Editor Guidelines
Editors of Healthcare Issues must conduct their responsibilities objectively, independently, confidentially, and in accordance with recognized publication-ethics principles.
Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly quality, originality, methodological soundness, relevance to the journal's scope, ethical compliance, and appropriate peer review.
Editorial decisions must not be improperly influenced by nationality, gender, religion, institutional affiliation, personal relationships, political views, commercial interests, financial considerations, or other irrelevant factors.
Editor-in-Chief Responsibility
The Editor-in-Chief has overall responsibility for the journal's editorial direction, peer-review integrity, publication ethics, and final editorial decisions.
The Editor-in-Chief may delegate manuscript handling, peer-review management, or individual editorial decisions to a qualified Senior Editor, Associate Editor, or other formally designated editor. Such delegation does not remove the Editor-in-Chief's overall responsibility for the editorial process.
Initial Editorial Assessment
Editors should determine whether a manuscript:
- Falls within the scope of Healthcare Issues;
- Contains sufficient scholarly or scientific content;
- Meets basic publication-ethics requirements;
- Contains sufficient information for peer review; and
- Is suitable for external peer review.
Manuscripts that are clearly outside the journal's scope, scientifically unsuitable, or ethically unacceptable may be rejected without external peer review.
Peer Review
Healthcare Issues uses a single-blind peer-review process.
Editors should select reviewers with appropriate subject or methodological expertise and should consider reviewer independence, conflicts of interest, availability, and relevant experience.
Editors should normally seek appropriate independent peer review before making an editorial decision, except where a manuscript is unsuitable for review or where an editorial decision is otherwise justified under journal policy.
Editorial Decisions
Editorial decisions may include acceptance, minor revision, major revision, or rejection.
Reviewer recommendations are advisory. Editors must independently evaluate the manuscript, reviewer reports, author responses, and relevant ethical or scientific considerations before reaching a decision.
Conflicts of Interest
Editors must disclose and appropriately manage actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.
An editor should not handle a manuscript where a personal, professional, financial, institutional, or other relationship could compromise impartiality. Where appropriate, another qualified editor should be assigned.
Research Ethics
Editors should ensure that manuscripts involving human participants, patient information, human biological materials, medical records, clinical trials, or animals receive appropriate ethical consideration.
Editors may request additional ethics information, approval documentation, consent information, trial registration information, or clarification from authors when necessary.
Publication Integrity
Editors should investigate credible concerns involving:
- Plagiarism
- Duplicate or overlapping publication
- Fabrication or falsification
- Image manipulation
- Authorship disputes
- Undisclosed conflicts of interest
- Unethical research
- Peer-review manipulation
- Other publication-integrity concerns
Editors should follow the COPE Core Practices when addressing publication-ethics concerns.
Corrections and Retractions
The journal may publish corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, or other appropriate editorial notices when necessary to protect the integrity of the published record.
Post-publication actions should be based on the nature and reliability of the available evidence and should be handled transparently and consistently.
Confidentiality
Editors must maintain confidentiality concerning submitted manuscripts, unpublished research, reviewer identities, editorial correspondence, and personal information obtained during the editorial process.
Artificial Intelligence
Editors must not use generative AI tools in a manner that compromises confidential manuscript information, unpublished research, personal information, intellectual property, or peer-review confidentiality.
Editors should follow the ICMJE guidance on Artificial Intelligence in Publishing.
Editorial Decisions and Publication Charges
Editorial decisions must be independent of article processing charges, optional production services, or other commercial considerations.
Any optional Production and Technical Support service offered by Jagua Publication has no influence on peer review, editorial assessment, acceptance, or rejection.
Complaints and Appeals
Editors should consider legitimate author appeals and complaints fairly and confidentially. Appeals should normally address substantive concerns regarding the editorial process or decision rather than simply disagreement with a scientific judgment.
Where appropriate, complaints concerning publication ethics may be handled in accordance with the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).