Special issues allow research communities to spotlight urgent clinical and environmental health questions. They are ideal for multidisciplinary topics such as airborne transmission pathways, water system safety, outbreak analytics, and climate related disease risks. As a guest editor, you can shape the conversation, attract leading authors, and accelerate knowledge transfer to public health teams.

To ensure quality and feasibility, proposals should include a clear theme, relevance to air and water borne disease research, and a realistic publication plan. Provide a short list of potential contributors and explain how the issue will attract high quality submissions.

Guest editors lead the academic direction of the issue, recommend reviewers, and ensure submissions meet journal standards. They work with the editorial office to confirm scope fit, uphold ethics policies, and manage timelines. Guest editors do not make final acceptance decisions, which remain with the journal to preserve editorial independence.

Proposals are reviewed by the editorial office for relevance, scientific value, and feasibility. Preference is given to topics that address current public health challenges, emerging threats, or novel diagnostic frameworks. The editorial team will work with guest editors to refine scope and timelines as needed.

Timelines vary by topic and volume, but most special issues follow a clear schedule from approval to publication.

Special issues benefit from coordinated announcements, targeted outreach, and open access visibility. The editorial office supports promotion through journal channels to ensure the collection reaches clinicians, researchers, and policy stakeholders. This increases submissions and visibility.