International Journal of Care and Caring

The International Journal of Care and Caring (IJCC) is a new multidisciplinary journal designed to advance scholarship and debate in the important and expanding field of care and caring. Multidisciplinary and international in scope, it publishes high-quality contributions on care, caring and carers from all regions of the world. IJCC has a broad focus, covering care and caring for people of any age who have long-term conditions, disabilities or frailties, or who are seriously ill or near the end of life. It explores the economic, organisational, political, social, legal, familial, transnational and ethical settings in which this care occurs. Read more about the International Journal of Care and Caring.

Frequency: February, May, August and November

Restricted access

Volume 7 (2023): Issue 4 (Nov 2023)

Aims and scope
Abstracting and indexing 
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Testimonials
Contact us

Aims and scope

The International Journal of Care and Caring (IJCC) is a new multidisciplinary journal designed to advance scholarship and debate in the important and expanding field of care and caring. Multidisciplinary and international in scope, it publishes high-quality contributions on care, caring and carers from all regions of the world. IJCC has a broad focus, covering care and caring for people of any age who have long-term conditions, disabilities or frailties, or who are seriously ill or near the end of life. It explores the economic, organisational, political, social, legal, familial, transnational and ethical settings in which this care occurs.

The International Journal of Care and Caring (IJCC) is concerned with care provided as paid work and as support for family members, friends or neighbours; with care in home, community and residential settings; and with formal and informal care relations, organisation, systems and markets. It focuses on 'receiving' and 'giving' care and on the gendered nature and social, political, legal and economic status and circumstances of care and caring. It debates the support needed in localities, workplaces and health systems to make care and caring feasible and rewarding for carers and dignified and supportive of independence for care recipients. IJCC welcomes contributions on caring relationships, the ethics and political economy of care, care as a focus of moral philosophy and feminist analysis and care and caring as sources of claims-making and challenge and as the spur for national and global social movements.

The journal encourages critical engagement with policy and practice developments and aims to include contributions from different areas of the world in each edition. Its regular Debates and Issues section features dialogue with carers’ organisations, policy makers, trade unions, employers and academics, to encourage global dialogue and international sharing of ideas, expertise and experience.

Abstracting and indexing

IJCC is abstracted and/or indexed in:

  • European Reference Index for the Humanities and Social Sciences (ERIH PLUS)
  • Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)
  • ProQuest Central
  • ProQuest Sociology Collection
  • ProQuest Social Science Premium Collection
  • Scopus
  • Social Care Online

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion statement outlines the ways in which we seek to ensure that equity, diversity and inclusion are integral to all aspects of our publishing, and how we might encourage and drive positive change. 

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Testimonials 

“The journal is essential reading for academics, policy makers and practitioners interested in the complexities and nuances of care and caring.”

Judith Phillips OBE, Deputy Principal (Research), University of Stirling, UK and Professor of Gerontology

“IJCC publishes excellent and most relevant research for academics, practitioners and policy makers. As a care researcher from Taiwan, I benefit greatly from this journal’s truly multidisciplinary and international engagement with care scholarship, providing timely and long-lasting knowledge at a time of rapid global change.”

Bo-Wei Chen, Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of Gender Education, National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan

Contact us 

Editorial enquiries:

Editorial Assistant
Tom Hickman: ijcc@sheffield.ac.uk

Journal sections:

Debates and Issues
Editorial Office: ijcc@sheffield.ac.uk

Reviews
Myra Hamilton: myra.hamilton@sydney.edu.au

Open access, subscriptions and free trials:

Policy Press: pp-journals@bristol.ac.uk

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Read our instructions for authors for guidance on how to prepare your submissions. The instructions include the following: 

What are we looking for?
How to submit

Ethical guidelines
Copyright
Style
Alt-text
References
English language editing service
Open Access
Self-archiving and institutional repositories
How to promote your article
Contact us

Visit our journal author toolkit for resources and advice to support you through the publication process and beyond.

What are we looking for?

