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Call for Papers - Combatting Health Service Delays

Guest Editors:
Katherine Harding
(La Trobe University, Australia)
Alessandro Jatoba (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil)
Yafang Tsai (Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan)

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 30 June 2023


BMC Health Services Research is calling for submissions to our Collection on Combatting health service delays.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed enormous pressures on the health service, and has exacerbated existing delays. In many countries, elective care was suspended, and routine referrals were reduced or stopped. As a result, many health systems are experiencing delays. Extended waiting times negatively impact patients' health and affect their quality of life. They also lengthen recovery time after surgery.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Katherine Harding, La Trobe University, Australia

Katherine Harding is a Principal Research Fellow with La Trobe University, and Manager of the Allied Health Clinical Research Office at Eastern Health, one of the largest providers of public health services Melbourne, Australia. She has research interests in health services research and implementation science, with a particular focus on evidence based approaches for managing demand and reducing waiting time for community and outpatient services. 


Alessandro Jatoba, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil

Alessandro Jatoba is a professor and research lead at the Center for Strategic Studies of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil, where he leads the Group for Technology, Information, and Resilience in Public Health (ResiliSUS). He is also a professor of Resilience in Healthcare at the Fluminense Federal University. His research enables healthcare providers to draw solutions that encompass fair and sustainable policies, processes, and technologies applied to the management of resources and coordination of care to respond to current and emerging needs, especially in low and middle-income countries.


Yafang Tsai, Chung Shan Medical University, Taiwan

Dr. Yafang Tsai is a Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management of Chung Shan Medical University in Taiwan. Tsai got two PHD degrees, one in Health Policy and Management and the other in Management. Graduated from National Taiwan University and National Yunlin University of Science & Technology. Dr. Tsai is primarily involved in health care management, healthcare marketing, organizational learning, and patient experience. She has published works in international journals, including Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, Journal of Advanced Nursing, Journal of Clinical Nursing, BMC Health Services Research, International Nursing Review, Industrial Marketing Management and so on. Dr. Tsai has previously worked in the management department of a medical center in Taiwan.






About the collection

BMC Health Services Research is calling for submissions to our Collection on Combatting health service delays

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed enormous pressures on the health service, and has exacerbated existing delays. In many countries, elective care was suspended, and routine referrals were reduced or stopped. As a result, many health systems are experiencing delays. Extended waiting times negatively impact patients' health and affect their quality of life. They also lengthen recovery time after surgery.

In this collection, we welcome the submission of research articles that address delays in any part of the health care journey, from primary and community care through to emergency services and surgery. Analysis of eHealth, mHealth and digital initiatives to address delays will also be considered.


(Image credit: vm)

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of Research Articles. Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have read our submission guidelines. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, SNAPP. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Combatting Health Service Delays" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published. 

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.