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International Journal of Consumer Studies

Edited by:
Katherine Hughes

The International Journal of Consumer Studies provides an international forum for academic and research papers with a focus on how consumers can enhance their security and well being. It publishes articles of interest to an international audience and at the leading edge of consumer research throughout the world. The scope of the Journal includes:

Consumer sciences and their application
Consumer policy
Consumer education

Topics covered by the Journal:

Consumer protection: empowerment and entitlement, safety, standards, economic security;Consumer behaviour: goods and services, business and marketing practices, retailing;The consumer ecosystem: globalisation, sustainability, technology, ethical consumption, gender issues, citizenship;Family and household studies: quality of life, food and nutrition, textiles and clothing, shelter, health and well being.

Now publishing 6 times per year, International Journal of Consumer Studies is now established as one of the leading academic journals on the subject and is subscribed to by institutions and individuals in many countries.

TopNews and Announcements

International Journal of Consumer Studies has now adopted ScholarOne Manuscripts, for online manuscript submission and peer review. The new system brings with it a whole host of benefits including:

Quick and easy submission
Administration centralised and reduced
Significant decrease in peer review times

From now on all submissions to the journal must be submitted online at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijc. Full instructions and support are available on the site and a user ID and password can be obtained on the first visit. If you require assistance then click the Get Help Now link which appears at the top right of every ScholarOne Manuscripts page. If you cannot submit online, please contact the Editor Katherine Hughes by telephone (44 (0)29 2088 6569) or by e-mail (katherine.hughes@btconnect.com).

Online Content Now Available Back to Volume 1
All back issues of this journal are available online by clicking here. For further information on how to access these articles please visit our Librarian Site.

Call for Papers and Peer Reviewers/Referees

Special Issue on Retailing and the Consumer

For further details, including how to submit a paper, please click here

Call for Papers and Peer Reviewers/Referees

International Journal of Consumer Studies,
Special Issue on Consumer/User and Carer Involvement in Health and Social Care

Developing and maintaining properly funded, high-quality, health and social care options across acute, primary, secondary, residential and community care settings - as part of a flexible response to peoples' varied and often changing needs - is a complex undertaking. Involving people in the planning and provision of services is a key element of government policy and is founded on the core ethical principle that consumers and the wider public have a right to have their say and to be involved wherever possible. For consumer involvement to be most effective it should start at the point where policy is formulated and continue through to how services are commissioned, designed, delivered, evaluated and researched. Some suggest that it is the only pragmatic way of filling the void that has been created by past failures of management and organizations to move forward with the change agenda. Others argue over differences in the theoretical underpinnings of the involvement agenda and whether consumers should be empowered or treated simply as part of a 'customer' feedback loop.

Equally, as we begin to develop an evidence/knowledge base in these areas, a number of different terms have sprung up to reflect what is meant by "a consumer", for example, patient, service user, relative, carer/caregiver, customer, visitor, advocate, citizen or member of the public. Thus, the call for consumer-led provision acting as a powerful shaper of current and future service policy and provision is not straightforward. The purpose of this call is to identify and analyze current and future directions in consumer involvement, relevant to health and social care and at the interface between the two; where joint planning and provision of services can be a complex area for service providers and consumers alike. In so doing, the invitation for contributors is to explore connections among and including but not limited to the list of topic headings:

The expert patient/co-producer of health
Enabling/supporting diverse involvement
Community-based participation
Consumer/user and carer involvement in patient safety
Consumer/user and carer networks
Consumer/user and carer representation
Consumer/user and carer empowerment
Consumer/user and carer information
Consumer/user and carer involvement in professional and occupational practice
Consumer/user and carer involvement as trainers and educators in occupational/professional practice
Education and training needs - staff, service users and carers
Consumer/user and carer involvement quality improvement initiatives (evaluation of projects that attempt to directly improve care)
Consumer/user and carer-led research - implementation and evaluation
Consumer/user and carer involvement in evidence-based practice
Consumer/user involvement in complimentary approaches to health and well being Examples of best practice
Reward and recognition (the financial aspects of involvement)
Involvement in policy-decision-making process
Quality assurance
Perceptions of the quality of service - staff, service user and carer
Special concerns
Future directions and challenges

This list is by no means exhaustive. The journal and editors of this special issue would welcome any work which contributes to a better understanding of the consumer/user and carer involvement in health and social care and the interface between the two. Articles may be theoretical, report on detailed research or reflect on practice. They should add significantly to the research literature in this area.

This issue of the journal is intended for anyone with an academic or professional interest in consumer involvement in health and social care, who wishes to write from a local, national or international perspective. This special issue provides an opportunity for academics and professionals to join other eminent authorities in the field who have helped disseminate research studies on consumer related to health and social care.

It is intended that this special issue of the International Journal of Consumer Studies will be published in September 2010. Expressions of interest and an outline of the proposed paper should be submitted by 30th November 2009 (finished manuscripts by January 31st 2010) to guest editors, Prof. Colin Torrance (ctorranc@glam.ac.uk) and Christine Wilson (cawilson@glam.ac.uk). Contributors should consult the web page
www.blackwellpublishing.com/ijc for author guidance.

Call for Peer Reviewers/Referees

The International Journal of Consumer Studies offers an opportunity for interested academics and professionals in the fields of health and social care to join other eminent scholars and professionals in engaging in the double-blind peer review process. As a referee for the Special Issue, you will be asked to review one or two articles and will be provided with guidelines. Interested parties should forward a brief note to the address below, indicating up to three topic areas (key words) on which you are confident of being able to provide a considered assessment, and your contact information.

Prof. Colin Torrance (ctorranc@glam.ac.uk) and Christine Wilson (cawilson@glam.ac.uk ). Care Research Centre, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, CF37 1DL 0044 1443 483 832

NIH Public Access Mandate
For those interested in the Wiley-Blackwell policy on the NIH Public Access Mandate, please visit our policy statement .

ICS conference 2009

Please click here for further information on the 4th International Consumer Sciences Research Conference in Edinburgh taking place in June 2009. The theme for this year's conference is Consumer Voice and Representation.