HJGH publishes eight article types. Word counts exclude the abstract, tables, figures and references.
Type
Maximum length
Abstract
References
Review
Original research
4,000 words
Structured, 250 words
50
Double-anonymised, at least 2 reviewers
Systematic or scoping review
4,500 words
Structured, 250 words
No limit
Double-anonymised, at least 2 reviewers
Policy analysis
3,500 words
Unstructured, 200 words
40
Double-anonymised, at least 2 reviewers
Study protocol
4,000 words
Structured, 250 words
40
At least 2 reviewers
Field report
2,500 words
Unstructured, 150 words
25
At least 2 reviewers
Commentary
2,000 words
60-word standfirst
20
Editorial review
Dialectic (by invitation)
Thesis 1,500; antithesis 1,500; synthesis 1,000
60-word standfirst
20 per part
Two editors and one external reviewer
Letter
400 words
None
5
Editorial review
The Dialectic series
Each Dialectic takes one contested policy question and publishes the strongest case on each side, followed by a synthesis. One author argues the thesis; a second author, who has read it, writes the antithesis; an editor or invited expert writes a synthesis setting out where the evidence agrees, where it conflicts and what would settle the question. Dialectics are commissioned, but we welcome proposals for questions at editorial@thehegels.com.
Field reports
Field reports share practical lessons from implementing a programme or reform. They suit programme managers and officials who have run, financed or regulated a health service and want to report what worked, what did not and why.
Preparing your manuscript
First submissions are format-free: we ask only for line numbers and the sections listed below, and apply house style after acceptance.
Title page (separate file): title; all authors' names, affiliations and ORCID iDs; corresponding author's email; word count; funding; conflicts of interest; author contributions using the CRediT roles; acknowledgements, including any use of AI tools.
Main file (anonymised): title, abstract and keywords, then the text, with no names, institutions or other details that identify the authors.
Abstract: structured as Background, Methods, Results and Conclusions for research articles and reviews.
Policy summary (research articles): three bullet points of up to 150 words in total, headed What is known, What this study adds and What policymakers can do.
Reporting guideline: follow the guideline that fits your design and upload the completed checklist, for example CONSORT for trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews, COREQ for qualitative research and CHEERS for economic evaluations. See the EQUATOR Network for others.
Sex and gender: report sex and gender where relevant, following the SAGER guidelines.
References: any consistent style at submission; Vancouver style with DOIs after acceptance. Identify preprints as such.
Tables and figures: numbered and cited in the text; figures at 300 dpi or more, with editable source files where possible; permission for any previously published material.
Supplementary material: submitted with the manuscript and peer reviewed; video in MP4 and audio in MP3, up to 50 MB each, with written consent from anyone identifiable.
Data-sharing statement: what data will be shared, where, when and on what conditions.
After acceptance
Accepted articles are copy-edited, given a DOI and published online within about three weeks.
Proofs: sent to the corresponding author, to be returned within 3 working days.
Urdu summary: prepared by the journal from the policy summary and checked by an Urdu-speaking author where possible.
Licence: CC BY 4.0. Authors keep copyright and may share and deposit any version of their article.
Promotion: new articles feature on the journal website, newsletter and social media; selected articles are highlighted through press releases, podcasts or webinars.
Submission Preparation Checklist
HJGH does not require a covering letter. Instead, authors confirm each item below when they submit.
The manuscript falls within the journal's aims and scope.
It has not been published and is not under consideration elsewhere (preprints are allowed and must be declared).
All authors meet the ICMJE authorship criteria and have approved the submission.
The title page is uploaded separately and the main file contains no identifying information.
Ethics approval and consent are stated where required; trial or review registration numbers are given.
The reporting-guideline checklist is uploaded.
Funding, conflict of interest and data-sharing statements are included.
Any use of AI tools is disclosed.
A policy summary is included (research articles).
Optional: a short statement requesting fast-track handling, explaining why the topic is time-sensitive for public health.
Signed authorship declarations and supporting documents are requested only after peer review.
Articles
Section default policy
Copyright Notice
Authors keep copyright in their work. Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0), which allows anyone to share and adapt the work for any purpose, provided the original authors and source are credited.
Privacy Statement
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