Call for Papers to Guest-Edited Special Issue on Innovations and Learning in Health and Welfare

2026-08-18

Call for Papers to a Guest-Edited Special Issue on:
Innovations and Learning in Health and Welfare 

Guest Editors:
Katarina Patriksson1, Associated Professor in Health Care Sciences,
Anette Johnsson2, Senior Lecturer in Healthcare Sciences,
Malin Berghammer3, Associated Professor in Nursing Science,
1-3 Department of Health Sciences, University West, Sweden

In this special issue of CIWIL, we invite articles focusing on the interplay between innovation and learning in health and welfare. Particular attention is given to how this interplay affects the working conditions of healthcare professionals, the life situation of patients and, and lifelong learning. The aim is to contribute to an equal, person-centred, and sustainable health and medical care.

In a time of rapid technological and societal change, there is a need for projects that critically analyse how innovations, especially digital ones, impact the quality, organisation, and well-being of stakeholders. The research should generate new knowledge, support the development of innovative solutions, and contribute to policy and operational development in health and welfare.

Contributions that problematize the assumption that innovation automatically leads to improvement in health and welfare and the learning related to this are particularly welcome. Innovation and learning should be viewed as a complex social change process with significance implications for equality, inclusion and sustainability.

The editors invite both theoretical and empirical studies, philosophical, methodological, empirical, or conceptual insights and perspectives. Case studies, survey research, qualitative studies, and conceptual papers on the following topics (list only tentative) may be suitable for this special issue. List of topic areas:

  • Interaction between innovation and learning in health and welfare
  • The impact of digital innovations on the working conditions of healthcare professionals
  • The role of innovations in the life situation of patients and relatives
  • Lifelong learning in healthcare and its significance for the quality of care
  • Innovation as a social change process with a focus on inclusion and equality
  • The impact of technology on the organisation and quality of care
  • How innovations affect the well-being and work environment of healthcare actors
  • Development of innovative solutions for a sustainable health system
  • Policy and operational development in the light of innovation and learning
  • The importance of an equal and person-centred approach in innovation work
  • Challenges and opportunities of digital transformation in health and welfare

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using Open Journal Systems.
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see: https://publicera.kb.se/ciwil 

Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

Key Deadlines
Submissions open: July 1st 2026
Submissions close: December 30th 2026

 Contact email: Katarina Patriksson: katarina.patriksson@hv.se