Three types of papers are accepted in the International Journal of Care and Caring:

  • Research articles should be between 5,000 and 8,000 words long with up to four key words and an abstract of up to 100 words. These submissions will be double anonymous peer reviewed. Research articles should contribute to advances in knowledge, theory or methods. Articles based on comparative international analysis, critical analysis of policy or practice, or which explore care and caring in global or transnational perspective are encouraged. Authors should indicate if their article presents new empirical findings or is based on methodological innovation and should write in a style suitable for IJCC’s academic, NGO, policy and practitioner audiences.
  • Debates and Issues papers should be between 1,500 and 2,500 words with up to four key words, no abstract and a brief reference list. These submissions will be reviewed by the editor. Debates and Issues papers should contribute to international sharing of ideas, expertise and experience between NGOs, policy makers, trade unions, employers and academics. Contributors are encouraged to highlight innovative policy or practice at the local, national or international level; debate controversial issues or matters of concern; or focus on aspects of advocacy, identification, claims-making and contestation. Please read our Guidance for Debates and Issues submissions for further information.
  • Book reviews are short pieces of 500800 words. These submissions will be editor-reviewed. Book reviews should include a concise summary of the book’s main argument and subject matter, assess its originality and contribution to its field and relevance to its intended audience. Longer review articles (up to 2,500 words), covering several books on one topic, may be submitted; contributors should discuss the suitability of the books selected with the Reviews Editor in advance.  

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How to submit an article

All submissions should be made online at the International Journal of Care and Caring Editorial Manager website: http://www.editorialmanager.com/ijcc/default.aspx, in Word or Rich Text Format (not pdf). New users should first create an account, specify their areas of interest and provide full contact details. 

For help submitting an article via Editorial Manager, please view our online tutorial.

Preparing your anonymised manuscript

Your initial submission must consist of the following separate files:

  1. A cover page including: the article title, author name(s) and affiliations (institution affiliation and country only, no department details required), the article abstract (up to 100 words), up to four key words/short phrases and the article word count including references. A cover page template is available to download here.
  2. A fully anonymised manuscript which does not include any of the information included in the cover page. It should not include any acknowledgements, funding details or conflicts of interest that would identify the author(s). References to the author's own work should be anonymised as follows: 'Author's own, [year]'. Please note that submissions that have not been sufficiently anonymised will be returned.
  3. If you have any figures and tables please upload them as separate files at the end of the manuscript. Please indicate where these should be placed in the text by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources where appropriate. 
  4. In order to improve our accessibility for people with visual impairments, we are now required to ask authors to provide a brief description known as alt text to describe any visual content such as photos, illustrations or figures. It will not be visible in the article but is embedded into the images so a PDF reader can read out the descriptions. Guidance on how to write this is available here: Bristol University Press | Alt-text guidance for authors.

Once a submission has been conditionally accepted, you will be invited to submit a final, non-anonymised version.

Checklist: what to include in your final, accepted non-anonymised manuscript

  1. A cover page including: the article title, author name(s) and affiliations (institution affiliation and country only, no department details required), the article abstract (up to 150 words), up to four key words and the word count.

The final non-anonymised article file should include:

  1. Funding details: list any funding including the grant numbers you have received for the research covered in your article as follows: 'This work was supported by the [Funding Agency] under Grant [number xxxx].'

  2. Conflict of interest statement: please declare any possible conflicts of interest, or state 'The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest' if there are none. Find out more about declaring conflicts of interest in the Bristol Universty Press/ Policy Press ethical guidelines.

  3. Acknowledgements: acknowledge those who have provided you with any substantial assistance or advice with collecting data, developing your ideas, editing or any other comments to develop your argument or text.

  4. Figures and tables: should be included as separate files at the end of the manuscript. Please indicate where these should be placed in the text by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources where appropriate. For advice about less common file formats, please contact dave.j.worth@bristol.ac.uk.

  5. Alt text: In order to improve our accessibility for people with visual impairments, we are now required to ask authors to provide a brief description known as alt text to describe any visual content such as photos, illustrations or figures. It will not be visible in the article but is embedded into the images so a PDF reader can read out the descriptions. Guidance on how to write this is available here: Bristol University Press | Alt-text guidance for authors.

  6. Supplemental data: We recommend that any supplemental data are hosted in a data repository (such as figshare) for maximum exposure, and are cited as a reference in the article.

  7. Journal Contributor Publishing Agreement: Please upload a scanned copy of the completed and signed agreement with your final non-anonymised manuscript. The Journal Contributor Publishing Agreement can be downloaded here.

