Design for Health

Journal overview

Aims and scope

Aims and Scope

Design for Health is an international refereed journal covering all aspects of design in the context of health and wellbeing. The Journal is published three times a year and provides a global forum for researchers, educators, practitioners and policy makers who work at the intersections of design, health, science, creative practice, wellbeing and related fields.

The Journal aims to publish thought-provoking work based on rigorous research, practice and perspectives.

It invites high quality, original submissions that make a contribution to knowledge and practice in the context of the design of interventions, products and services that positively impact on health and healthcare, promote dignity, and enhance quality of life in a range of settings.

The Journal recognises that ‘health’ is multifaced and welcomes debates and sharing of perspectives that contribute to our evolving understandings of ‘health’ through research and practice.

The Journal publishes work that engages design and creative practice methods and tools within research to understand issues, desires and needs, and to visualize, embody and prototype new possibilities and sustainable future scenarios that benefit people and communities. Creative practices can include (but are not limited to) design disciplines, architecture and the built environment, visual and performing arts, creative writing, and contemporary crafts.

We invite submissions which explore:

• Interventions, products, services, and technologies across all stages of life, and in a range of physical contexts and settings (including healthcare, community, domestic, and urban spaces);

• Theory, methods, ethics, evaluation, knowledge mobilization;

• Boundaries and roles within design and healthcare practice, and exemplars of professional practice;

• Circular design and sustainable practices and development in relation to health and wellbeing;

• Public health and policy, public engagement, inclusion, and community development, for example urban health;

• The opportunities and challenges of intersectional / interdisciplinary / multidisciplinary working;

• Speculative work and design fiction which imagines future scenarios around health and wellbeing to provoke and stimulate dialogue;

• Relevant and rigorously conducted reviews which reveal new insights.

Submitting to this journal

As well as reporting on research projects, we welcome commentary pieces (by invitation) and position papers which explore relevant and emerging topics in design for health.

Submission types are: Standard Paper; Commentary or Position Paper; PhD During COVID-19 report; Book/Exhibition Review; Visual Essay; Case Study.

We encourage submissions from researchers at different stages of their careers, including early career researchers.

This journal does not generally publish papers primarily focused on arts and music therapy, or historical research; please contact the editorial team for guidance (please contact [email protected] in the first instance).

Please note that this journal only publishes manuscripts in English.

Papers are accepted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere and are not currently being considered by other journals for publication. Submission of a paper will imply that, if accepted for publication, the paper will not be published in the same form in any language without the consent of the publisher.

Design for Health is affiliated with the Design4Health conference, established in 2011.

Authors may choose to publish gold open access in this journal.

Read the Instructions for Authors for information on how to submit your article.

Peer review policy

Taylor & Francis is committed to peer-review integrity and upholding the highest standards of review. Once a standard papers has been assessed for suitability by the editor, it will then be double anonymized peer-reviewed by independent, anonymous expert referees. Review procedures for other submission types may vary. Find out more about what to expect during peer review and read our guidance on publishing ethics.

Read full aims and scope