About Public Health
One of the world's oldest public health journals, Public Health aims to improve the health of communities across the globe.
Public Health is an international, multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed journal, published by Elsevier. It is one of the world’s oldest public health journals, having been in continuous publication since 1888.
Our impact
2024 Impact Factor
5-year Impact Factor
in Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
What does Public Health publish?
Public Health aims to publish international articles focused on all aspects of the science and philosophy of; public health, public health services and public health systems, seeking to challenge the status quo to improve the health and care of populations or communities.
The journal will publish robust and ethically sound articles of any study type whereby the focus is consistent with our aim.
Our topics
- Public health theory, models and frameworks
- Epidemiology – social and political
- Need or impact assessments with a strategic/population level focus
- Effectiveness, management and re-design of health and social care services/support, and wider determinant services such as education, welfare, employment services to improve public health
- Health Protection including control of communicable diseases
- Health promotion and disease prevention
- Development of public health programmes or interventions
- Public health governance, audit and quality
- Public health law and ethics
- Public health policy and comparisons
- Capacity in public health systems and workforce
What is the readership of Public Health?
The target market of the journal is researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who are engaged in public health policy and programmes, public health services and public health systems.
Latest calls for papers
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This special issue seeks to explore how AI can support prevention-focused public health, from early detection, risk and forecasting, to behavioural nudges or addressing the social determinants of health.
We aim to showcase innovative research and critical perspectives that look to explore how AI can not only treat or manage health but can prevent disease, reduce inequalities and promote well-being at scale.
Guest Editors include Dr Alisha Davies and Dr Elliott Roy-Highley.
The deadline for submissions to this special issue is 31st May 2026.
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Violence in its many forms impacts individuals, communities and nations around the world. This special issue would welcome submissions that focus on documenting the systemic components of interpersonal violence (from local to global), assessing the nature and extent, and risk and protective factors that contribute to the development of patterns of violence, and/or exploring system changes and their consequences in response to interpersonal violence.
Guest Editors include Professor Zara Quigg and Dr Linda Degutis.
The deadline for submission to this special issue is 31st December 2025.
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This special issue welcomes high-quality submissions that cover a wide range of issues in applications of psychology to public health challenges worldwide. We are particularly interested in population-level papers, as well as studies on interventions in developing countries or programmes conducted in resource-restricted settings.
Guest Editors include Professor Jim McManus, Dr Fiona Day and Professor Richard Amlot.
The deadline for submission to this special issue is 30th September 2025.
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Submit a paper
You can read our author guidelines and submit your paper online.
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Editorial Board
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Andrew Lee, Sheffield, UK
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Cathy Johnman, Glasgow, UK
Ryan Swiers, Nottingham, UK
Perihan Torun, Istanbul, Turkey
Michael Taylor, Nottingham, UK
Evangelos Kritsotakis, Crete, Greece
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Syed Muslim Abbas, Doha, Qatar
Lina Massou, Cambridge, UK
Subashis Basu, Wrightington, UK
Fiona Robertson, Edinburgh, UK
Danielle Solomon, London, UK
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- John Beard
- Petri Bockerman
- Noriko Cable
- Linda Degutis
- John Goddeeris
- Sian Griffiths
- Michael Kelly
- Giuseppe La Torre
- Roger Magnusson
- Gerry McCartney
- George Morris
- Mala Rao
- Devi Sridhar