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Call for papersPublic health and epidemiology

Call for Papers: Addictive behaviors involving digital technologies (Public Health)

Public Health, the journal of the Royal Society for Public Health, is running a special issue on addictive behaviours that involve digital technologies. This guide outlines topic areas consistent with that scope, fit checks, contribution types editors tend to value and practical steps for submitting before the 1 September 2027 deadline.

Pubrica InsightsEditorial team, reviewed by a subject specialist
Deadline
1 September 2027
Last checked
10 November 2026
Reading time
5 min
Sources
1
Submit through the official call

Key dates

Manuscript deadline
1 September 2027
Details last checked
10 November 2026
Open the official call

About the journal

Journal
Public Health
Publisher
Elsevier
Call type
Call for papers
Scope
Special issue of the Royal Society for Public Health's journal on addictive behaviours that involve digital technologies.
Guest editors
Listed on the official collection page
Access and fees
Open access; an article processing charge normally applies on acceptance
Originality
Original work, not under review elsewhere; confirm on the official page

Topics consistent with the call

  • Population-level studies of problematic gaming, gambling and social media use
  • Prevention and harm-reduction strategies for digitally mediated addictive behaviours
  • Regulatory and policy responses to online gambling and persuasive design features
  • Associations between problematic digital technology use and physical or mental health
  • Inequalities in exposure to, and harms from, digital addictive behaviours
  • Measurement and screening tools for problematic digital technology use

Based on the published scope; the full list of themes is on the official call page.

Is your work a fit? Check before you write

  1. Focus on addictive behaviours that involve digital technologies, framed from a public health perspective.
  2. Define the behaviour and the measurement approach clearly, with justification for any screening instrument used.
  3. Discuss implications for prevention, policy or services rather than individual treatment alone.
  4. Follow an appropriate reporting guideline and confirm accepted article types on the official call page.
  5. Submit a complete, co-author-approved manuscript before 1 September 2027.

Why This Call Is a Priority Now

Digital technologies have changed how people gamble, play games, shop and interact socially, and some patterns of use resemble other addictive behaviours. Public health responses are still developing, and decision-makers need evidence on prevalence, harms, risk groups and effective prevention or regulation. A special issue in a public health journal brings these strands together and gives authors a readership focused on population-level action rather than individual treatment alone.

Who Should Submit

Academic backgrounds

  • Public health
  • Addiction research
  • Psychology and behavioural science
  • Epidemiology
  • Health policy and regulation

Institutions and sectors

  • Universities and public health schools
  • Public health agencies and regulators
  • Addiction services and charities
  • Research institutes studying digital health

Article types commonly published in Public Health

  • See the journal’s article types

What the Editors Typically Value

  1. Population-based or longitudinal data that clarify the scale and course of problematic digital technology use.
  2. Evaluations of prevention, regulatory or harm-reduction measures in real-world settings.
  3. Studies that identify groups at higher risk and the social determinants behind that risk.
  4. Critical analyses of how digital product design and marketing may contribute to addictive behaviours.

Paper Ideas You Could Develop

Online gambling and deprivationAn analysis of survey data examining how participation in online gambling and related harms vary by area-level deprivation and age group.
School-based prevention evaluationAn evaluation of a school-based programme aiming to reduce problematic gaming and social media use among adolescents.
Regulating persuasive designA policy review comparing how different jurisdictions regulate persuasive design features such as loot boxes and infinite scrolling.

Your Plan to the Deadline

A suggested schedule working back from 1 September 2027. Adjust it to the stage your work has reached.

  1. By 18 Jul 2027

    Open the official collection page and the Public Health submission guidelines; confirm the scope, article types and guest editors.

  2. By 1 Aug 2027

    Write a one-paragraph statement of your research question, design and the contribution your paper makes to the collection.

  3. By 11 Aug 2027

    Complete the analysis and agree the key findings, figures and tables with your co-authors.

  4. By 22 Aug 2027

    Draft the full manuscript to the Public Health article type and the relevant reporting guideline.

  5. By 27 Aug 2027

    Circulate the draft to co-authors and an independent reader; revise for clarity, accuracy and completeness.

  6. By 30 Aug 2027

    Complete final checks: formatting, references, declarations, data availability statement and cover letter.

  7. By 1 Sep 2027

    Submit through the journal’s online system, selecting the collection, after re-checking the official call page.

What you gain from publishing here

  • Publication in Public Health, reaching readers working on this topic.
  • A themed collection that groups your paper with related work.
  • Editorial and peer feedback that can strengthen the work, whatever the decision.
  • A peer-reviewed output for your CV, thesis or grant reporting.

What happens after you submit

  1. Submission: upload through the Public Health online system and select the collection.
  2. Editorial screening: the editors check fit with the collection; papers outside its scope may be returned without review.
  3. Peer review: suitable papers are sent to reviewers under the journal’s review model.
  4. Revision and decision: respond to each reviewer comment and keep a record of the changes.
  5. Production: accepted papers move to proofs and open access publication, with the article processing charge set out by the publisher.

What the Collection Is Looking For

The special issue looks for public health research on addictive behaviours that involve digital technologies. In keeping with the journal’s population health remit, it is likely to welcome work on prevalence and risk factors, health and social harms, inequalities, prevention, regulation and service responses. Clear definitions, sound measurement and explicit implications for policy or practice will strengthen a submission. Authors should confirm the article types accepted and any further scope details on the official call page.

Read the call itselfThis guide summarises the call. Open the official collection page before you plan a submission, and record the date you checked it and the guest editors listed.Open the official call

Expert help

How Pubrica Can Help With This Submission

Pubrica’s subject specialists can review, write, edit, format and prepare your manuscript for this call, planned back from the deadline. You remain the author of your work.

Pre-submission peer reviewAn expert review of the manuscript against the call and the journal’s requirements. Manuscript editingSubject-specialist editing for clarity, accuracy and consistency. Journal formattingFormatting of the manuscript, references, figures and tables to the journal’s guidelines. BiostatisticsStatistical analysis and review of results. Cover letterA cover letter that explains how the manuscript fits the call. Journal submissionPreparation of submission files and completion of the online submission.
Go to the official call

FAQs

Questions Authors Ask

The published deadline is 1 September 2027. Collections can close early or be extended, so confirm the date on the official call page before you plan your submission.

The guest editors are listed on the official collection page. Check their research interests, as they help to judge whether your manuscript fits the collection.

A study of problematic smartphone use may fit if it is framed as an addictive behaviour involving digital technology and discusses public health implications. Authors should check the official call page for any further scope detail before submitting.

Access model: Hybrid. Check the journal’s fees page for any article processing charge before you submit.

Sources

  1. Public Health. (2026). Addictive behaviors involving digital technologies [Collection call for papers]. Elsevier. Retrieved 10 November 2026, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/public-health/about/call-for-papers

How to cite this page

Pubrica Insights. (2026). Call for Papers: Addictive behaviors involving digital technologies (Public Health). Pubrica. https://pubrica.com/insights/calls-and-conferences/addictive-behaviors-involving-digital-technologies/

  • Digital addiction
  • Gambling
  • Gaming
  • Social media
  • Public health

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