Submissions
Health and Human Rights: Submissions
Health and Human Rights, a peer-reviewed open access journal, is published twice a year, with new issues in June and December. Selected papers in press are made available prior to issue publication, thereby fast-tracking access to new research and enabling authors to cite their work early. Submissions are welcome at any time.
Types of Submissions
Full papers are original academic articles (research, commentary, operationalization of human rights-based approaches to health, and analysis) which contribute to, and advance, health and human rights literature. These manuscripts must be 3500-7000 words (including references), and if selected by the editorial committee, will undergo external for peer review by at least two peers.
Health and Human Rights welcomes articles that explore the centrality of the right to health in all social, economic, cultural, and environmental contexts. The Journal publishes a wide range of topics from a health and human rights perspective—please look at our recent issues to get a sense of the range. The editors welcome papers that consider contemporary global health issues as matters of human rights.
Full papers are published in every issue of the Journal and many may be published online ahead of the publication date as a “Paper in Press”.
Further detail about style and referencing is included in the Author Guidelines.
The editors welcome Perspective Essays which are shorter papers, up to 3000 words, including references. Perspective Essays provide authors with an opportunity to provide a well reasoned and evidence-informed viewpoint, which extends the health and human rights literature. Perspectives often engage with and examine leading edge issues, and are published on the website in advance of each issue, allowing timely responses to current debates. These manuscripts are reviewed by two external peers. They are published in the Perspectives Section of each issue of the Journal.
Further detail about editorial and reference style is included in the Editorial Style Guide.
We welcome Letters to the Editor of 500 words or less in response to specific articles. Individuals interested in writing a longer response (up to 1500 words) should consider a Viewpoint and present their perspective as a counterpoint to the article, rather than a specific critique. Letters should be constructive, substantive and timely, supported by citation as appropriate, and are internally peer reviewed to check for accuracy and fairness.
Health and Human Rights has a themed section in all issues. Calls for papers for these sections are made well in advance of the deadlines. The forthcoming Special Themes are also included on the website, with the names of the guest editors, information about the theme and author guidelines.
Health and Human Rights Viewpoints are published on the Journal website and selected Viewpoints may be published in each issue of the Journal.
Viewpoints began as a new series in 2019 to celebrate 25 years of publication. After initial contributions from scholars that reflected on the health and human rights movement, past, present and future challenges, we now invite human rights scholars, activists, and human rights defenders to contribute Viewpoints that reflect on their experiences and their research—addressing timely issues or controversial topics that describe what health and human rights looks like today. This may be a brief report highlighting on-going or emerging health and human rights concerns, a summary of a rights-based intervention or advocacy effort, or an analysis of new legislation that is anticipated to promote human rights—contributions should inform and engage the human rights community.
All submissions should have an engaging or novel perspective, and clear human rights grounding.
Viewpoints should be concise essays, of between 900-1500 words, including references. Viewpoints must adhere to the Journal reference style which is numerical. The contributions are internally peer reviewed for accuracy, relevance, and fairness. We aim for a quick turnaround from receipt to publication.
Health and Human Rights welcomes proposals for Roundtable discussions which bring together human rights actors in dialogue around a specific issue.
The first Roundtable was published in 2014, but in 2020 Virtual Roundtables became a regular section. We aim to have one Virtual Roundtable published in every issue of the Journal.
Roundtables can focus on a wide range of issues, including exploring specific rights issues, current debates, and historical perspectives. The Journal encourages authors to include diverse participants with varied perspectives.
Virtual Roundtables are usually commissioned, but individuals interested in organizing and moderating a Roundtable may submit an inquiry to the editors outlining the topic of the discussion, the individuals who will participate as discussants, and why the issue is important and timely. All submissions will be internally peer reviewed for accuracy, relevance and fairness. Acceptance of an inquiry does not guarantee publication.
Health and Human Rights invites students to submit to our Student Essays section.
The essays should have a clear human rights grounding, focus on a public health issue, and use the right to health to analyse the issue. These essays should be original, well written, and engage with the relevant and current literature in the field.
The contributions are internally peer reviewed by a dedicated editorial group who review for accuracy, right to health relevance, interest, and originality. Reviewers’ comments are written to assist students to achieve publication standards. The editors reserve the right to reject papers that do not meet adequate standards. All essays accepted for publication will be published online, and some select essays may be included in the Journal.
Student essays must be between 3000 and 5000 words, including references. They should include an abstract of no more than 200 words. They must adhere to the Editorial Style Guide reference section and use the numeric reference system.
Students are also encouraged to submit blogs.
Health and Human Rights Blogs are published on the Journal website but are not included in the Journal itself.
Blogs are a less formal and shorter (about 600-800 words) article on a global health topic examined as a human rights issue. The editors frequently run a blog series, for example, SDG SERIES, or COP21 SERIES, to allow contributors to participate in, and shape, an important topical issue.
Blogs can either have hyperlinks or use our normal referencing style. The contributions are internally peer reviewed, for accuracy, relevance, and fairness. We aim for a quick turnaround from receipt to publication which is important for the topical nature of blogs.
General submission information
All manuscripts submitted to Health and Human Rights must not be before another publication for consideration.
All submissions are subject to initial assessment by the editorial committee to determine their suitability for publication.
Editors and editorial committee members can submit papers for consideration and these will be blind peer reviewed under the same rules for all papers and perspectives.
Papers and perspectives accepted for formal review will be sent to at least two independent referees with all authorship details removed. Typically the authors are advised of the outcome of the peer review phase within three months. The 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.
Please submit all manuscripts to HHRSubmissions@hsph.harvard.edu
For specific format details, please see the Editorial Style Guide.