Pandemics and epidemics do more than disrupt population health dynamics—they reconfigure intimate lives, reshape reproductive choices, and expose deep-seated gender and social inequalities. The Studies in Family Planning Journal is planning a special issue and invites cutting-edge research on how large-scale health crises—from COVID-19 to Zika and mpox—transform fertility, family dynamics, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) over time. 

Moving beyond short-term effects and single-crisis perspectives, the Journal's special issue seeks contributions that foreground gendered experiences, compare across global contexts and crises, and bridge divides between fertility, family formation, and SRHR scholarship. By bringing COVID-19 into dialogue with other epidemic histories, this issue aims to advance a more integrated, longer-term, and gender-aware understanding of reproduction and family life in times of profound disruption.

More information in the PDF below.

Special Issue/Collection Guest Editors:

• Natalie Nitsche, Australian National University
• Anna Kurowska, University of Warsaw
• Alejandra Abufhele, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez

Submission Deadline: September 15, 2026

Submission Information
This collection will be published in Studies in Family Planning. Authors should adhere to the journal’s author guidelines when preparing manuscripts. We particularly value clear, concise writing and encourage authors to remain at or below 8,000 words. Submissions should include robust empirical evidence or substantial theoretical contributions, situate findings within relevant literatures, and clearly articulate implications for scholarship and policy.

Please submit to wiley.atyponrex.com/journal/SIFP. Tag your paper as part of this special issue and indicate this in your cover letter. 

Please contact rfriedman@popcouncil.org with any questions.