Call for Papers | Screen-Time Effects on Mental Health, Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Sleep Across the Lifespan

Announcement posted 2/22/24

Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) welcomes submissions for its upcoming collection, “Screen-Time Effects on Mental Health, Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Sleep Across the Lifespan.” According to the Sedentary Behavior Research Network, screen time is defined as the amount of time spent engaging with screens — tablets, computers, or smart phones — while sitting, standing, or being physically active. Increased exposure to screen time has become an important public health concern for several reasons. Excessive screen-time exposure has been linked to poor health outcomes ranging from weight gain, physical inactivity, reduced sleep quality, poor body image perception, poor nutrition, and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Research indicates that the relationship between screen-time use and poor health outcomes exists among children through adulthood.

For this collection, PCD encourages the submission of manuscripts covering diverse topics using various article types. Please refer to the Types of Articles page on the journal’s website for specifications for each article type. PCD is seeking submissions on topics including but not limited to the following:

• Epidemiological prevalence of excessive screen-time exposure on various health outcomes according to race, ethnicity, sex, geographical location, and level of education
• Family-centered interventions to reduce excessive exposure to screen time among children, adolescents, and/or adults
• Identification of signs indicating excessive screen time is occurring and strategies on prevention and early intervention strategies to eliminate excessive use
• School system approaches to identify and reduce excessive screen-time exposure in school settings from elementary to high school
• Clinical and health care interventions to treat excessive screen-time exposure among children, adolescents, young adults, adults, and/or older adults
• Evidence-based strategies to prevent or reduce use towards improving mental health outcomes
• The influence of social networks on excessive screen-time use and the role of social networks to address it
• Clinical and/or public health interventions seeking to improve multiple health outcomes (eg, physical activity, nutrition, sleep quality, and/or mental health)
• Strategies to disseminate and scale effective screen-time reduction interventions to increase diffusion to other settings and geographic locations
• Strategies to sustain implementation of effective screen-time reduction interventions
• Systematic reviews or scoping reviews examining the effectiveness of clinical, family-centered, or public health interventions related to the following:
  • Longitudinal impact of social media on mental health
  • Components of effective interventions to reduce screen time
  • Evidence-based interventions to reduce screen-time exposure to increase levels of physical activity, improve nutrition, and improve sleep quality

Submission Guidelines
Authors are required to submit an inquiry to the journal to determine suitability in advance of submitting a manuscript. PCD asks that only the corresponding author submit an inquiry to the journal for review. The corresponding author is the person who takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal during the submission, peer-review, and publication process if the manuscript is accepted. The corresponding author’s inquiry should include the following information:

• Article title
• Name of the corresponding author
• Author name(s), degree(s), title(s), and affiliation(s)
• PCD article type (visit https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/for_authors/types_of_articles.htm)
• Has the article ever been submitted elsewhere for consideration? If yes, please indicate the name of the journal, the date of its final decision, and an explanation of the decision
• Indicate that the inquiry is related to this Call for Papers
• Abstract (300 words or less)

The deadline to submit an inquiry is May 24, 2024. Submit your inquiry to the Editor in Chief at PCDeditor@cdc.gov for consideration. PCD will provide feedback to the corresponding author about the journal’s interest in the proposed manuscript and guidance on what information is needed.

The deadline to receive your final manuscript is November 29, 2024. If your inquiry is approved, your final manuscript will undergo internal review and external peer review. Manuscripts accepted for publication will be published on a rolling basis. Articles will be assembled into a PDF collection, accessible on the PCD website after all accepted papers have been published. Cover letters to the Editor in Chief are required and must state that the submission is for consideration in the PCD collection, “Screen-Time Effects on Mental Health, Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Sleep Across the Lifespan.”

About the Journal
PCD is a peer-reviewed public health journal published by CDC and authored by experts worldwide. PCD was established in 2004 by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion with a mission to promote dialogue among researchers, practitioners, and policy makers worldwide on the integration and application of research findings and practical experience to improve population health. PCD has a current Impact Factor of 5.5 (2022) and is ranked 21^st of 180 journals in Journal Citation Reports (JCR). For more information about the journal, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/pcd.

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