Editorial process

All submissions will be subject to double anonymous peer-review processes (unless stated otherwise) by referees currently working in the appropriate field.

The editors aim to provide quick decisions and to ensure that submission to publication takes the minimum possible time. The final decision on publication rests with the editors. 

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Ethical guidelines

At Policy Press we are committed to upholding the highest standards of review and publication ethics in our journals. Policy Press is a member of and subscribes to the principles of the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE), and will take appropriate action in cases of possible misconduct in line with COPE guidance.

Find out more about our ethical guidelines.

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Copyright and permissions

The International Journal of Care and Caring is published by Policy Press. Articles are considered for publication on the understanding that on acceptance the author(s) grant(s) Policy Press the exclusive right and licence to publish the article. Copyright remains with the author(s) or other copyright owners and we will acknowledge this in the copyright line that appears on the published article.

Authors will be asked to sign a Journal Contributor Publishing Agreement to this effect, which should be submitted online along with the final manuscript. All authors should agree to the agreement. For jointly authored articles the corresponding author may sign on behalf of co-authors provided that they have obtained the co-authors' consent. The journal contributor agreement can be downloaded here.

Where copyright is not owned by the author(s), the corresponding author is responsible for obtaining the consent of the copyright holder. This includes figures, tables and excerpts. Evidence of this permission should be provided to Policy Press. General information on rights and permissions can be found here.

To request permission to reproduce any part of articles published in the International Journal of Care and Caring, please email Policy Press: pp-info@bristol.ac.uk

For information on what is permissible use for different versions of your article please see our policy on self archiving and institutional repositories

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Style

  • British English spelling and punctuation is preferred.
  • Non-discriminatory language is mandatory. See our guidelines to sensitive language (appendix C of document).
  • Explanatory notes should be kept to a minimum. If it is necessary to use them, they must be numbered consecutively in the text and listed at the end of the article. Please do not embed notes in the text.
  • Please do not embed bibliographic references in the text, footnotes, live links or macros; the final submitted file should be clear of track changes and ready for print.
  • Tables and charts should be separated from the text and submitted in a Word or Excel file, with their placement in the text clearly indicated by inserting: ‘Table X here’. Please provide numbers, titles and sources (where appropriate).
  • Figures, diagrams and maps should be separated from the text and, ideally, submitted in an Encapsulated PostScript (.eps) file. Figures created in Word or Excel are acceptable in those file formats. If the figures, diagrams and maps are in other formats (i.e. have been pasted into a Word file rather than created in it) please contact dave.j.worth@bristol.ac.uk for advice. Please indicate where figures should be placed in the text, by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources (where appropriate).

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Alt-text

In order to improve our accessibility for people with visual impairments, we are now required to ask authors to provide a brief description known as alt text to describe any visual content such as photos, illustrations or figures. It will not be visible in the article but is embedded into the images so a PDF reader can read out the descriptions. See our guidance on writing alt-text.

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References

Download the Endnote output style for Policy Press/Bristol University Press Journals.

  • In-text citations: give the author’s surname followed by year of publication in brackets, and where are three or more authors, use 'et al', as shown below:
    (Bettio and Verashchagina, 2012)
    (Duffy et al, 2015)
  • List all references in full at the end of the article and remove any references not cited in the text.
  • Book and journal titles should be in italics.
  • Website details should be placed at the end of the reference.
  • Spell out all acronyms in the first instance.

Example of book reference:
Dorling, D. (2010) Injustice: Why social inequality persists, Bristol: Policy Press.

Example of journal reference:
Warin, P. (2012) 'Non-demand for Social Rights: A new challenge for social action in France', Journal of Poverty and Social Justice, 20(1): 41-53.

Example of chapter within edited / multi-authored publication:
Levitas, R. (2011) 'Utopia Calling: Eradicating child poverty in the United Kingdom and beyond', in A. Minujin and S. Nandy (eds), Global Child Poverty and Well-being: Measurement, concepts, policy and action, Bristol, Policy Press. pp. 449-73.

Example of website reference:
Womensaid (2016) What is domestic abuse?, https://www.womensaid.org.uk/information-support/what-is-domestic-abuse/.

