BMC Public Health invites submissions to our new Collection, "Male reproductive health”. Male reproductive health is an essential yet often overlooked aspect of public health that encompasses various factors affecting men's fertility and overall well-being. Issues such as declining sperm counts, poor sperm quality, the impact of environmental exposures and the effects of lifestyle and dietary factors on reproductive outcomes are gaining increasing attention.

This Collection seeks to examine the multifaceted influences on male reproductive health, considering environmental, infectious and sociocultural dimensions that affect male reproductive parameters and contribute to fertility challenges. Continued research in this area could help identify causative factors and contribute to advances in public health policies, ultimately benefiting future generations.

Key topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Environmental pollution and reproductive health

Sperm count trends and implications for fertility

The role of occupational exposures in male fertility

The effects of infectious diseases on sperm parameters

Impact of diet and lifestyle factors on sperm quality and fertility

Psychological factors influencing reproductive health

Interventions for improving male reproductive health

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to Sustainable Development Goal 3- Good Health and Well-Being.

All manuscripts submitted to this journal, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.

BMC Public Health is calling for submissions to our Collection on Appropriate use of antibiotics: public health strategies, knowledge, and practice gaps.

Misuse of antibiotics contributes to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), posing a threat to the future management of bacterial diseases. However, it is a multi-faceted problem without a simple solution.

Antibiotic misuse can take various forms, each requiring different strategies to address. In healthcare systems, antibiotic overuse is often driven by the tension between clinical uncertainty and the desire to offer patients a treatment that may improve their symptoms or prevent them from developing complications. The prescription of antibiotics is often done empirically, driven by the difficulty of distinguishing between bacterial and viral infections at the point of care, or the worry that a lack of intervention could have consequences.

Added to this, people in the community can contribute to inappropriate use by reusing or sharing leftover antibiotics from prior prescriptions. Similarly, misplaced expectations around the benefits of antibiotics can drive misuse in the community, pointing to the need for community-focused and community-led initiatives to inform the public on the use of antibiotics and the collective impact of antimicrobial resistance.

However, social science reframes antibiotic overuse as more than an individual behaviour problem. Antibiotics frequently act as a social and structural “quick fix” that supports care, productivity, hygiene, and coping with inequality in everyday life. They are used to compensate for gaps in water, sanitation, social protection, and health-system capacity, suggesting that interventions focusing narrowly on individual knowledge and attitudes may be unlikely to succeed unless they also address these wider drivers.

This Collection aims to explore the various dimensions of the responsible use of antibiotics, examining the prevalence of misuse and strategies for reducing unnecessary use, covering interventions aimed at prescribers and pharmacists as well as 'bottom-up' strategies such as community education campaigns. We invite contributions that investigate the roles of healthcare providers, patients, professional guidance, communities, and policymakers in addressing this pressing issue.

Potential topics for submission include, but are not limited to:

Patterns of antibiotics overuse in various populations

The role of healthcare providers in preventing misuse

Public health campaigns and gross-roots initiatives to promote responsible use of antibiotics

Policy frameworks for improving the prescribing and dispensing of antibiotics

Social and structural drivers of antibiotic use (ethnographic, anthropological, and political-economy analyses).

Interventions that address upstream determinants (water, sanitation, social protection, labour conditions) alongside stewardship measures.

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).

All manuscripts submitted to this journal, including those submitted to collections and special issues, are assessed in line with our editorial policies and the journal’s peer review process. Reviewers and editors are required to declare competing interests and can be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists.