image: JMIR Publications invites submissions to a new theme issue in its premier open access journal JMIR Medical Education exploring the pervasive issue of implicit and explicit biases in health care, including those related to gender, ethnicity, and sexuality
Credit: JMIR Publications
(Toronto, October 27, 2025) JMIR Publications invites submissions to a new theme issue in its premier open access journal JMIR Medical Education titled "Bias, Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Competence in Medical Education." The open access journal is indexed in MEDLINE, PubMed, PubMed Central, Scopus, DOAJ, and the Emerging Sources Citation Index (Clarivate) and received a Journal Impact Factor of 12.5 according to the latest release of the Journal Citation Reports from Clarivate, 2025.
Biases, both conscious and unconscious, significantly impact judgment, decision-making, and ultimately patient care. This call for papers seeks research that examines how these biases manifest, from gender blindness and male bias to racial essentialism and diagnostic overshadowing, and their effects on clinical practice, professional advancement, and the educational training environment.
Bias and discrimination within the medical profession have far-reaching effects on population health, health care policy, and access to care. These issues influence clinical practice, professional development, and institutional decision-making, impacting health care workers across all disciplines. Submissions are encouraged that address disparities such as the underrepresentation of women in leadership and the challenges faced by men in female-dominated fields, and explore their consequences on professional opportunities, academic promotion, and clinician burnout.
To address these inequities, health care organizations are increasingly implementing equity policies and training. The journal welcomes papers that discuss the effectiveness of these interventions, explore the role of equity-focused language, and propose strategies to mitigate structural racism and health disparities. Submissions should contribute to fostering a more equitable and inclusive health care environment through explicit conversations about power dynamics, oppression, discrimination, and exclusion.
JMIR Medical Education is committed to advancing this agenda and is currently accepting manuscripts for a themed issue on bias, gender, ethnicity, and intersectionality in medical curricula. Possible topics include clinical delivery models, online resources, instructional modules, competency assessments, medical simulations, classroom dynamics, or gendered aspects of the hidden curriculum. Given the journal’s focus on technology-enhanced learning, digital education strategies, and health systems science, submissions that use digital health technologies and informatics competencies at the individual, community, population, or societal levels will be prioritized.
Submissions are invited on, but not limited to, the following topics:
-
Strategies and educational frameworks for enhancing professional competence in gender awareness and anti-racism
-
Teaching health professionals about implicit and explicit bias as it relates to gender, race, and class with other social and structural determinants of health
-
Demonstrating how educators can incorporate intersectionality frameworks into digital learning environments
-
Strategies using artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), or augmented reality (AR) to teach intersectional approaches to patient care
-
Case studies of adaptive learning platforms to address the intersecting identities of patients and trainees
-
Gender awareness training in disciplines specializing in women’s health, including obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, family practice, mental health, and pediatrics and adolescent medicine
-
The role of health care professionals in recognizing and mitigating gender bias and racial discrimination relating to digital health products and health systems delivery
-
Interprofessional care models and communication strategies to improve women’s health, wellness, engagement, and overall health care experience
-
Instructional modules and practical strategies for health professional learners to address racism in the classroom and the workplace
-
Simulations using digital health tools to provide professionals with experience managing women’s health issues, racial disparities, and immigrant health care needs
-
Online and mobile educational materials on intersectionality
-
The use of digital tools and other innovative strategies to teach topics such as interpersonal violence, sexuality and sexual problems, adverse childhood experiences, and trauma-informed care
-
Novel learning platforms and modalities for clinicians and health care professionals to learn and develop competencies in bias awareness, including the use of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), or extended reality (XR) and gamified or adaptive learning platforms
-
Development of institutional policies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion across the continuum of learning
-
Digital and data science strategies to track bias in professional development, promotion, and practice (eg, gender data for faculty salary, appointments, editorial positions, and solicitations)
To learn more please visit the website.
About JMIR Publications
JMIR Publications is a leading open access publisher of digital health research and a champion of open science. With a focus on author advocacy and research amplification, JMIR Publications partners with researchers to advance their careers and maximize the impact of their work. As a technology organization with publishing at its core, we provide innovative tools and resources that go beyond traditional publishing, supporting researchers at every step of the dissemination process. Our portfolio features a range of peer-reviewed journals, including the renowned Journal of Medical Internet Research.
To learn more about JMIR Publications, please visit jmirpublications.com or connect with us via Bluesky, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
Head office: 130 Queens Quay East, Unit 1100, Toronto, ON, M5A 0P6 Canada
Media Contact: communications@jmir.org
The content of this communication is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, published by JMIR Publications, is properly cited.