Aims & Scope
The Journal of Palliative Care and Hospice (JPCH) publishes research on healthcare systems, service delivery models, quality improvement, and policy frameworks that advance palliative and hospice care programs. We focus on systems-level research, not individual patient treatment protocols.
Core Research Domains
Healthcare Systems & Service Delivery
- Hospice and palliative care program development and evaluation
- Integrated care models across hospital, home, and nursing home settings
- Transitions of care and care coordination frameworks
- Healthcare workforce planning and interdisciplinary team structures
- Telemedicine and remote care delivery systems
- Access to care and service utilization patterns
Comparative effectiveness study of integrated palliative care programs across three healthcare systems, measuring referral patterns, service utilization, and care coordination outcomes.
Health Policy & Economics
- Reimbursement models and payment policy for hospice and palliative services
- Health insurance coverage and benefit design
- Cost-effectiveness and economic evaluation of care models
- Healthcare policy analysis and regulatory frameworks
- Resource allocation and capacity planning
- Health equity and disparities in access to palliative care
Policy analysis of Medicare hospice benefit utilization patterns across demographic groups, identifying barriers to equitable access and proposing policy reforms.
Quality Improvement & Outcomes Research
- Quality metrics and performance measurement in palliative care
- Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) at the systems level
- Quality improvement initiatives and implementation science
- Benchmarking and comparative effectiveness research
- Safety and adverse event reporting systems
- Accreditation standards and regulatory compliance
Multi-site quality improvement study implementing standardized assessment tools across hospice programs, measuring adoption rates, workflow integration, and system-level quality outcomes.
Health Informatics & Technology
- Electronic health record (EHR) systems for palliative care
- Health information exchange and interoperability
- Clinical decision support systems
- Artificial intelligence applications in care coordination and resource allocation
- Data analytics and predictive modeling for service planning
- Digital health platforms and mobile health technologies
Development and validation of a machine learning algorithm to predict hospice eligibility and optimize referral timing across a health system, improving care coordination efficiency.
Secondary Focus Areas
Cross-Disciplinary Research
- Interdisciplinary care team models and collaboration frameworks
- Social work, chaplaincy, and counseling service integration
- Public health approaches to end-of-life care
- Healthcare administration and organizational management
- Nursing home and long-term care facility systems
Population Health & Epidemiology
- Epidemiological studies of service utilization patterns
- Population-level needs assessment and service planning
- Health disparities research in palliative care access
- Geographic variation in hospice and palliative care availability
- Demographic trends and future service demand forecasting
Ethics & Legal Frameworks
- Advance care planning policies and documentation systems
- Ethical frameworks for resource allocation decisions
- Legal and regulatory analysis of end-of-life care policies
- Patient autonomy and decision-making support systems
- Institutional ethics committee structures and processes
Education & Workforce Development
- Healthcare professional training programs and curricula
- Competency frameworks and certification standards
- Workforce capacity and retention strategies
- Continuing education and professional development systems
- Simulation and educational technology in palliative care training
Explicitly Out of Scope
Individual patient care, pain management strategies, nausea treatment, breakthrough pain protocols, and symptom control interventions are outside our scope. We focus on healthcare systems, not clinical practice. Consider clinical palliative medicine journals instead.
Morphine dosing, opioid management, medication trials, and pharmacological interventions belong in clinical pharmacology or pain medicine journals. We do not publish drug efficacy studies or pharmaceutical research.
Studies focused on cancer treatment, congestive heart failure management, COPD therapy, kidney disease treatment, or ALS clinical care should be submitted to disease-specific clinical journals. We publish systems research, not disease management.
Single patient cases, clinical observations, and individual treatment outcomes do not contribute to systems-level knowledge. We rarely consider case reports unless they demonstrate significant policy or systems implications.
Individual psychosocial interventions, behavioral therapy protocols, mental stress management, and spiritual care interventions at the patient level are outside our scope. Consider psychology or counseling journals for this research.
Article Types & Editorial Priorities
Expedited Review (4-6 weeks)
- Original Research Articles
- Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
- Health Services Research
- Policy Analysis
- Implementation Science Studies
- Methods & Measurement Development
Standard Review (6-8 weeks)
- Short Communications
- Data Reports & Registries
- Quality Improvement Reports
- Perspectives & Commentaries
- Program Evaluations
- Scoping Reviews
Rarely Considered (Invitation or Exceptional Merit)
- Opinion Pieces (by invitation)
- Letters to the Editor
- Book Reviews
- Conference Reports
Editorial Standards & Requirements
Reporting Guidelines
All submissions must adhere to appropriate reporting standards:
- CONSORT for randomized trials
- STROBE for observational studies
- PRISMA for systematic reviews
- SQUIRE for quality improvement
- CHEERS for economic evaluations
- RECORD for routinely collected health data
Data Transparency
JPCH requires data sharing and transparency:
- Data availability statements mandatory
- De-identified datasets deposited in public repositories
- Analysis code shared when feasible
- Study protocols registered for prospective studies
- Compliance with FAIR data principles
Ethics & Compliance
Ethical approval and regulatory compliance required:
- IRB/Ethics committee approval for human subjects research
- Informed consent documentation
- HIPAA compliance for US-based research
- GDPR compliance for European data
- Conflict of interest disclosure
Preprint Policy
JPCH supports preprint sharing:
- Preprints permitted on recognized servers
- Does not affect consideration for publication
- Must be disclosed during submission
- Preprint DOI included in final publication
- Version control maintained
Ready to Submit?
If your research advances healthcare systems, service delivery, or policy in palliative and hospice care, we want to hear from you. Review our author guidelines and submit your manuscript today.
Submit Your Manuscript