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Contact us

Editorial enquiries:

Editorial Assistant
Tom Hickman: ijcc@sheffield.ac.uk

Journal sections:

Debates and Issues
Editorial Office: ijcc@sheffield.ac.uk

Reviews
Myra Hamilton: myra.hamilton@sydney.edu.au

Open access, subscriptions and free trials:

Policy Press: pp-journals@bristol.ac.uk

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Management Board 

Sue Yeandle, Editor in Chief; University of Sheffield, UK

Michael Fine, Co-Editor; Macquarie University, Australia
Yueh-Ching Chou, Co-Editor; National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

Başak Akkan, Associate Editor; Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey
Selma Kadi, Associate Editor; European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Austria
Christine Kelly, Associate Editor; University of Manitoba, Canada
Liz Lloyd, Associate Editor; University of Bristol, UK
Kate O'Loughlin, Associate Editor; University of Sydney, Australia
Bernhard Weicht, Associate Editor; University of Innsbruck, Austria
Minna Zechner, Associate Editor; University of Helsinki, Finland
Valentina Zigante, Associate Editor; London School of Economics, UK
Gabrielle Meagher, Consulting Editor; Macquarie University, Australia
Myra Hamilton, Reviews Editor; University of Sydney, Australia
Francisca Ortiz RuizReviews Editor; University of Manchester, UK
Obert Tawodzera, Reviews Editor; University of Birmingham, UK
Jo Moriarty, Social Media Editor; King's College London, UK
Outi Jolanki, Debates & Issues Editor; Tampere University, Finland
Naonori KodateDebates & Issues Editor; University College Dublin, Ireland
Antía Pérez-Caramés, Debates & Issues Editor; University of A Coruña, Spain
Phil Tavener, Debates & Issues Editor; Carers in Bedfordshire, UK
Julia Mortimer, Publisher; Bristol University Press and Policy Press, UK 

Editorial Advisory Board

Jo Aldridge, University of Loughborough, UK
Fiona Alpass, Massey University, New Zealand
Janet Fast, University of Alberta, Canada
Maria das Dores Guerreiro, ISCTE- Instituto Universitario Lisboa, Portugal
Elizabeth Hanson, Linnaeus University, Sweden
Trish Hill, University of New South Wales, Australia
Jana Javornik, University of Leeds, UK
Norah Keating, University of Alberta, Canada
Sally Keeling, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand
Teppo Kröger, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Giovanni Lamura, INRCA (National Institute of Health and Science on Aging), Italy
Li-Fang Liang, National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan
Fiona MacDonald, RMIT, Australia
Phyllis Moen, University of Minnesota, USA
Ito Peng, University of Toronto, Canada
Jolanta Perek-Bialas, Jagellonian University, Poland
Judith Phillips, University of Stirling, UK
Susan Reinhard, AARP, USA
Madeleine Starr, Carers UK
Marta Szebehely, Stockholm University, Sweden
Hildegard Theobald, University of Vechta, Germany
Joan Tronto, University of Minnesota, USA
Frank T Y Wang, Chengchi University, Taiwan
Allison M C Williams, McMaster University, Canada

The International Journal of Care and Caring currently has two open calls. We are seeking applications for the role of Editor in Chief and we are encouraging submissions to Debates and Issues section.

Call for Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Care and Caring

Application deadline: 15 December 2023

The Editorial Management Board of the International Journal of Care and Caring (IJCC) invites applications for the post of Editor in Chief of the journal to run for a period of three years from June 2024, with the possibility of renewing for a second two-year term. It is hoped that the newly appointed Editor in Chief will work alongside the current one from May 2024 prior to a final handover in June.

IJCC is a multidisciplinary journal designed to advance scholarship and debate in the important and expanding field of care and caring. Multidisciplinary and international in scope, it publishes high-quality contributions on care, caring and carers from all regions of the world. IJCC has a broad focus, covering care and caring for people of any age who have long-term conditions, disabilities or frailties, or who are seriously ill or near the end of life. It explores the economic, organisational, political, social, legal, familial, transnational and ethical settings in which this care occurs.

The journal encourages critical engagement with policy and practice developments and aims to include contributions from different areas of the world in each issue. Its regular ‘Debates and Issues’ section features dialogue with carers’ organisations, policy makers, trade unions, employers and academics, to encourage global dialogue and international sharing of ideas, expertise and experience.

