CALL FOR PAPERS: CHILDHOODS AND ADOLESCENCES

Theme: The production of comprehensive care for childhoods and adolescences in Brazil

 Submission period: July 1, 2026 – September 30, 2026

This call aims to compile a special issue of the journal “Saúde em Debate” titled “Childhoods and Adolescences: Necessary Shifts in Care”. The issue is edited by Cebes (Brazilian Center for Health Studies) in partnership with the Graduate Program in Child and Women's Health (Public Health) at the Fernandes Figueira National Institute of Women, Children, and Adolescent Health (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation/FIOCRUZ). The publication focuses on fostering reflection and debate regarding the provision of comprehensive care for children and adolescents, taking into account the diversity of experiences and the inequities present during these stages of the life course in Brazil.

CONTEXT

For decades, concerns regarding infant mortality and struggles for child protection in Brazil have driven the systematization of data, the development and implementation of policies, and the enactment of laws by the State. These initiatives—embodied in commitments made under the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) and the National Policy for Comprehensive Child Health Care (PNAISC)—guide the organization of Primary Health Care (PHC). Efforts by the Unified Health System (SUS), combined with policies aimed at transforming certain social determinants of health—such as the ‘Bolsa Família’ Program—have led to a significant reduction in the probability of death before the age of five, dropping from 63 per 1,000 children in 1990 to 14.2 in 2024 (UNICEF, 2026). However, we witness the persistence and deepening of inequities that create a hierarchy among children, distinguishing between those deemed worthy of society's protection and those who may (or must?!) die. Regarding data on intentional violent deaths, the 0–9 age group saw approximately 1,070 victims between 2016 and 2020; 92% of these cases involved intentional homicide, and 61% of the victims were Black children (UNICEF, 2021). In this context, we must reflect on who the subjects are that experience what we call "childhood" today. How do these experiences unfold across different territories? What do we mean by the term "childhood"? What are the meanings, challenges, and possibilities of the "familist" approach in public policies for protection and care—particularly regarding violence that occurs within or permeates the domestic sphere?

If conceptualizing childhood presents dilemmas within the framework of the PNAISC, then addressing the relationship between public policy and adolescence is markedly complex. The terms "adolescent(s)" and "adolescence" generally appear alongside the "child" agenda in Primary Health Care (APS) organizational documents; they receive particular emphasis regarding the prevention of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, the prevention of and response to violence, and health care related to puberty.

Despite the gains resulting from PNAISC, there is room for progress in ensuring comprehensive care for children; the situation becomes even more challenging when considering how the SUS—along with its professionals and managers—engages with adolescence, given that despite the development of certain projects and the existence of National Guidelines, we have not moved toward a National Policy for Comprehensive Health Care for Adolescents and Youth (PNAISAJ). The adolescences encountered by health professionals and services in the daily operations of the SUS unfold within a society that differs vastly from the one that generated certain crystallized and/or stereotypical images of adolescents. New ways of navigating gender identity and sexual orientation, different forms of violence and the intensification of domestic and armed violence, new modes of social interaction... Yet, the same racism, misogyny, classism, and LGBTphobia persist... All of this is shaped by the digitalization of life and algorithmic processes. What clues can guide the SUS (Unified Health System) in providing comprehensive care during this stage of the life course—free from moralizing attitudes and a priori prescriptions that deter adolescents from accessing attentive listening, healthcare, and strategies to cope with misinformation and illness (particularly mental health issues)?

In a landscape of persistent social inequalities—where the impacts of the climate crisis, violence, and the digitalization of life vary across territories, communities, and families—how must we reframe our understanding of childhood and adolescence? How can we develop care practices that (re)affirm the agency of children and adolescents? What strategies for protecting children and adolescents are possible within or through the SUS? Who are the most vulnerable children and adolescents in the context of health provision, and where are they located?

GENERAL GUIDELINES

This thematic issue welcomes original articles based on research or the analysis of experiences; authors may include faculty members, students, health workers, and representatives from social movements or NGOs, among others.

Original articles, essays, reviews, opinion pieces, experience reports, book reviews, and interviews are accepted.

A maximum of two articles per author will be published, with only one as the lead author. Articles that are approved but not included in the special issue may be published in regular issues of the journal.

Articles must be submitted via the “Saúde em Debate” website: http://www.saudeemdebate.org.br/. When preparing the article, please follow the Instructions to Authors available at https://saudeemdebate.org.br/sed/about/submissions.

In the article submission form, under “Pre-evaluation discussion/Comments for the editor”, please specify that the article is being submitted for the special issue “Childhoods and adolescences: necessary shifts in care”.

THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 30, 2026.

Sincerely,

Editorial Committee.