Patient safety is a global challenge, with preventable harm impacting patient outcomes, healthcare costs, and public trust. As healthcare systems grow more complex, integrating evidence-based interventions, technology, and human factors is essential to reducing risks. This special issue seeks research that advances patient safety through innovative strategies, implementation science, and policy improvements.

Key Themes:

We invite you to submit manuscripts aligned with the special issue goals, including original research articles, systematic reviews, and implementation studies on topics including, but not limited to:

● Risk management: Including surveillance, early detection and predictive models for patient safety
● Evaluating safety interventions: Effectiveness of evidence-based strategies in different healthcare settings
● Technology and innovation: AI, digital health, smart technologies to enhance safety
● Communication, teamwork, culture: Strategies to improve collaboration, leadership, reporting systems
● Addressing disparities: Social determinants of safety, equitable access to care, differences in outcomes
● Patient and family engagement: Shared decision-making, patient-centered safety approaches, education initiatives
● Human factors in safety: Impact of workload, fatigue, system design on patient outcomes
● Monitoring, evaluation, policy: Measuring, sustaining, scaling safety improvements globally

Who should submit?

This special issue welcomes contributions from researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and healthcare leaders working to enhance patient safety. We encourage interdisciplinary studies bridging research and practice across diverse healthcare settings.

Expected impact

By redefining patient safety through innovative research and implementation, this special issue aims to drive effective, scalable solutions that ensure safer healthcare systems worldwide.

Guest Editor: Carola Orrego Villagran

Manuscript submission information:

The Journal’s submission system is now open for submissions for the Special Issue “Patient Safety Redefined: strategies for Safer Healthcare Systems”.

When submitting your manuscript, please select the article type ‘VSI: Patient safety’ whichever is applicable. The submissions will be accepted for the special issue until 31st August 2026.

All submissions deemed suitable to be sent for peer review will be reviewed by at least two independent reviewers.

Once your manuscript is accepted, it will go into production and will be simultaneously published in the current regular issue and pulled into the online Special Issue. Articles from this Special Issue will appear in different regular issues of the journal, though they will be clearly marked and branded as Special Issue articles.

Please see an example here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/special-issue/10JTPZPHX3P

Please ensure you read the Guide for Authors before writing your manuscript.

The Guide for Authors: Guide for authors - Journal of Healthcare Quality Research - ISSN 2603-6479 | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier

The link to submit your manuscript is available on the Journal’s homepage at:
https://www.editorialmanager.com/jhqr/default2.aspx.

For queries, you may also write electronically to jhqr@elsevier.com.

Check out the FAQs on special issues.

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