Editor in chief: TBD
Editorial board:
John Peteet, M.D., Harvard Medical school
Harold G Koenig, M.D., Duke University
David Zaritzky, M.D., Global Medical Research Institute
Brenda Jones, Ph.D., Lee University
Tracy Balboni, M.D. M.P.H., Harvard Medical School
Izabel Cristina Rodrigues da Silva, Ph.D., Universidade de Brasília
Eddie Needham, M.D. FAAFP, University of Central Florida
Charismedica is the official journal of the Society for Research on Pentecostal and Charismatic Healing. It is a scholarly, peer-reviewed, online-only open access journal. As such, all published articles are made freely available immediately upon publication under a Creative Commons Attribution license.
Open-access fee: There is no fee for open-access publication. This is made possible by the generous support of our sponsors, especially the Global Medical Research Institute.
The journal publishes scholarly papers on the biomedical and clinical effects of Pentecostal and Charismatic spiritual healing practices, including case reports, clinical trials, invited reviews, and commentaries. Papers will be considered for publication only if they concern both Pentecostal and/or Charismatic healing practices and evidence-based research on the biomedical and/or clinical effects of these practices. Papers that only report on Pentecostal and/or Charismatic healing practices without corresponding evidence-based research into biomedical or clinical effects will not be considered. Papers that address spiritual healing practices other than Pentecostal and/or Charismatic practices will be considered only if they include direct comparisons with Pentecostal and/or Charismatic practices.
The journal accepts several types of manuscripts for consideration. All manuscripts will be peer-reviewed, and submission constitutes an affirmation that the authors adhere to generally accepted policies concerning scholarly research. In particular, all work with human subjects must be carried out with appropriate ethics committee and/or IRB approval. Submitted material must not be submitted for publication simultaneously elsewhere. Submitted manuscripts must not have been published elsewhere previously, except for manuscripts that have been posted on the internet for the purpose of receiving community feedback, such as at a prepublication repository. Manuscripts may also provide evidence-based analysis of previously published reports of spiritual healing, as long as sources are cited and permissions secured for reprinting any copyrighted material. Accepted articles will be published under a creative commons 3.0 Attribution license, with the copyright retained by the authors.
The following types of papers will be considered for publication:
Case reports provide a description of a medically unexpected outcome subsequent to Pentecostal or Charismatic healing practices, including both unforeseen improvements and adverse effects. Case reports should include sufficient medical documentation to identify the original diagnosis and prognosis, including critical consideration of any possible differential diagnoses, any biomedical and/or alternative interventions administered, as well as medical documentation of the outcome following the reported spiritual healing practice. Case report papers should provide a narrative of the time course of events, including any biomedical or alternative interventions, spiritual healing practices, patient experiences, and meanings ascribed by the patient and/or attending medical or spiritual healing practitioners. The manuscript must provide a careful consideration of the expected range of possible medical outcomes given the diagnoses and differential diagnoses and medical treatments administered, as well as a critical evaluation of how the actual outcome compares with the expected range of possible outcomes. In addition to novel cases, case reports may provide critical evidence-based analyses of previously published cases. Case reports will generally not exceed 3000 words, though permission for a longer length may be granted at the editor’s discretion. Case reports should include an Abstract of 200 words or less, Keywords (3-5), an Introduction that presents the medical background of the case including relevant original medical records, a Methods section that describes both medical and spiritual healing practices administered to the patient, an Outcome section that describes the patient’s outcome including relevant original medical records, a Discussion section that critically evaluates the case and any limitations to the findings, and a short Conclusion regarding what can and cannot be learned or inferred from the case.
Clinical trials report the results of prospective trials of Pentecostal and/or Charismatic healing practices on clinical measures. Trials may be randomized controlled trials or trials in which the subjects serve as their own control at different time points, following accepted practices. Clinical trial manuscripts will generally not exceed 5000 words, though permission for a longer length may be granted at the editor’s discretion. Clinical trial manuscripts should include an Abstract of 200 words or less, Keywords (3-5), and be organized into the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
Invited Reviews are commissioned by the editor and will provide a survey of existing work, synthesizing and analyzing available literature from case reports, clinical trials, and sociological and ethnographic studies. Potential authors are welcome to suggest review topics to the editor (editor@charismedica.org).
Commentaries are short communications that provide a novel or critical perspective on current reports or issues of interest to the field. These will generally not exceed 2000 words.