J Health Soc Sci is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on the relationship between health and medical, psychological and social sciences. The journal has a special focus on PUBLIC, OCCUPATIONAL AND ENVIROMENTAL HEALTH

The Journal will apply an Article Processing Charge (249 EUR incl. VAT) for manuscripts submitted after 1 October 2023. 

FROM 1 OCTOBER 2023 THE FEE WILL BE 249.00 EUR €  (Incl. VAT)

We offer an efficient, fair and friendly peer review service.
There is no restriction on the length of research papers and reviews; however, authors are encouraged to be concise. High quality reviews (we prefer systematic and scoping reviews) from leading experts are particularly welcome and they will be processed in high priority!
Original and theoretical research papers, reviews, opinions, commentaries, letters to editor, technical reports and case reports in any “health” related area can be submitted to our Journal on the understanding that the work has not been published previously in whole or part and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Journal HSS publishes the following article types:

Editorials

Narrative reviews

Scoping reviews

Systematic reviews

Overview

Meta-analysis

Viewpoint

Commentary

Original Research

Case Report

Technical Report

Images in Medicine

Letters to the Editor

Book Reviews

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

A conflict of interest exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as patients’ welfare or the validity of research) may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain). Perceptions of conflict of interest are as important as actual conflicts of interest.
Financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership or options, honoraria, patents, and paid expert testimony) are the most easily identifiable conflicts of interest and the most likely to undermine the credibility of the journal, the authors, and of science itself. However, conflicts can occur for other reasons, such as personal relationships or rivalries, academic competition, and intellectual beliefs. Authors should avoid entering in to agreements with study sponsors, both for-profit and non-profit, that interfere with authors’ access to all of the study’s data or that interfere with their ability to analyze and interpret the data and to prepare and publish manuscripts independently when and where they choose.

A conflict of interest is not in itself anti-ethical. Nevertheless, it must be publicly and openly acknowledged. Such acknowledgement shall have no bearing on the decision to publish. Therefore, in conformity with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), when sending an article for publication in Journal of Health and Social Sciences, in the cover letter, enclosed with the manuscript, the corresponding author, also on behalf of all the other authors, should declare the existence or otherwise of financial connections (consultancies, ownership of shares, patents, etc.) that might constitute a potential conflict of interest in relation to the subject matter of the article. In the case of existence of any such financial connections, the authors concerned must declare them in a brief but complete definition.

“The potential for conflict of interest and bias exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as patients’ welfare or the validity of research) may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain). Perceptions of conflict of interest are as important as actual conflicts of interest.
Individuals may disagree on whether an author’s relationships or activities represent conflicts. Although the presence of a relationship or activity does not always indicate a problematic influence on a paper’s content, perceptions of conflict may erode trust in science as much as actual conflicts of interest. Ultimately, readers must be able to make their own judgments regarding whether an author’s relationships and activities are pertinent to a paper’s content. These judgments require transparent disclosures.  An author’s complete disclosure demonstrates a commitment to transparency and helps to maintain trust in the scientific process. Financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership or options, honoraria, patents, and paid expert testimony) are the most easily identifiable, the ones most often judged to represent potential conflicts of interest and thus the most likely to undermine the credibility of the journal, the authors, and science itself. Other interests may also represent or be perceived as conflicts, such as personal relationships or rivalries, academic competition, and intellectual beliefs” (“Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals”, by ICMJE, last update 2019).

LEGAL AND ETHICAL ASPECTS OF PUBLICATION

All submissions must comply with basic ethical recommendations including data protection. Articles (text, tables and figures) must not compromise patient privacy. Do not present initials of patients, hospital or protocol numbers etc. The author is responsible for respecting the intellectual property rights of authors of data taken from other publications or sources. The Conclusion of a manuscript must carry a statement pertaining to support by any firm or sponsorship organization, names and numbers of grant projects and any conflict of interest where the author has direct or indirect interest in the results of manufacture or sale. In the case of clinical studies the contribution should contain an affirmation of approval by a local ethics committee. If animal experiments are involved a declaration of adherence to constitutional or national guidelines and regulations for use of experimental animals is to be included. For studies performed on laboratory animals, the Authors must state that the relevant national laws or institutional guidelines have been adhered to. If an experiment on humans is described, a statement must be included that the work was performed in accordance with the principles of the 1983 Declaration of Helsinki as revised in 2013 (http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/). A statement of adherence to the Declaration of Helsinki must be included in the Materials and Methods section. In this case, the research should have the approval of the relevant local ethical review body and such approval must be explicitly mentioned in the manuscript. Authors must state any information that may be perceived as potential conflict of interest. They should declare whether they have obtained other forms of personal or institutional financing – or if they are under contract – from companies manufacturing products mentioned in the article. This declaration will be treated by the Editor as confidential while the paper is under review, and will not be made known to Reviewers. Accepted articles must include a declaration stating the source and nature of financing.

“When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach, and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. When reporting experiments on animals, authors should be asked to indicate whether the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed”.

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (“Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals”), February 2006.

