We call on authors to participate in the special collection to be published in the open access scholarly journal, Health SA Gesondheid – Journal of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences (HSAG).

Theme: Mental Health, professional training, and health services

Timelines

• Submissions open: 1 September 2022
• Deadline for submission: 31 January 2023
• Expected Publication Date: 31 July 2023 (the articles will be published using rolling publication)

Introduction
The changing health needs of the population is impacted upon by several social, political, and economic issues, hence the needs for a responsive health system to respond in a strategic way to meet the identified needs. The success to which the health system responds will be determined by both the training needs and the services offered. While the last few years have seen an increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, especially substance abuse and mental illness, the last 2 and half years has experienced the global Covid-19 pandemic, which has challenged what services are offered and how they are offered. The frequent assessment of the appropriateness of health training programs is needed to keep the relevance of services, hence this special collection of articles which broadly cover the current training programs and services offered.

Objective
The objective of the Special Collection is to identify the current research being conducted on the areas of mental health, the training of health professionals and services offered.

Recommended Topics
Please note the following list is not exhaustive – authors are welcome to consult the Guest Editors to check if their submission fits the aims of the special issue. Suggested papers:

1. Competencies measured in health professions training programs
2. Explorations of new didactic approaches for either under or postgraduate programs
3. Prevalent studies of mental disorders
4. Treatment approaches for mental disorders
5. Treatment approaches for substance abuse
6. Safety and effectiveness of health services
7. Any studies focussing on Covid-19

Manuscript Information
Manuscript contributions should consist of the following:

• Manuscript submissions should be in English.
• Original articles must fully comply with the HSAG guidelines for manuscripts (abstract and headings style formats: 5000 words, maximum of 40 references with limited self-referencing; and a structured abstract, with a maximum of 300 words).
• Interested authors must consult the journal’s guidelines for manuscript submissions.
• Please submit your research at https://hsag.co.za

Submission Procedure
To submit your article to the special issue, go to https://hsag.co.za. When you submit the article, select the “Original Research – Special Collection: Mental Health, professional training and health services” as the article type. The submission portal will be accessible on www.hsag.co.za after login with your personal user credentials. For more details on the submission procedure, please visit https://bit.ly/3Ap9y0s. All submissions will undergo anonymous review to guarantee high scientific quality and relevance to the subject. Final decision regarding acceptance/revision/rejection will be based on the reviews received from the reviewers and at the sole discretion of the Guest Editor and/or Editor-in-Chief.

Other relevant information about the journal’s policies and the reviewing process can be found under the about section.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and Support Enquiries
Please visit our FAQs page for any other information you may require, and email submissions@hsag.co.za for your support inquiry.

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