Aims & Scope

The European Journal of Health Communication (EJHC) is a peer-reviewed open access journal for high-quality health communication research with relevance for Europe or specific European countries. The journal aims to represent the international character of health communication research given the cultural, political, economic, and academic diversity in Europe.

EJHC presents the full breadth of health communication research. It will publish articles that relate to the following health communication issues with an emphasis on the relevance for Europe:

Media issues, such as media coverage of health topics, health literacy, information seeking behaviour, usage and effects of health messages.
Strategic issues, focusing on communication strategies and prevention campaigns, narrowcasting health messages, and health public relations.
Health technologies issues, such as usage and effects of novel health technologies, communicative challenges related to novel technologies, e-health, telemedicine.
Social and community issues, such as health-related interpersonal communication, social influence and support, as well as community health risk management.
Patient-provider issues, such as determinants, content, and outcomes of patient-provider interactions, communication skills, or trust and disclosure in interactions.
Intercultural issues, such as health communication for ethnic minorities, challenges of intercultural health communication, and cross-cultural differences in health communication issues.
Methodological issues, comprising methodological innovations and challenges in current health communication research, both qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Academic issues, such as self-observations and introspective studies in the field of health communication.

Article Types

EJHC publishes original research papers, theoretical and methodological papers, review articles and living reviews, as well as brief research reports in English.

Original research papers report empirical studies (based on quantitative and/or qualitative methods) and range between 5,000 and 7,000 words (plus abstract, notes, tables and figures, references, and supplements).
Theoretical papers present innovative theories and models for health communication. The specifications are the same as for original research papers.
Methodological papers focus on methodological issues relevant for the discipline (e.g., tracking health data). The specifications are the same as for original research papers.
Review articles systematize the existing literature or present a meta-analysis of published results or multiple data sets. The specifications are the same as for original research papers.
Living reviews are updated versions of review articles. They need to incorporate the research that has been published since its original/last publication and underline the development and its relevance to the field. The updated version will also be peer reviewed (single blind) and published as a new article with its own DOI.
Brief research reports focus on methods, such as the development of a new questionnaire, or they may feature small empirical studies. They contain up to 3,000 words, excluding abstract, notes, tables and figures, references, and supplements.

As an online journal, EJHC is able to publish all types of electronic supplements. The idea of supplements is to provide information that are not essential for the basic understanding of the article but nevertheless provide the reader with additional insights into instruments, measures, datasets, statistical models etc.

Peer Review Process

All articles undergo a rigorous peer review process. Once the paper has been assessed as appropriate by the editors (with regard to form, content, and quality), it will be peer-reviewed by at least two reviewers in a double-blind review process, meaning that reviewers are not disclosed to authors, and authors are not disclosed to reviewers. To ensure short review and publication processes, EJHC builds on a broad editorial structure and immediately publishes articles online after their acceptance.

Pre-Registration

As an alternative to the traditional article types and review process, EJHC provides the opportunity to “pre-register” original research before data collection. For this purpose, authors are called to submit a proposal for a scientific question, presenting the theoretical background, hypotheses, and a detailed methods and analysis plan (up to 4,000 words). The proposal will be reviewed and if it is evaluated positively, the study receives an “in principle” acceptance. After completion of the study, authors submit the second part of their work presenting and discussing their results (additional maximum of 1,000 to 2,500 words). Though the second part will undergo a review round (to evaluate whether the results and discussion sections meet the standards of the journal), the manuscript will be published regardless of whether the hypotheses are supported or not.

Open Access Strategy

Academic research is publicly funded and both editors and reviewers work voluntarily. Therefore, EJHC supports the idea of open science and will be established as a platinum standard open access journal. This means that neither the users nor the authors will be charged. This open access strategy will heighten the visibility of the European field of health communication and ensure that authors obtain the maximum possible exposure for their work. Articles are distributed under the "Creative Commons Attribution"-License (CC BY).

Indexing

All articles will receive a unique digital object identifier (DOI). This will ensure their unambiguous identification by databases, search engines, and other researchers. After its launch, the journal aims to be listed in the relevant indices of its field. The editors will manage the journal with the aim to qualify the journal for the relevant indices.