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Call for papersPublic health and epidemiology

Call for Papers: Formal (Paid) Home-Based Health Care (Medical Care Research and Review)

Medical Care Research and Review is running a special theme issue on formal (paid) home-based health care, with submissions considered on a rolling basis until the deadline. This guide sets out topic areas consistent with that scope, fit checks, contribution types editors tend to value and practical steps for submitting before 31 December 2026.

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

Key dates

Manuscript deadline
31 December 2026
Details last checked
10 November 2026
Open the official call

About the journal

Journal
Medical Care Research and Review
Publisher
SAGE
Call type
Call for papers
Scope
Special theme issue on formal (paid) home-based health care; submissions are considered on a rolling basis until the deadline.
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

  • Quality, safety and outcomes of paid home health and home care services
  • Home care workforce supply, wages, training and turnover
  • Payment models, financing and policy for home-based health care
  • Hospital-at-home and post-acute care delivered in the home
  • Equity in access to formal home-based care across populations and regions
  • Coordination between home-based care, primary care and family caregivers

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 formal, paid health care delivered in the home rather than unpaid family care alone.
  2. Use a design that supports the claims made, with attention to selection and confounding.
  3. Discuss implications for health services, policy or management.
  4. Confirm accepted article types on the official call page and follow the journal’s author guidelines.
  5. Submit a complete, co-author-approved manuscript before 31 December 2026, ideally early given rolling review.

Why This Call Is a Priority Now

Health systems are relying more on care delivered in people’s homes, from home health and personal care to hospital-at-home models. These services raise questions about quality, workforce sustainability, financing and equity that are central to health services research. A theme issue in a health services research journal gives authors a focused venue for this evidence, and rolling consideration means that well-prepared manuscripts can enter review without waiting for the final deadline.

Who Should Submit

Academic backgrounds

  • Health services research
  • Health economics
  • Gerontology
  • Health policy and management
  • Nursing research

Institutions and sectors

  • Universities and health services research centres
  • Home health and home care agencies
  • Health insurers and payers
  • Government health and social care agencies

Article types commonly published in Medical Care Research and Review

  • See the journal’s article types

What the Editors Typically Value

  1. Studies that link home care use to patient outcomes using robust causal designs.
  2. Research on workforce conditions and their associations with quality and continuity of care.
  3. Evaluations of payment or policy changes affecting home-based health care.
  4. Analyses of inequalities in access to and quality of paid home care.

Paper Ideas You Could Develop

Home care aide turnover and outcomesAn analysis of agency-level aide turnover and its association with hospital readmissions among home health patients.
Payment reform evaluationA difference-in-differences study of how a change in home health payment policy affected service use and outcomes.
Rural access to home healthA study of geographic variation in access to formal home health care and its relationship with rurality and provider supply.

Your Plan to the Deadline

A suggested schedule working back from 31 December 2026. Adjust it to the stage your work has reached.

  1. By 16 Nov 2026

    Open the official collection page and the Medical Care Research and Review submission guidelines; confirm the scope, article types and guest editors.

  2. By 30 Nov 2026

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

  3. By 10 Dec 2026

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

  4. By 21 Dec 2026

    Draft the full manuscript to the Medical Care Research and Review article type and the relevant reporting guideline.

  5. By 26 Dec 2026

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

  6. By 29 Dec 2026

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

  7. By 31 Dec 2026

    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 Medical Care Research and Review, 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 Medical Care Research and Review 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 theme issue seeks health services research on formal, paid home-based health care. Consistent with the journal’s remit, it is likely to welcome rigorous empirical work on quality, outcomes, workforce, financing, policy and equity, with clear implications for health care delivery and management. Because submissions are considered on a rolling basis, authors may benefit from submitting early. Confirm accepted article types and requirements 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 31 December 2026. 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.

The theme focuses on formal, paid home-based care, so research on unpaid caregivers is likely to fit only where it examines their interaction with paid services. Authors should check the official call page for further guidance.

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

Sources

  1. Medical Care Research and Review. (2026). Formal (Paid) Home-Based Health Care [Collection call for papers]. SAGE. Retrieved 10 November 2026, from https://journals.sagepub.com/home/mcr

How to cite this page

Pubrica Insights. (2026). Call for Papers: Formal (Paid) Home-Based Health Care (Medical Care Research and Review). Pubrica. https://pubrica.com/insights/calls-and-conferences/formal-paid-home-based-health-care/

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  • Home care workforce
  • Health services research
  • Health policy
  • Long-term care

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