Theme Issue on Violence and Human Rights
Call for Papers
- Thomas B. Cole, MD, MPH;
- Annette Flanagin, RN, MA
- Author Affiliations: Dr Cole (tbcole{at}bellsouth.net) is Contributing Editor and Ms Flanagin (annette_flanagin{at}jama-archives.org) is Managing Senior Editor, JAMA.
Five million deaths from violence and injuries are estimated to account for 9% of global mortality,1-2 with violence leading the causes of death among people aged 15 to 44 years.3 Violence affects many more survivors of all ages, who often live with disabling physical conditions and mental health symptoms.
Despite the magnitude of this burden, as well as the known consequences of exposure to violence among survivors, research
on violence prevention remains underfunded, understudied, and a neglected public health concern.
To focus attention on and support research in this area, we invite manuscripts reporting research on the causes, consequences,
and prevention of interpersonal violence as well as the prevention and management of the health effects of violence among
survivors of armed conflict, war, mass displacement, torture, and other human rights abuses for consideration in JAMA’s next theme issue on violence and human rights, to be published on August 4, 2005.
We welcome reports of original research, evidence-based reviews, and commentaries. We will consider case-control, cohort,
time series, survey, and other observational studies, but we particularly encourage authors to submit randomized controlled
trials (with individual, group/community, or cluster randomization), which are the best methods available to evaluate preventive
measures and other interventions, even in these difficult and often uncontrolled settings. For example, we are interested
in controlled studies of interventions for the prevention and treatment of the effects of intimate partner violence4-6; child abuse7-8; youth violence9-10; mental health effects of terrorism,11 sexual assault,12 and community violence10; war- and conflict-related malnutrition,13 infectious diseases,14 trauma, mental health symptoms,15 and disability16; health concerns of refugees and displaced people13, 17; and violations of human rights.18
Manuscripts received by March 1, 2005, will have the best chance for acceptance in this theme issue. All submitted manuscripts
will undergo JAMA’s usual rigorous editorial evaluation and peer review. Please follow JAMA’s instructions for authors (http://www.jama.com) for manuscript preparation and submission.
Editorials represent the opinions of the authors and The Journal and not those of the American Medical Association.
REFERENCES
- 1.
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- 2.
World Health Organization. Injury: A Leading Cause of the Global Burden of Disease, 2000. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2002.
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Wathen CN, MacMillan HL. Interventions for violence against women: scientific review. JAMA. 2003;289:589-600.pmid:12578492
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Krakow B, Hollifield M, Johnston L, et al. Imagery rehearsal therapy for chronic nightmares in sexual assault survivors with posttraumatic
stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2001;286:537-545.pmid:11476655
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anemia in stunted refugee children aged 3-6 y. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;80:973-981.pmid:15447908
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Aaby P, Garly ML, Bale C, et al. Survival of previously measles-vaccinated and measles-unvaccinated children in an emergency situation:
an unplanned study. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2003;22:798-805.pmid:14506371
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intervention study with Mozambican civil war survivors. Br J Psychiatry. 2004;184:251-257.pmid:14990524
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Donta ST, Clauw DJ, Engel CC Jr, et al, VA Cooperative Study #470 Study Group. Cognitive behavioral therapy and aerobic exercise for
Gulf War veterans’ illnesses: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2003;289:1396-1404.pmid:12636462
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Neuner F, Schauer M, Klaschik C, Karunakara U, Elbert T. A comparison of narrative exposure therapy, supportive counseling, and psychoeducation
for treating posttraumatic stress disorder in an African refugee settlement. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2004;72:579-587.pmid:15301642
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Flanagin A. Human rights in the biomedical literature: the social responsibility of medical journals. JAMA. 2000;284:618-619.pmid:10918711
