Free scoping read. A written assessment of your manuscript in two business days, at no cost.

Start one

Call for papersResearch methodology

Call for Papers: Usability and user experience methodologies for healthcare technologies (BMC Medical Research Methodology)

BMC Medical Research Methodology’s collection concerns methods for assessing usability and user experience across the lifecycle of healthcare technologies. This guide sets out topic areas consistent with that scope, fit checks for methodological manuscripts and points to confirm before submission.

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

Key dates

Manuscript deadline
30 April 2027
Details last checked
10 November 2026
Open the official call

About the journal

Journal
BMC Medical Research Methodology
Publisher
BMC, part of Springer Nature
Call type
Call for papers
Scope
Assessing usability and UX across the lifecycle of healthcare 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

  • Methods for evaluating usability of digital health tools and medical devices
  • Studies examining validity and reliability of usability and user experience questionnaires
  • Approaches to involving patients and clinicians in iterative technology design
  • Usability evaluation methods across development, deployment and post-market stages
  • Remote, automated and analytics-based methods for assessing user experience
  • Integrating usability findings with clinical effectiveness and implementation evaluation

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. The manuscript makes a methodological contribution to assessing usability or user experience of healthcare technologies.
  2. The technology, users, setting and lifecycle stage are described clearly.
  3. The method is evaluated, compared or justified rather than only applied.
  4. Lessons are transferable to other technologies or settings in health research.
  5. The work is complete, approved by all co-authors and ready to submit before the stated deadline.

Why This Call Is a Priority Now

Digital health tools, clinical software and medical devices are increasingly part of care, and poor usability can limit adoption, introduce errors and widen inequalities in access. Usability and user experience methods are drawn from several disciplines and are applied inconsistently across development and deployment. A themed collection in a methodology journal brings together work that develops, compares and explains these methods, and gives authors a readership interested in rigorous evaluation of healthcare technologies.

Who Should Submit

Academic backgrounds

  • Human factors and ergonomics
  • Health informatics and digital health
  • Human-computer interaction
  • Biomedical engineering
  • Health services and implementation research

Institutions and sectors

  • Universities and digital health research centres
  • Medical device and health technology companies
  • Hospitals and health system innovation units
  • Regulatory and health technology assessment bodies

Article types commonly published in BMC Medical Research Methodology

  • Methodology articles describing new or adapted methods
  • Simulation studies comparing the performance of methods
  • Empirical studies evaluating methods on real data
  • Tutorials and guidance on applying methods

What the Editors Typically Value

  1. New or adapted usability methods tailored to specific users, conditions or care settings.
  2. Psychometric or empirical evaluation of usability and user experience measures.
  3. Comparisons showing how different evaluation methods identify different usability problems.
  4. Guidance on selecting and combining methods at different stages of a technology’s lifecycle.

Paper Ideas You Could Develop

Comparing usability methodsAn empirical study comparing problems identified by think-aloud testing, heuristic evaluation and questionnaires for the same clinical application.
Validating a usability scaleA psychometric study evaluating a usability questionnaire among older adults using a remote monitoring device.
Lifecycle evaluation tutorialA tutorial setting out how to select usability and user experience methods from early prototyping through to post-deployment monitoring.

Your Plan to the Deadline

A suggested schedule working back from 30 April 2027. Adjust it to the stage your work has reached.

  1. By 16 Mar 2027

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

  2. By 30 Mar 2027

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

  3. By 9 Apr 2027

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

  4. By 20 Apr 2027

    Draft the full manuscript to the BMC Medical Research Methodology article type and the relevant reporting guideline.

  5. By 25 Apr 2027

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

  6. By 28 Apr 2027

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

  7. By 30 Apr 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 BMC Medical Research Methodology, 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 BMC Medical Research Methodology 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 collection is looking for methodological work on assessing usability and user experience across the lifecycle of healthcare technologies. Consistent with BMC Medical Research Methodology’s remit, suitable manuscripts may describe new or adapted methods, compare methods through simulation or empirical study, evaluate methods on real data, or offer tutorials and guidance. Authors should confirm accepted article types and any guest editor priorities 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.

Biostatistics and statistical programmingStatistical analysis plans, analysis, simulation code and statistical review of results. Original research article writingManuscript writing from your data, structured to the journal’s article type and reporting guideline. Manuscript editingLanguage and technical editing to prepare the manuscript for submission. Journal formattingFormatting of the manuscript, references, figures and tables to the journal’s guidelines. Cover letterA cover letter that explains how the manuscript fits the collection and the journal’s scope. Journal submissionPreparation of submission files and completion of the journal’s online submission system.
Go to the official call

FAQs

Questions Authors Ask

The published deadline is 30 April 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.

It may fit if the manuscript makes a methodological contribution, for example by evaluating or comparing the methods used. A study that reports only the usability of one product may be less suited to a methodology journal. Authors should check the official call page for guidance.

BMC journals publish articles open access, and an article processing charge normally applies on acceptance. Check the journal’s fees and funding page, and whether your institution has an agreement that covers the charge, before you submit.

Sources

  1. BMC Medical Research Methodology. (2026). Usability and user experience methodologies for healthcare technologies [Collection call for papers]. BMC, part of Springer Nature. Retrieved 10 November 2026, from https://link.springer.com/collections/djcejfgbij

How to cite this page

Pubrica Insights. (2026). Call for Papers: Usability and user experience methodologies for healthcare technologies (BMC Medical Research Methodology). Pubrica. https://pubrica.com/insights/calls-and-conferences/usability-and-user-experience-methodologies-for-healthcare-technologie/

  • Usability
  • User experience
  • Digital health
  • Human factors
  • Research methods

Other Open Calls

Closes 5 December 2026Innovations in clinical trial designBMC Medical Research Methodology Closes 4 January 2027Reproducibility, transparency, and open scienceBMC Medical Research Methodology Closes 26 February 2027Omics, big data, and bioinformatics in clinical researchBMC Medical Research Methodology

All calls and conferencesPre-submission peer reviewAll Insights

Usability and user experience methodologies for healthcare technologies (BMC Medical Research Methodology)Deadline 30 April 2027

Official call
Get a free quote

Regulations

Check your project against this rule

  1. 1Your work
  2. 2Your details
  3. 3Send
What do you need?

Material you send is held under signed confidentiality, with access limited to the assigned team and encrypted transfer. It is not used to train anything and is not passed to third-party tools. Ask for the agreement before you send anything you would rather cover first.