Patient Identification and Informed Consent

Informed consent is not needed if the patient cannot be identified from any material in a manuscript. In the absence of informed consent, identifying details, such as patient initials, specific dates, specific geographic exposures, or other identifying features (including body features in figures), should be omitted, but this must not alter the scientific meaning. Important information that is relevant to the scientific meaning should be stated so that the patient cannot be identified, e.g., by stating a season instead of a date or a region instead of a city. If a patient can be identified from the material in a manuscript, all efforts should be made to obtain informed consent to publish from patients or parents/legal guardians of minors. Informed consent requires that the patient have the opportunity to see the manuscript prior to submission. The written consent must state either that the patient has seen the complete manuscript or that the patient declines to do so. Patient consent should be archived with the authors and be available upon request. A statement attesting the receipt and archiving of written patient consent should be included in the published article.

“Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including patients’ names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a patient who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published. Authors should identify individuals who provide writing assistance and disclose the funding source for this assistance. Identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, however, and informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors should so note. The requirement for informed consent should be included in the journal’s instructions for authors. When informed consent has been obtained it should be indicated in the published article”.

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (“Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals”), February 2006

The corresponding author will serve on behalf of all co-authors as the primary correspondent with the editorial office during the submission and review process. If the manuscript is accepted, the corresponding author will review an edited typescript and proof and will be identified as the corresponding author in the published article.

If authorship is attributed to a group, all members of the group must feet the full criteria and requirements for authorship. Other group members who are not authors may be listed in an Acknowledgment.

Funding/Support an Role of Sponsor

All financial and material support for the research and work will be requested to be clearly and completely identified as part of the submission process. The corresponding author is responsible for acknowledging this on the authorship form at the time of submission.

Ethical policy for JHSS

The ethical policy of the Journal of Health and Social Sciences follows the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (http://www.allea.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/ALLEA-European-Code-of-Conduct-for-Research-Integrity-2017.pdf).

Authors must be honest in presenting their results and conclusions of their research. Research misconduct is harmful for knowledge. It could mislead other researchers.

Research results
Fabrication, falsification or selective reporting of data with the intent to mislead or deceive is unethical, as is the theft of data or research results from others. The results of research should be recorded and maintained to allow for analysis and review. Following publication, the data should be retained for a reasonable period and made available upon request. Exceptions may be appropriate in certain circumstances in order to preserve privacy, to assure patent protection, or for similar reasons.

Authorship
All those who have made a significant contribution should be given chance to be cited as authors. Other individuals who have contributed to the work should be acknowledged. Articles should include a full list of the current institutional affiliations of all authors, both academic and corporate.

Plagiarism
Reproducing text from other papers without properly crediting the source (plagiarism) or producing many papers with almost the same content by the same authors (self-plagiarism) is not acceptable. Submitting the same results to more than one journal concurrently is unethical. Exceptions are the review articles. Authors may not present results obtained by others as if they were their own. Authors should acknowledge the work of others used in their research and cite publications that have influenced the direction and course of their study.

Duplicate/previous Publication or Submission

Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium. Copies of related or possibly duplicative materials must be provided at the time of manuscript submission.

Corrections and retractions
All authors have an obligation to inform and cooperate with journal editors to provide prompt retractions or correction of errors in published works.

• The journal will issue retractions if:
  • There are clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g. data fabrication) or honest error (e.g. miscalculation or experimental error);
  • The findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper crossreferencing, permission or justification (i.e. cases of redundant publication);
  • It constitutes plagiarism;
  • It reports unethical research.
• The journal will issue errata if:
  • A small portion of an otherwise reliable publication proves to be misleading (especially because of honest error);
  • The author list is incorrect (i.e. a deserving author has been omitted or somebody who does not meet authorship criteria has been included).

Other forms of misconduct include failure to meet clear ethical and legal requirements such as misrepresentation of interests, breach of confidentiality, lack of informed consent and abuse of research subjects or materials. Misconduct also includes improper dealing with infringements, such as attempts to cover up misconduct and reprisals on whistleblowers.

The primary responsibility for handling research misconduct is in the hands of those who employ the researchers. If a possible misconduct is brought to our attention, we will seek advice from the referees and the Editorial Board. If there is the evidence, we will resolve the matter by appropriate corrections in the printed and online journal; by refusing to consider an author’s future work, for a given period, and by contacting affected authors and editors of other journals.

Minor misdemeanours may not lead to formal investigations, but are just as damaging given their probable frequency, and should be corrected by teachers and mentors.

Author Responsabilities

The article is in compliance with the author guidelines and any applicable journal-specific guidelines. Your co-authors (if any) have authorized you to submit the work. The article is not under consideration for publication in another journal not has it been published in another journal. It is also the authors’ responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular institution are submitted with the approval of the necessary institution. You have clearance to reproduce any copyrighted material. If your paper contains information or photographs relating to individual patients, you have provided, or are able to provide prior to publication, written and signed consent to publish the information or photograps. If it does not already, prior to publication your manuscript should contain a statement like this one: “Written consent was obtained from the patients or their relative/s for publication of this study”. Nothing in the Work is unlawful, misrepresentative, libelous, plagurous or would constitute a breach of contract or confidence or commitment to secrecy.  You have taken due care to ensure integrity of the submission and according to currently accepted scientific knowledge all statements in it purporting to be facts are true. Only an acknowledgment from the editorial office officially establishes the date of receipt. Further correspondence and proofs will be sent to the author(s) before publication unless otherwise indicated. It is a condition of submission of a paper that the authors permit editing of the paper for readability. All inquiries concerning the publication of accepted papers should be addressed to editor@journalhss.com.

  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.