See the journal's aims and scope to learn more. 

Applications are invited for an Editor in Chief who reflects the multi-disciplinary and international nature of the journal in their expertise. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape and develop the journal over the coming 3-5 years. The Editor in Chief, Co-Editors, Associate Editors, Section Editors and Editorial Management Board work closely together, are very supportive and meet at least twice a year, either in person or virtually, to help inform future content of the journal. The existing Co-Editors and Associate Editors will remain in post, but there will be an opportunity for the new Editor-in-Chief to expand the editorial team if that is desired. We are particularly interested in building a diverse editorial team with good international networks that reflect the breadth of our intended readership.

Applications should include a short CV (no more than two pages) highlighting relevant experience and a cover letter (up to two pages long) addressing the following:

  • Your vision and a clear editorial strategy for the journal to show how you would like to see it develop over the next three years;
  • How you will ensure the editorial team is soliciting and receiving articles that make substantial and meaningful contributions across the multiple fields and world regions that make up the journal’s scope;
  • How you will consolidate and increase IJCC's growing international presence and ensure the high quality of articles published to achieve impressive results across a wide range of current quality indicators, including citation metrics;
  • What you can bring to the journal in terms of your experience of working on other journals, your areas of relevant expertise and why you feel you meet the requirements of the role;
  • How you will work together and divide tasks and responsibilities between members of the editorial team;
  • How you will ensure effective team working.

Please also refer to the Editor in Chief Job Description and Person Specification. Applications will be evaluated by a Selection Committee including representatives of the publisher, Policy Press, and the Editorial Board. 

Prospective applicants may like to informally contact any of the following current members of the journal’s team for further information about the role:

Sue Yeandle, Editor in Chief: s.yeandle@sheffield.ac.uk 

Yueh-Ching Chou, Co-Editor: choucyc@nycu.edu.tw

Michael Fine, Co-Editor: michael.fine@mq.edu.au 

Julia Mortimer, Publisher: Julia.Mortimer@bristol.ac.uk 

Applications should be forwarded by email to Tom Hickman (ijcc@sheffield.ac.uk), Editorial Assistant, no later than 15 December 2023.

All applications will be considered by the Selection Committee, and a shortlist of candidates will be interviewed. The selected candidates will enter into a contract with Policy Press (an imprint of Bristol University Press) the publisher of the journal. An Editorial Assistant, who supports the day to day work and administration of the journal is provided by the Publisher.

Call for Debates and Issues articles

The Editors of the International Journal of Care and Caring (IJCC) invite submissions of Debates and Issues articles.

The Debates and Issues section of IJCC gives a voice to the perspectives of organisations for carers, the disabled and older people, trade unions, employers, practitioners, policymakers and others. We welcome papers that highlight innovative policy or practice, debate controversial issues and matters of concern or focus on aspects of advocacy, identification, claims-making and contestation.

We are particuarly keen to receive papers relating to Covid-19 for potential inclusion in an upcoming themed section of the journal. 

How to apply

If you have an idea for a paper for the Debates and Issues section please send a 100-word summary to the Editorial Office ijcc@sheffield.ac.uk

Papers in the Debates and Issues section are free to access. Articles should be between 1,500 to 2,500 words. Full instructions for authors can be found on the IJCC website

Debates and Issues Section Editor: Outi Jolanki, Tampere University, Finland.

Recommend the journal to your librarian

Your opinion matters to your librarian; faculty recommendations are one of the main factors in a library’s decision to take out a journal subscription. If you want your library to subscribe to the International Journal of Care Caring, contact your librarian and recommend the journal. You can support your recommendation by including details of research projects and teaching modules that would benefit from a subscription.  

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2022 Impact Factor: 1.4 (2 yr). 

2022 Journal Citation Indicator: 0.67
Ranking: 109/265  in Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary (Q2) - 59th percentile

2022 Scopus CiteScore: 2.1.
Rankings:

  • 467/1415 in Social and Political Science - 67th percentile
  • 182/344 in Health (social science) - 47th percentile
  • 164/270 in Health Policy - 39th percentile
  • 360/577 in Environmental and Occupational Health - 37th percentile