Submissions
Call for submissions
Health and Human Rights is published semi-annually, with new issues released in June and December. From 2012, papers in press will be available online, thereby fast-tracking access to new articles and enabling authors to cite their work. Submissions are welcomed at any time.
We draw your attention to the following dates.
Volume 14.1 (June 15, 2012)
Deadline for “intent to submit”: December 15, 2011
Deadline for submissions: January 15, 2012
Original articles (original research, commentary, and analyses) suitable for scholarly peer review are invited for our "Research" section (3,500–7,000 words). In addition to research papers, we seek manuscripts for our “Review” section (500–7,000 words) that emerge from and reflect on practical efforts for the realization of social and economic rights. The form and style of these pieces is flexible, but they should be of genuine relevance to people engaged in related work. Like all other submissions, papers for this section will be peer reviewed.
Health and Human Rights welcomes articles that explore the centrality of the right to health in all social, economic, cultural and environmental contexts. We are interested particularly in the themes of (1) climate change and the right to health; (2) health rights and effectiveness of international treaty law; (3) interdisciplinary explorations of health and human rights; (4) rights-informed innovations in health program design; (5) health and human rights as “well-being.”
We encourage interested authors to read our “Intersections” essays, appearing in Issue 13.1, for more information on our areas of interest.
The editors also invite short letters, brief research or fieldwork summaries, and short opinion or perspective essays (up to 2,500 words) for publication as "Letters to the Editor."
The editors also invite book reviews (up to 1,000 words). For specific format details, see "Author Guidelines."
Original Articles
Original manuscripts that explore health and human rights-related themes are welcome at any time. Topics might include (but are not limited to): women's health, maternal mortality, refugees and other vulnerable populations, asylum, children and adolescents at risk, current conflicts in civil disturbances, environmental concerns, global health delivery, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), community mobilization, and new developments in human rights that relate to health and international law.
Authors whose articles are accepted for publication may be requested to make extensive revisions following formal acceptance, with manuscripts subject to extensive copyediting.
All submissions are subject to initial assessment by the editors to determine their suitability for consideration by Health and Human Rights. Authors will normally be informed within one month if their paper is to be rejected without review, and will be updated via email as to the progress of a manuscript. Papers accepted for formal review will be sent anonymously to at least two independent referees with all authorship details removed. Typically the manuscript will be reviewed within 2 to 3 months. If necessary, revised manuscripts may be returned to the initial referees, usually within 1 month. Referees and editors may request more than one revision of a manuscript, and alternative referees may also be invited to review the manuscript at any time. See online submission instructions below*
Book Reviews
The journal welcomes book reviews at any time. Appropriate books for review may be in the fields of (but not limited to): human rights, medical anthropology, public and community health, legal justice, social/public policy, mental health, religion and bioethics, biometrics, nursing, global health and medicine, medical sociology, health care program design, and global health issues related to justice and equity. Books for review should have been published within the previous two years. Comparable reviews of other media (such as electronic media and photo essay exhibits) may also be considered for publication in this section.
Reviews must not exceed 1,000 words. Reviews should include a brief statement of the reviewer's qualifications and conflict of interest disclosure, if applicable. Submission of a book review does not guarantee its inclusion in Health and Human Rights. The journal welcomes publishers' review copies of new books. To submit a review, suggest a book for review, or inquire about preferred journal style for book reviews, please email the editors.
Letters to the Editor
The editors invite short letters, brief research or fieldwork summaries, and short opinion or perspective essays for publication as "Letters to the Editor." Only submissions that are 2,500 words or less (including title and notes, if any) will be reviewed and published selectively by the editors based on their relevance to the journal's focus, global events, and pertinent interest. Letters may, but need not, refer or respond to recent peer-reviewed articles in the journal. Submissions may include images; brief annotated photo essays on practice examples will be considered. Text should conform to the journal's standard copyediting guidelines. Accepted submissions for "Letters to the Editor" will be published on a rolling schedule independent of other manuscript submission deadlines. Send submissions to the editors at hhrjournal@hsph.harvard.edu.
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*Online Submissions
To submit an original research manuscript to Health and Human Rights via our website, you will first need to register as an author.
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Registration and login are required to submit items online.
Submission Preparation Checklist
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
- The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
- The submission file is in Microsoft Word.
- Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
- The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
- The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
If you experience difficulty submitting your manuscript online, please contact the editorial office.
