Publication Policies

Publication Frequency

Beginning in January 2025, Health Innovation Journal – Public Health (HIJ Public Health) is published quarterly, releasing four issues annually. This publication schedule supports the timely dissemination of high-quality research, reviews, case studies, and scholarly discussions in public health and related disciplines.

Open Access Policy

HIJ Public Health follows a fully open-access publishing model. All published articles are freely available online immediately upon publication without subscription or registration.

Articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing users to read, copy, distribute, adapt, and reuse the content with appropriate attribution to the original authors.

Archiving Strategy

HIJ Public Health is committed to the long-term preservation and accessibility of its publications. The journal plans to participate in the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), utilizing the LOCKSS preservation system for secure digital archiving.

Every published article is assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to ensure permanent identification, citation, and retrieval.

CrossMark Policy Statement

HIJ Public Health is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record. Corrections, updates, expressions of concern, and retractions will be documented transparently to ensure readers have access to the latest version of every article.

Publication Ethics and Policy Guidelines

Authorship

Authorship is limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, interpretation, or writing of the research.

Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could influence the research or editorial process.

Research Ethics

Studies involving human participants or animals must receive appropriate ethical approval and comply with internationally accepted ethical standards.

Plagiarism and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

All submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism screening using Turnitin or equivalent similarity detection software. A similarity index of 15% or below is generally acceptable, although editorial decisions consider the context of overlapping material.

Authors must disclose the use of AI-assisted tools during submission. Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, integrity, and accuracy of the submitted work. AI tools must not be listed as authors.

Repository Policy

Authors may immediately deposit the following manuscript versions in repositories:

  • Preprint
  • Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM)
  • Version of Record (VoR)

Appeals and Complaints Process

Appeals

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a written request to the Editor-in-Chief. Appeals are reviewed independently.

Complaints

Complaints regarding editorial conduct, peer review, or publication ethics will be investigated confidentially and fairly.

Authorship Criteria and Ethical Policies

Authorship Criteria

  • Substantial contribution to the research.
  • Participation in manuscript preparation or critical revision.
  • Approval of the final manuscript.
  • Accountability for all aspects of the published work.

Responsibilities of Authors

  • Submit original research.
  • Properly acknowledge all sources.
  • Disclose conflicts of interest.
  • Avoid duplicate or simultaneous submissions.

Responsibilities of Editors

  • Make impartial editorial decisions.
  • Maintain confidentiality.
  • Address ethical concerns appropriately.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • Provide objective and constructive reviews.
  • Maintain confidentiality.
  • Report suspected ethical concerns.

Double-Blind Peer Review & Editorial Process

  1. Initial Editorial Screening
  2. Similarity Assessment
  3. Assignment to Independent Reviewers
  4. Double-Blind Peer Review
  5. Author Revisions
  6. Editorial Decision
  7. Copyediting and Production
  8. Publication

The journal aims to complete the review process within 15–20 working days.

Withdrawal Policy

Authors may withdraw manuscripts before publication by submitting a written request. Withdrawals after peer review or acceptance are considered only under exceptional circumstances.

Privacy Statement

Personal information collected by the journal is used solely for editorial and publication purposes and will not be shared with third parties except where required by law or publication ethics.

Author Fees and Waivers

Publication fees may apply. Fee waivers or discounts are available for eligible authors based on demonstrated financial need. Editorial decisions remain independent of payment.

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

HIJ Public Health is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and equal opportunity throughout its editorial and publishing processes. Manuscripts are evaluated solely on scientific merit without discrimination.

Data Sharing Policy

Authors are encouraged to deposit datasets, protocols, statistical code, and supporting materials in trusted public repositories whenever ethically and legally appropriate. Any restrictions on data availability should be clearly explained within the manuscript.

Accessibility Statement

HIJ Public Health is committed to making its content accessible to all readers by supporting screen-reader compatibility, structured documents, descriptive alternative text, and other accessible publishing practices.

Environmental Policy

HIJ Public Health promotes environmentally responsible publishing by prioritizing digital publication, reducing paper consumption, encouraging virtual collaboration, and supporting research on sustainability, environmental health, and climate change.