CALL FOR PAPERS:

Improving medical decision making through culture-sensitive health communication

Guest Editors: Drs. Cornelia Betsch and Robert Böhm

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Medical Decision Making, the journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making, encourages submissions for a special theme issue or section on the role of cultural differences in health communication that affect medical decision making.

It is a challenging task to communicate health-related information effectively, so that individuals are able to make informed decisions that yield the best outcomes not only for themselves, but also for society. Psychological research in health communication suggests that messages will be especially persuasive and effective when recipients’ cognitive, affective, and motivational characteristics match the contents of the messages. Culture has an impact on how individuals construct their selves, how they process information, and how they judge.

The goals of this special issue are to give an overview of recent developments and findings, to suggest future research agenda, and to reveal best practices in health communication to improve health decisions in different cultural contexts.

Relevant communications for this issue are those that address specific medical decision behaviors or outcomes. Manuscripts submitted for the special issue may address (but are not limited to) cultural differences in risk perception, persuasion, consumer or cooperation behavior in relation to health judgments and decisions. Research that examines cultural differences among the industrialized West, Asia, Africa, and other countries in the developing world is particularly appropriate. Studies of promising new information technologies that might lower barriers for culture-sensitive health communication are also encouraged.

All manuscripts are subject to MDM’s usual criteria and peer review process, managed by MDM editors. There is no guarantee that any manuscripts submitted for the special issue will be accepted. If you feel unsure about whether or not the work you have in mind would be appropriate, do not hesitate to contact the guest editors at cornelia-betsch@uni-erfurt.de or robert.boehm@rwth- aachen.de.

A conference regarding this topic will be held on May 22th – 24th 2014 in Erfurt, Germany. If you are interested in taking part in the meeting please contact cornelia.betsch@uni-erfurt.de.

Important Dates:

Deadline for paper submissions: July 31st, 2014 # Deadline for final revised version: October 31st, 2014 # Expected publication: April 2015