Two Convenient Submission Methods

Choose the submission pathway that best fits your workflow. Both methods provide the same rigorous peer review and publication standards.

Article Types We Publish

JPCH welcomes diverse research contributions that advance health services research in palliative and hospice care. All submissions undergo rigorous peer review by experts in healthcare systems, policy, and quality improvement.

Pre-Submission Checklist

Ensure your manuscript meets all requirements before submission to expedite the review process and avoid delays.

Peer Review Timeline

We maintain transparent, predictable timelines to help you plan your research dissemination strategy. Our expert reviewers in health services research provide constructive feedback to strengthen your work.

Why Health Services Researchers Choose JPCH

We understand the unique challenges of publishing health systems research and provide specialized support for your work.

What to Expect After Submission

Initial Review (Days 1-3)

Your manuscript undergoes administrative screening to verify completeness and compliance with submission guidelines. We check that all required sections are included, figures are properly formatted, and ethics approvals are documented. You receive confirmation of successful submission within 24 hours.

Editor Assignment (Days 4-5)

An editor with expertise in your specific area of health services research is assigned to manage your manuscript. The editor conducts a plagiarism check using iThenticate and performs an initial assessment of scope and quality. Manuscripts with similarity indices above 30% are returned for revision before peer review.

Peer Review (Days 6-26)

The editor invites 2-3 expert reviewers with specialized knowledge in healthcare systems, policy, quality improvement, or health informatics. Reviewers evaluate your manuscript for methodological rigor, significance of findings, clarity of presentation, and contribution to health services research. They provide detailed, constructive feedback to strengthen your work.

Editorial Decision (Day 28)

Based on reviewer feedback, the editor makes one of four decisions:

• Accept: Your manuscript is accepted for publication with no or minimal changes required
• Minor Revisions: Small improvements needed, typically addressing clarity, formatting, or minor methodological points
• Major Revisions: Significant improvements required, such as additional analyses, expanded discussion, or methodological clarifications
• Reject: The manuscript does not meet publication standards or is outside the journal's scope

Revision Process

If revisions are requested, you receive detailed reviewer comments and editor guidance. You have 30 days to submit your revised manuscript along with a point-by-point response to reviewer comments. The revised manuscript undergoes re-review (typically 14 days) to ensure all concerns have been adequately addressed.

Acceptance and Production

Upon final acceptance, your manuscript enters the production phase. Our team handles copyediting, formatting, and typesetting to prepare your article for publication. You review and approve final proofs before online publication. The entire process from acceptance to publication typically takes 10 days.

Manuscript Preparation Guidelines

Structure Your Manuscript

Health services research manuscripts should follow a clear, logical structure that facilitates understanding of your study design, methods, and findings:

• Title: Concise and descriptive, clearly indicating the study focus and setting
• Abstract: 250-300 words summarizing background, methods, results, and conclusions
• Keywords: 5-7 terms for indexing and discoverability
• Introduction: Context, rationale, research gap, and study objectives
• Methods: Study design, setting, participants, data collection, and analysis approaches
• Results: Key findings presented clearly with appropriate tables and figures
• Discussion: Interpretation, implications for policy/practice, limitations, and future directions
• Conclusion: Summary of main findings and their significance
• References: Complete citations for all sources

Follow Reporting Guidelines

We strongly encourage adherence to established reporting guidelines for health services research:

• SQUIRE 2.0: For quality improvement studies and implementation research
• STROBE: For observational studies in epidemiology and health services
• PRISMA: For systematic reviews and meta-analyses
• CHEERS: For health economic evaluations
• COREQ: For qualitative research studies
• TIDieR: For intervention descriptions and implementation details

Ethics and Transparency

All health services research involving human subjects, healthcare data, or institutional information must receive appropriate ethics approval. Include your ethics approval number and institutional review board details in the methods section. Declare all competing interests, funding sources, and author contributions transparently.