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OFFICIAL PUBLISHING STANDARDS AND EDITORIAL POLICIES

Journal of Medical Sociology and Public Health

MedFocus Publishing

The National Library of Patient Rights and Advocacy

ISSN: Pending Application

Executive Editor: Dr. Kinjal Nayak, BDS, MPH, PhD (ABD)

 

 

1. About the Journal

The Journal of Medical Sociology and Public Health is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary scholarship at the intersection of medical sociology, public health, and the structural determinants of health. The journal promotes rigorous, equity-centered research and theoretical inquiry that illuminate the social, political, economic, and institutional conditions shaping population health and health inequities.

Published quarterly by MedFocus Publishing, a division of The National Library of Patient Rights and Advocacy, the journal provides a platform for high-quality research intended to inform scholarship, policy, and practice.

 

2. Aims and Scope

The journal invites empirical, theoretical, methodological, and policy-oriented manuscripts addressing the following areas:

  • Structural and social determinants of health

  • Health inequities shaped by systemic, institutional, and policy forces

  • Sociological analysis of health systems, medical organizations, and public health policy

  • Intersections of race, class, gender, disability, environment, and power

  • Public health interventions grounded in sociological theory

  • Patient experiences within sociocultural and structural contexts

The journal prioritizes work centered in medical sociology, public health, structural analysis, and social justice frameworks.

 

3. Editorial Governance

Editorial oversight is provided by the following:

  • Executive Editor

  • Editorial Board

  • Associate Editors

  • Peer Reviewers

All editorial members follow the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines to ensure integrity, transparency, and ethical practice throughout the publication process.

 

4. Peer Review Policy

The journal utilizes a double-blind peer review model to ensure objectivity and fairness. Reviewer identities are concealed from authors, and author identities are concealed from reviewers. Submissions are evaluated by at least two independent experts. Editorial decisions include Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, Revise and Resubmit, or Reject. The Executive Editor maintains final authority over all decisions. Confidentiality is required throughout the process.

 

5. Author Responsibilities

Authors must submit original, accurate, ethically conducted, and appropriately referenced work. Authors are responsible for disclosing funding sources and potential conflicts of interest, confirming that all listed authors meet authorship criteria, and providing transparent descriptions of methodology, data sources, analytic decisions, and reporting standards. All manuscripts must comply with the journal’s structural determinants, equity, and ethical requirements.

 

6. Mandatory Structural Determinants Statement

All manuscripts must include a Structural Determinants Statement that addresses the following:

  • Structural, institutional, or policy forces relevant to the research topic

  • Theoretical or conceptual frameworks grounding the analysis

  • The role of power, inequality, or systemic factors influencing findings

  • Implications for policy, organizational, or structural reform

Manuscripts lacking this required section will not proceed to peer review.

 

7. Equity, Inclusion, and Representation Standards

Authors must adhere to strong standards of equity and representation. Requirements include the use of non-stigmatizing language, contextualization of health disparities as outcomes of social and structural forces, demographic reporting when applicable, avoidance of essentialism in the use of social categories, and justification for proxy measures. Manuscripts that do not meet these expectations may be returned prior to review.

 

8. Reflexivity and Positionality in Qualitative Research

Qualitative, ethnographic, participatory, and community-based manuscripts must include a researcher positionality statement describing the researcher’s social location, potential biases, relationships with participants, and ethical considerations regarding representation. This reflection supports the rigor, credibility, and ethical integrity of qualitative scholarship.

 

9. Standards for Community-Engaged Research

For manuscripts involving marginalized or historically underserved communities, authors must document community partnerships, participatory or collaborative approaches, dissemination plans for returning findings to communities, and safeguards to ensure non-extractive research practices.

 

10. Transparency and Open Science Requirements

Authors must ensure transparency by providing:

  • Data availability and provenance statements

  • Analytic code (when applicable), provided upon reasonable request

  • Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria

  • Descriptions of missing data handling

  • Preregistration information, when applicable

Authors must also follow relevant reporting guidelines, including STROBE, COREQ, PRISMA, PRISMA-ScR, and SRQR.

 

11. Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence

AI tools may be used for grammar, editing, or computational assistance only if fully disclosed. Authors must verify the accuracy of AI-assisted content, ensure that AI tools do not generate fabricated citations or data, and accept full responsibility for all content. AI may not generate citations, interpretations, or data.

 

12. Conflicts of Interest

All authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any financial relationships, institutional affiliations, or non-financial factors that may influence interpretation or judgment. Non-disclosure may result in rejection, retraction, or notification to relevant institutions.

 

13. Data Ethics, Privacy, and Human Subjects Protection

For studies involving human participants, authors must include documentation of Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval or exemption, informed consent procedures, and measures for protecting confidentiality and anonymity. Secondary data usage must include a description of data provenance and ethical considerations.

 

14. Publication Ethics and Misconduct

The journal adheres to COPE guidelines regarding plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, peer review manipulation, and authorship disputes. Violations may result in rejection, correction, retraction, or escalation to institutional authorities.

 

15. Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Notes

The journal issues corrections for minor errors, retractions for significant ethical or methodological issues, and Editorial Expressions of Concern when investigations are ongoing. All actions adhere to COPE best practices.

 

16. Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright under the journal’s standard publishing license. The journal allows scholarly reproduction of article excerpts with proper citation and permits archiving of accepted manuscripts in institutional repositories. Full licensing terms will be finalized upon ISSN assignment.

 

17. Manuscript Submission Requirements

All manuscript submissions must include:

  • Title page with author names and institutional affiliations

  • Abstract

  • Structural Determinants Statement

  • Main manuscript text

  • Reference list in an approved citation style

  • Tables, figures, and captions

  • Data availability statement

  • Conflict of interest disclosure

  • IRB or ethics statement, when applicable

    Incomplete submissions will be returned without review.

 

18. Contact Information

Journal of Medical Sociology and Public Health

MedFocus Publishing

The National Library of Patient Rights and Advocacy

Cherry Hill, New Jersey, USA

Website: https://www.thepowerofthepatient.org/

Email: powerofpatient@gmail.com

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