Global Health: Science and Practice (GHSP), an open-access, peer-reviewed online journal, aims to improve health practice, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Our special niche is emphasizing the details of how global health programs are implemented in addition to the results of those programs, with the ultimate goal of helping those who design, implement, manage, evaluate, and otherwise support health programs to more easily adopt and adapt the strategies and approaches.
Are there any fees to submit or publish a manuscript?
No. GHSP does not charge authors any fees to publish their articles and does not charge any fees to readers. GHSP is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which covers the Journal’s operating costs.
Is GHSP indexed?
GHSP is currently indexed in PubMed, PubMed Central, Web of Science Social Sciences Citation Index (as of June 2019), Scopus, EBSCO, CABI Global Health, and the USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC).
What is your Impact Factor?
Global Health: Science and Practice has an Impact Factor of 4.0.
What is your acceptance rate?
Our acceptance rate is approximately 15%. We currently receive 700-800 and publish 100-120 manuscripts per year.
Is GHSP editorially independent?
Yes. GHSP is editorially independent, which means we are not required to seek approval from any entity to publish any articles.
How frequently is the journal published?
We publish a full PDF issue online every other month in February, April, June, August, October, December. However, we also publish individual articles online in advance of those full issues as "advance access" articles (see below for more information).
Are there deadlines for each issue?
We do not have any established deadlines. Manuscripts are accepted continually and can be published prior to a scheduled issue as an Advance Access Article. To be considered for inclusion in a particular issue, you should plan to submit 6-8 months in advance of that issue.
What are advance access articles?
Advance access articles are articles that have been peer reviewed, accepted, and copyedited by GHSP. Advance access articles are intended to provide authors and readers with immediate, free, full-text access to GHSP articles as soon as possible after they are accepted. These articles do not incorporate all corrections or constitute the final published versions that will appear in the Journal or on PubMed Central. The final, corrected papers will be officially published online concurrent with the release of the full issue. The final publication date of the article reflects the date the full issue is published.
How long will it take for my article to be accepted and published?
First decision (peer review, reject) is generally 6-8 weeks after submission. Articles are generally accepted 5-6 months after submission. This time frame includes screening, peer review, and author revisions. Once an article is accepted, it is generally published within 4-6 weeks. This time frame includes copyediting, proofreading, and production, review, and revision of page proofs. The total time from submission to publication is usually 6-9 months. We are working to reduce that time frame but it is largely driven by the time for peer review which is currently taking 3-4 months due to a shortage of available peer reviewers.
Do you accept articles in languages other than English?
No. Currently, we only accept articles in English. However, Google Translate is integrated into our website so the web version can be translated into about 30 different languages.
Can my manuscript be based on a report that is currently available online?
Yes. Our goal is to get information currently in the gray literature out into the published literature. If the report has not been formally published (with a digital object identifier number [DOI]), a manuscript based on it can be published in GHSP. However, it must be reframed for the peer reviewed literature and must be a critical evaluation of the intervention.
What types of articles do you accept?
We accept commentaries, viewpoints, original articles (research-based or systematic experiential knowledge), reviews, meta-analyses, technical concepts, methodologies, field action reports, and letters to the editor among others. However, we will consider ideas for other article types as well. Visit our Instructions for Authors for more detail.
What are your primary considerations when reviewing a manuscript?
Our primary consideration is whether the manuscript covers practical programming implementation issues. Our target audience is program managers and therefore, we are primarily interested in publishing information that will help them improve their programs. In addition to program implications, we are interested in results that have broad applicability, are replicable, and scalable. We are also interested in provocative topics but most importantly, everything must be grounded in evidence or sound experiential knowledge.
How many peer reviewers will review my manuscript?
GHSP operates a double-blind peer review process. Depending on the type of article, 2-4 peer reviewers will review each manuscript. For commentaries and viewpoints, we require 2 peer reviewers. For original articles, reviews, and methodology papers, we require 3 peer reviews but will often obtain 4.
What is your copyright policy?
GHSP follows the Creative Commons License 4.0. Authors retain ownership of copyright for their articles, but authors allow anyone to copy, distribute, transmit, and/or adapt articles without permission, so long as the original authors and source are cited. This applies to the articles as well as to the figures and photos contained within.
How many articles are viewed/downloaded each month from the GHSP site?
We average between 50,000-75,000 HTML views and PDF downloads of articles each month.
Can I become a reviewer?
Yes. If you would like to become a reviewer, send your CV or resume to the editorial office (editorialoffice@ghspjournal.org). We will review it and provide instructions on how to register in our system.
Can I receive alerts when an article or issue is published?
Yes. You can sign up for alerts on our website. You can choose to receive the table of contents when an issue is published, notification of Advance Access Articles, and other announcements. Sign up for alerts here.