, health systems, and policy-relevant topics.

Each author(s) must submit an abstract that provides a brief but comprehensive summary of the contents of their proposed paper. The editors are requesting that you limit your abstract to 250 words. After that, you must submit the abstract to the provided link here by 11:59 pm (CST) on March 1, 2024; the editors will review the abstract to ensure alignment with the call. You will receive communication regarding the acceptance or denial of your proposed paper. If your abstract is accepted, submit the final manuscript through the provided link by 11:59 pm (CST) on May 1, 2024.

We encourage scholars to review the journal's standards (https://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?show=instructions&journalCode=whsp20) for manuscript submission as they begin constructing their final manuscript.  This will ensure we have everything required so your paper(s) can smoothly move through the peer review, production, and publication. Once we have reviewed each submission to ensure that it meets alignment with the special issue, each author(s) will be notified of when their accepted manuscript will be published.  The expected publication date for the accepted manuscript(s) is Fall 2024.

Instructions for AuthorsSubmit an Article