Journal of Health Service Psychology - Peer Review Policy

All submissions to JHSP are first reviewed for completeness and journal fit by the Editor-in-Chief. As peer review requires a substantial investment of time and effort, we send only those papers that are subject-appropriate and that seem most likely to meet our criteria for publication for formal review.  Those papers judged by the editors to be of insufficient interest to the journal’s specific field, or otherwise inappropriate are rejected without external review.  This initial decision also saves authors time by allowing them to pursue publication in a more suitable venue. Manuscripts will then be assigned to associate editors to begin the peer review process. Where an associate editor is on the author list or has any other competing interest regarding a specific manuscript, another member of the Editorial Board will be assigned to oversee peer review. The Editor-in-Chief will consider the peer-reviewed reports when making a decision but is not bound by the opinions or recommendations therein. A concern raised by a single peer reviewer or Editor-in-Chief themself may result in the manuscript being rejected prior to review. If a manuscript is sent out for peer review, authors receive peer review reports with the editorial decision on their manuscript.

JHSP uses a double-anonymous peer review process. De-identified articles are reviewed by at least 2 external peer reviewers. Exceptions are editorials and letters to the editor, which will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief. Occasionally, articles may be published under expedited review that are of time urgent nature or central relevance to the readership of the JHSP. These articles will still be reviewed by at least one editorial board member in addition to the Editor-in-Chief; this will be clearly noted when such rare exceptions are made. Papers may be rejected after review, or the authors could be invited to revise their work and resubmit.  Once all concerns and questions raised in the review and by the editors have been resolved and the paper meets all standards for publication in the journal, a paper can be accepted for publication.

JHSP is published quarterly. November 1 (Winter), February 1 (Spring), May 1 (Summer), August 1 (Fall) are the approximate deadlines for complete manuscripts to be considered for the issue to be printed in that season. The Journal also accepts article submissions throughout the year.

In the event that editorial board members submit manuscripts to JHSP, the manuscript will be assigned to two reviewers on the JHSP editorial board who have no other affiliation with those submitting. This step is taken in addition to adhering to the double-anonymous peer review process. The Editor-in-Chief will not submit original papers for peer-review consideration for the journal.

Authors should also adhere to the Ethics and Disclosures guidelines in submitting manuscripts.

This journal may also publish special issues/collections/supplements. The peer review process for these articles is the same as the peer review process of the journal in general.  Additionally, if a guest editor authors an article in their issue/collection/supplement, they will not handle the peer review process.

Please read the Springer Peer Review policy here (this opens in a new tab).  Also refer to the Springer Editorial Policy page (this opens in a new tab) here (this opens in a new tab).