Welcome to Family & Community Health’s website. This electronic journal platform is easy to use to find journal content, collaborate and share innovative health care ideas in family and community health. New features introduced in this platform include: 

• Editor’s Picks showcase selected articles included in the journal over the past year.
• Dates for upcoming issues and contact information for issue editors are in the information for authors.
  
• A preview of the next issue so you can see what to watch for
• New options for delivering articles that include an enhanced HTML format for easier reading.
• New ways to customize the site, including saved searches, personal article collections, e-mail and RSS alerts, and more.

To use these features, all you need to do is register. Click on the “Register” button located at the top right corner of the website. Then enter your subscriber account number that is located on your journal label just above your name. Now you will have full, unrestricted access to all the site’s easy-to-use features. If you have already registered, then all you have to do is log in as your have always done to begin taking advantage of all the new features.

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​Family and Community Health is seeking authoritative papers on pertinent information about health disparities and health inequity among vulnerable populations. Submitted papers should aim to advance the science of health disparities and health equity with a focus on families and communities.

The Journal will consider original research, review articles, short reports, commentaries, and perspectives. Submitted papers can range from translational research to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of disease and illness toward the goal of health equity for all populations.

Submitted manuscripts will receive timely and thorough peer-review. Please format your manuscript according to our Instructions for Authors before submitting to the Journal. 

Please submit your manuscript to the Journal's online peer review system: http://www.editorialmanager.com/fch/​

If you have questions, please contact Bettina Beech at bbeech@umc.edu. 

Due to Issue Editor Lisa M. Vaughn, PhD  April 1, 2014 and submitted via the online manuscript submission process to issue 38.1.

Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that equitably involves both community members and academicians as partners contributing unique strengths to the research process.^1-3 In contrast to more traditional research, projects using a CBPR approach rely on input and collaboration from community members at many steps of the research process, from defining the research topic to disseminating the results.³ Barbara Israel and colleagues outline five phases of CBPR²:  1) partnership formation and maintenance; 2) community assessment and diagnosis; 3) definition of the issue; 4) documentation and evaluation of the partnership process; and 5) feedback, interpretation, dissemination, and application of results (p.13). CBPR aims to combine knowledge and action for change to improve community health and eliminate health disparities.⁴ Various research methods are used within a CBPR framework; however, CBPR projects can be distinguished by the value placed on cooperative research efforts that engage community members and researchers and in the relevance of the research for communities.²

The purpose of this issue of FCH is to highlight family and community health-related CBPR projects focused specifically on youth as partners in the research process. Manuscripts submitted to this issue may highlight one, several, or all of the phases of CBPR. Manuscripts from academic and community collaborators, especially those partnering with youth, are encouraged.

References
1. Brydon-Miller M, Greenwood D, Maguire P. Why Action Research? Action Research. July 1, 2003 2003;1(1):9-28.
2. Israel BA, Parker EA, Rowe Z, et al. Community-based participatory research: lessons learned from the centers for children's environmental health and disease prevention research. Environ Health Perspect. Oct 2005;113(10):1463-1471.
3. Minkler M, Wallerstein N. Community-based participatory research for health : from process to outcomes. 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass; 2008.
4. Viswanathan M, Ammerman A, Eng E, et al. Community-based participatory research: Assessing the evidence. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 99 (Publication 04-E022-2). Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality;2004.

Please consult the journal’s website for more detailed information about manuscript submission:  http://journals.lww.com/familyandcommunityhealth/pages/default.aspx.

Due to Issue Editor Lisa M. Vaughn, PhD  April 1, 2014 and submitted via the online manuscript submission process to issue 38.1.

Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that equitably involves both community members and academicians as partners contributing unique strengths to the research process.^1-3 In contrast to more traditional research, projects using a CBPR approach rely on input and collaboration from community members at many steps of the research process, from defining the research topic to disseminating the results.³ Barbara Israel and colleagues outline five phases of CBPR²:  1) partnership formation and maintenance; 2) community assessment and diagnosis; 3) definition of the issue; 4) documentation and evaluation of the partnership process; and 5) feedback, interpretation, dissemination, and application of results (p.13). CBPR aims to combine knowledge and action for change to improve community health and eliminate health disparities.⁴ Various research methods are used within a CBPR framework; however, CBPR projects can be distinguished by the value placed on cooperative research efforts that engage community members and researchers and in the relevance of the research for communities.²

The purpose of this issue of FCH is to highlight family and community health-related CBPR projects focused specifically on youth as partners in the research process. Manuscripts submitted to this issue may highlight one, several, or all of the phases of CBPR. Manuscripts from academic and community collaborators, especially those partnering with youth, are encouraged.

References
1. Brydon-Miller M, Greenwood D, Maguire P. Why Action Research? Action Research. July 1, 2003 2003;1(1):9-28.
2. Israel BA, Parker EA, Rowe Z, et al. Community-based participatory research: lessons learned from the centers for children's environmental health and disease prevention research. Environ Health Perspect. Oct 2005;113(10):1463-1471.
3. Minkler M, Wallerstein N. Community-based participatory research for health : from process to outcomes. 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass; 2008.
4. Viswanathan M, Ammerman A, Eng E, et al. Community-based participatory research: Assessing the evidence. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 99 (Publication 04-E022-2). Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality;2004.

Please consult the journal’s website for more detailed information about manuscript submission:  http://journals.lww.com/familyandcommunityhealth/pages/default.aspx.