Call for Papers: Participatory Education and Methods

"Co-creation and community nurture engagement to invite the public inside, so they can influence and co-create health care, research, and community. The public is the sensor that powers influence. They build evidence into practice."

— Dr Amy Price, Dphil

Why Contribute?

The public’s appetite for health and research knowledge has reached an all-time high. No longer merely passive recipients of care, individuals are increasingly active in designing solutions, co-creating knowledge, and spearheading innovation. From 3D-printed prosthetics to low-cost diagnostic tests and portable microscopes, citizen-led initiatives—often in partnership with academic researchers—are fundamentally reshaping the health care landscape.

However, scholarly literature on the mechanics of public involvement remains scarce. Existing research frequently prioritizes patient narratives over the practical, scalable strategies required for co-production, adoption, and implementation. This gap represents a vital opportunity for your work to make an impact.

The Journal of Participatory Medicine is excited to expand its scope with the launch of a new article type: Participatory Education and Methods.

We are seeking submissions that bridge methodological and educational gaps and explore diverse research landscapes such as clinical practice, quality improvement, public health, disaster response, artificial intelligence, N-of-1 studies, and educational case series. We encourage work that demonstrates international relevance and informs evolving best practices.

We are especially interested in work that advances innovation in participatory methodology—proposing and testing new approaches to engaging the public in research, rather than solely describing existing practices. Submissions should address high-impact topics in participatory medicine, offer practical guidance on co-production and implementation, reflect multidisciplinary perspectives, and focus on patient-centric outcomes. To enhance accessibility and engagement, authors are encouraged to include supplementary material such as short videos, podcasts, infographics, or interactive graphics.

Join us in shaping the future of collaborative medicine.

Authorship Requirements

We encourage multidisciplinary authorship teams that may include specialists and generalists, statisticians, methodologists, educators, communication experts, as well as patients, advocates, students, and family caregivers. 

Where possible, submissions should include at least one author who represents the target readership (eg, an anesthesiologist for participatory anesthesia). Authors are encouraged to note this in their cover letter or provide an explanation if this is not feasible. 

Focus on Participatory Research

As a journal committed to participatory research and collaborative knowledge-building, we also expect meaningful public and patient involvement in the development of submissions. Authors should co-develop articles with patients or members of the public, include a dedicated section describing how this involvement shaped the work, and use inclusive terminology that allows nonacademic contributors to define their roles (eg, health citizen, patient, consumer, advocate, or individual with lived experience).

How to Submit

To submit an article to the Journal of Participatory Medicine, please visit the submission page. Consult our Instructions for Authors for more information on how to submit a manuscript. Standard article processing fee (APF) applies. Please select “Participatory Education and Methods” as the section. 

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Submission Guidelines

Submissions may include:

• Original research
• Evaluations
• Analyses of existing research

Please note that commentaries, opinion pieces, and perspective articles are outside the scope of this section. More information and submission guidelines for this new section can be found here.

All articles will be shared and published rapidly through the following mechanisms:

• All peer-reviewed articles will be immediately and permanently made open access. This is the standard for all titles within the JMIR Publications portfolio.
• Articles can be made immediately available (with a DOI) in JMIR Preprints after submission if authors select the preprint option at submission to enable this service.
• Submissions not reviewed or accepted for publication in the Journal of Participatory Medicine may be offered cascading peer review or transfer to other JMIR Publications journals, according to standard policies. 
• Authors are encouraged to submit study protocols or grant proposals to JMIR Research Protocols before data acquisition to preregister the study (as a registered report; subsequent acceptance in one of the JMIR Publications journals is then guaranteed).

We will not accept articles that are solely written using generative artificial intelligence (AI) or other AI tools. For more information, please refer to JMIR Publications editorial policy and this knowledge base article.