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Sociology of Health and Illness
Virtual special issues: what they are and how you can apply to guest-edit one

A ?virtual special issue? is a collection of articles that have  
appeared in the journal that have made a major contribution to a  
particular field within the sociology of health and illness. The  
collection is advertised widely and appears on the journal web site:

http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/shil_enhanced/virtual_index.asp

Examples include:

?	Virtual Special Issue 1: Death, dying and bereavement (Clive Seale)
Editorial by Clive Seale

?	Virtual Special Issue 2: Feminism and the sociology of gender,  
health and illness (Hannah Bradby)

?	Virtual Special Issue 3: Illness, biography and narrative (Julia Lawton)

?	Virtual Special Issue 4: Sociological perspectives on genetics,  
genomics and ?post-genomics? (Richard Tutton and Nina Hallowell)

A virtual special issue can contain both theoretical and empirical  
papers, representing a variety of research methods and locations. It  
aids both researchers and teachers and encourages readers to explore  
further papers in the journal

It is different from the annual monograph that we publish, in that it  
reflects past strengths of the journal?s archive of articles, although  
a virtual special issue can contain papers that have appeared in SHI  
monographs.

Potential future  topics for virtual special issues

Authors publishing in Sociology of Health and Illness have made  
particularly strong contributions in several areas over the years.  
Additionally, the topics covered by SHI monographs may provide  
potential topics for virtual special issues. While the monograph  
papers themselves may contain pieces deemed suitable for inclusion in  
the virtual special issue, significant papers on these topics will  
also have appeared elsewhere in the journal. Some potential virtual  
special issue topics are, therefore:

The experience of illness
The medical profession
Professionalism and interprofessional relations
Interaction in health care settings
Medicalisation
Health care policy and organisation
Health inequalities
Gender and health
Ethnicity and health
Bioethics
Medical and health care work
Social movements and health
Health and the media (or/and internet / e-health)
Mental health
Medical science and technology
Medical knowledge
Risk and health
Emotional work in health care settings
Death and terminal care
Ethnographic work in the journal
Conversation analytic work in the journal
Another methodological theme in the journal

However, we are open to other suggestions. At the end of this document  
is a list of the most common keywords used by SHI authors. This gives  
a further guide to which topics have received most interest from  
authors in the journal over the years.

The role of the editor is to

(a)	select articles for inclusion in the virtual special issue from  
the journal?s content archive

(b)	write an editorial introduction in which the reasons for the  
selection are explained and the significance of the work for the  
development of the chosen field is shown.

The editorial introductions to virtual special issues will not be peer  
reviewed, but they offer editors the opportunity to provide a critical  
overview of the field and therefore to be recognised as an authority  
in that subject. Editorial introductions can be of widely varying  
length, depending on the inclinations of the editor and the  
requirements of the topic. Hyperlinks to the papers included will be  
provided at appropriate points in the text.

To propose a topic for a virtual special issue we ask for the  
following (send to Clive Seale. email: [log in to unmask] )

A brief outline of the rationale for the proposed virtual special  
issue and a proposed list of papers for potential inclusion. This will  
be assessed by the editorial team. If the proposal is agreed, the  
editorial office will support the virtual special issue editor(s) in  
forming the collection.

The draft editorial introduction and the final selection of articles  
will be read and studied by the editors who will provide supportive  
feedback. The final decision on whether to post a completed virtual  
issue on the journal?s website will rest with the editorial team.



Appendix: The most popular keywords chosen by authors in SHI

Individual / lay level
?	BIOGRAPHICAL DISRUPTION
?	IDENTITY, SELF, NARRATIVES
?	EXPERIENCE
?	KNOWLEDGE, LAY KNOWLEDGE, BEHAVIOR, ATTITUDES
?	BODY, EMBODIMENT, THE BODY
?	RISK, RISK ASSESSMENT, RISK FACTORS, TRUST
?	EMOTIONS
?	RESPONSIBILITY, EMPOWERMENT, AGENCY
?	STRESS

Particular health / illness experiences / statuses
?	CHRONIC ILLNESS
?	INFERTILITY, PREGNANCY, MIDWIFERY, ABORTION
?	MOTHERS, MOTHERHOOD
?	BREAST CANCER, CANCER, PROSTATE CANCER
?	PAIN
?	CORONARY HEART DISEASE, HEART DISEASE, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
?	CYSTIC FIBROSIS
?	STROKE
?	ASTHMA
?	AIDS, HIV, HIV INFECTION
?	DISABILITY, IMPAIRMENT
?	MORTALITY, DEATH, HOSPICE
?	MENTAL HEALTH, MENTAL ILLNESS, PSYCHIATRY
?	DEPRESSION
?	STIGMA

Health related behaviour
?	DRUG USE, DRUGS
?	SMOKING
?	SEX
?	PROSTITUTES, PROSTITUTION
?	PREVENTION

Social divisions/ groups
?	WOMEN, GENDER, MEN, SEX DIFFERENCES, MEN'S HEALTH, GENDER  
DIFFERENCES, MASCULINITY
?	GAY MEN
?	INEQUALITIES, SOCIAL CLASS, HEALTH INEQUALITIES, INCOME  
DISTRIBUTION, INEQUALITY, POVERTY
?	ADOLESCENTS, ADOLESCENCE, CHILDREN, CHILDHOOD
?	ETHNICITY, RACE
?	FAMILY

Health care organisation, policy
?	CARE, HEALTH CARE
?	MANAGEMENT
?	GENERAL PRACTICE, PRIMARY CARE, GENERAL PRACTITIONERS
?	NHS, NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE
?	POLICY, POLITICS, HEALTH POLICY, GOVERNANCE
?	NEGOTIATED ORDER, HOSPITAL
?	RATIONING
?	MANAGED CARE

Medical profession / other health care professions / professions
?	MEDICAL PROFESSION, PROFESSIONS, PROFESSIONALISATION, MEDICAL  
DOMINANCE, PROFESSIONALS, PROFESSIONAL DOMINANCE, PROLETARIANIZATION
?	MEDICINE
?	PHYSICIANS, DOCTORS
?	NURSES, NURSING
?	EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE, EXPERTISE

Encounters, resistance, power
?	DOCTOR PATIENT RELATIONSHIP, CONSULTATION, ENCOUNTER
?	SOCIAL CONTROL
?	POWER, RESISTANCE
?	MEDICALISATION, MEDICALIZATION
?	FOUCAULT, GOVERNMENTALITY

Methods
?	NARRATIVE, ACCOUNTS
?	ETHNOGRAPHY
?	DISCOURSE, DISCOURSE ANALYSIS
?	CONVERSATION ANALYSIS
?	QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Other
?	UNITED STATES, ENGLAND, BRITAIN, NETHERLANDS, FINLAND, AUSTRALIA
?	SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY
?	GENETICS
?	WORK
?	CULTURE
?	MEDIA, INTERNET, MASS MEDIA
?	ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE, COMPLEMENTARY, COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
?	BIOETHICS, ETHICS
?	SOCIAL MOVEMENTS
?	AUTONOMY, DECISION MAKING

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