ARMED CONFLICTS, WARS AND MENTAL HEALTH

Armed conflicts and wars continue to affect millions of individuals and communities worldwide, with profound and enduring consequences for health physical and mental health. War not only causes immediate psychological trauma but also disrupts social cohesion, displaces populations, fragments health systems, and exacerbates cycles of poverty and violence. These intersecting challenges—often protracted and multigenerational—are reshaping the priorities of public mental health research, policy, and practice.

This joint IJPH and PHR special issue seeks to advance the global understanding of conflicts and , war and mental health through interdisciplinary, policy-relevant scholarship. For PHR, we invite high-quality Reviews (all types) and Policy Briefs. For IJPH, we invite Original Articles.

We encourage contributions that:

• Examine the mental health impacts of armed conflict across the lifespan, with particular attention to children, adolescents, older people, and women
• Examine the intergenerational mental health impacts of armed conflict,
• Investigate post-conflict mental health systems, trauma recovery, and access to gender- and age-responsive psychosocial care
• Analyze the intersections between war, forced displacement, gender-based violence, and community mental health
• Evaluate culturally grounded and community-based interventions in conflict and post-conflict settings
• Explore the roles of collective memory, resilience, caregiving, and social identity in healing after war
• Present methodological innovations in measuring mental health outcomes in conflict-affected and displaced populations
• Share research and lived experiences from underrepresented regions, particularly in the Global South.

Further information
IJPH and PHR double-blind peer-review and author guidelines apply. Submitted manuscripts and abstracts must fully comply with the IJPH/PHR rules for article type, length and format (please consult the information for authors on the IJPH or PHR website).

You may submit an abstract in the first instance. In case of acceptance after peer review, articles will be published in the online special issue approximately 3 weeks after acceptance.

Contact:
IJPH Editorial Office: ijph@swisstph.ch
PHR Editorial Office: phr@swisstph.ch

Article types and fees

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Commentary
• Editorial
• Guidance
• Hints and Kinks
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Original Article
• Policy Brief
• Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Special Issue accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Special Issue description:

• Commentary
• Editorial
• Guidance
• Hints and Kinks
• Letter to the Editor
• Mini Review
• Original Article
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Society Statement
• Systematic Review
• Theory & Concept
• Young Researcher Editorial