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Researching and measuring inequalities in healthcare

Guest Editors

Magdalena Szaflarski, PhD, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
Zhonghua Wang, PhD, Nanjing Medical University, China

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 20 December 2024

BMC Health Services Research is calling for submissions to our Collection on Researching and measuring inequalities in healthcare. Healthcare inequalities, stemming from factors like socioeconomic status, race, and geography, result in systemic disparities in access to, quality, and outcomes of healthcare. These challenges, including limited access, unequal resource distribution, and biases, necessitate focused efforts for health equity. This collection invites original qualitative and quantitative research, systematic/scoping review articles, and study protocols that advance our understanding of the multifaceted dimensions of healthcare inequalities.

New Content ItemThis Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. 

Meet the Guest Editors

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Magdalena Szaflarski, PhD, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA

Dr Szaflarski is a Professor and Graduate Director in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr Szaflarski specializes in the social determinants of health, health care, and medicine and health outcomes and health services research. Dr Szaflarski's research has focused on racial and ethnic disparities in health, immigrant health, quality of life in epilepsy, religion factors in HIV, medical marijuana, and COVID-19 experiences and reactions. Dr Szaflarski conducts quantitative, mixed-method, and community-engaged studies and is affiliated with clinical and translational research programs. Dr Szaflarski also directs a doctoral program in medical sociology and teaches courses in medical sociology, sociology of mental health, health care delivery systems, global health, globalization, and social change.

Zhonghua Wang, PhD, Nanjing Medical University, China

Dr Zhonghua Wang, PhD in Economics from Nanjing University, presently holds the position of Professor at the School of Health Policy and Management, Nanjing Medical University. Dr Wang specializes in the fields of health economics and health policy evaluation, with a specific focus on investigating healthcare inequalities. Over the recent years, he has adeptly led several national research projects, contributing to the academic landscape with a portfolio of over 50 published papers. Furthermore, Dr Wang has demonstrated mentorship prowess, guiding graduate students to attain many accolades for exceptional master's theses at Nanjing Medical University.
 

About the Collection

BMC Health Services Research is calling for submissions to our Collection on Researching and measuring inequalities in healthcare. 

Healthcare inequalities, stemming from factors like socioeconomic status, race, and geography, result in systemic disparities in access to, quality, and outcomes of healthcare. These challenges, including limited access, unequal resource distribution, and biases, necessitate focused efforts for health equity. Ongoing research and outreach activities aim to understand and address these complexities through evidence-based interventions and policy advocacy.

This collection invites original qualitative and quantitative research, systematic/scoping review articles, and study protocols that advance our understanding of the multifaceted dimensions of healthcare inequalities. The collection will focus on investigating, measuring, and addressing inequalities across diverse populations with the ultimate goal of contributing to the development of evidence-based strategies for achieving health equity.

Potential topics can include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Identification and measurement of inequalities in healthcare
  • Social determinants of healthcare disparities and inequities
  • Racial,ethnic, gender, and geographic disparities in healthcare access, quality, and outcomes
  • Healthcare access and utilization patterns by different population groups
  • Provider bias and cultural competence
  • Intersectionality in healthcare disparities
  • International perspectives on healthcare inequalities
  • Policy interventions for health equity
  • Fostering awareness and advocacy for healthcare equity


This collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being, SDG 10: Reduced inequalities, SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

Image credit: sulit.photos / Stock.adobe.com

  1. An equal distribution of hospital structures represents an important factor to achieve Universal Health Coverage. Generally, the most diffused approach to measure the potential availability to healthcare is th...

    Authors: Fabrizio Pecoraro, Marco Cellini, Daniela Luzi and Fabrizio Clemente
    Citation: BMC Health Services Research 2024 24:973
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. We conducted a cross-sectional study of hypertension care in public and private services, analyzing gender, color, and socioeconomic status. Using data from the 2013 (n = 60,202) and 2019 (n = 90,846) national he...

    Authors: Paulo Victor Cesar de Albuquerque and Elaine Tomasi
    Citation: BMC Health Services Research 2024 24:939
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. 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 "Sustainability in health services" 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 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 Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.