About the Journal

Journal of Public Health and Family Medicine (JPHFM)

ISSN (Electronic): To be assigned ·

DOI: To be activated ·

Publisher: Research Loom ·

Publication Frequency: Quarterly 

License: e.g. CC BY 4.0 

 

About the Journal

 

The Journal of Public Health and Family Medicine (JPHFM) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published by Research Loom. The journal is dedicated to advancing research, knowledge, and practice at the intersection of public health, family medicine, and primary healthcare, with particular relevance to Pakistan, South Asia, and other low- and middle-income settings.

JPHFM welcomes original research, systematic and narrative reviews, case reports, short communications, and letters to the editor from researchers, healthcare professionals, academics, students, and policymakers working in these fields.

Open Access Policy

JPHFM provides immediate, unrestricted open access to all of its published content. Articles are freely available to read, download, and share with no subscription, registration, or payment required. This policy is based on the principle that free public access to research supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Once a license is selected in journal settings, all content will be published under  e.g. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), permitting reuse and redistribution provided the original authors and JPHFM are credited.

 

Aims and Scope

JPHFM invites original research, reviews, and clinical contributions across the following areas:

• Public Health
• Family Medicine
• Primary Health Care
• Community Medicine
• Epidemiology
• Biostatistics and Public Health Methods
• Maternal and Child Health
• Reproductive and Sexual Health
• Adolescent Health
• Non-Communicable Diseases
• Communicable Diseases
• Environmental and Occupational Health
• Nutrition and Public Health
• Mental Health and Community Mental Health
• Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
• Health Policy and Health Systems
• Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety
• Medical and Health Professions Education
• Primary Care Research
• Global Health
• Population Health
• Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health
• Digital Health and Health Technology
• Disaster and Emergency Health
• Geriatric and Community Health
• Research relevant to low- and middle-income country 

Geographic Scope

JPHFM welcomes research from Pakistan, South Asia, other low- and middle-income countries, and the international research community.

 Article Types

The journal considers:

• Original Research Articles
• Systematic Reviews
• Scoping Reviews
• Meta-analyses
• Narrative Reviews
• Qualitative Research
• Quantitative Research
• Mixed-Methods Research
• Case Reports
• Short Communications
• Policy Analyses
• Letters to the Editor

Manuscripts must fall within the journal's scope and meet the journal's scientific, ethical, and reporting requirements.

Article types accepted: Original Research, Review Articles, Case Reports, Short Communications, and Letters to the Editor. Full descriptions of each section are available on the Submissions page.

 

Licensing

 

Example, if you choose CC BY 4.0: "All articles published in JPHFM are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Under this license, anyone may share, copy, redistribute, adapt, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercial use, provided appropriate credit is given, a link to the license is included, and any changes are indicated. License link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"

Copyright

 Most open-access journals let authors retain copyright and simply grant the journal a non-exclusive right to publish. Example wording if that's your choice:

"Authors retain full copyright of their published work. By publishing in JPHFM, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive right to publish, archive, and disseminate the article under the journal's open access license. JPHFM does not require copyright transfer as a condition of publication."

Author Charges

 

  • If free: "JPHFM does not charge any submission fees, article processing charges (APCs), or publication fees at any stage of the editorial or review process."
  • If not free: "JPHFM charges an article processing charge (APC) of 25000 upon acceptance. No charges are collected at submission or during review. Waiver available under defined criteria."
  • Submission fee: PKR 0
    Peer-review fee: PKR 0
    APC: PKR 25,000
    Payment: Only after acceptance
    Fast-track fee: None
    Waiver: Available under defined criteria

Peer Review Process

JPHFM employs a single-blind/double-blind peer review process. All submissions are assessed for scientific merit, originality, methodological soundness, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's scope.

Stage Duration
Initial editorial screening (scope fit, completeness) 3-4 days
Editor-in-Chief assessment / possible desk rejection 2-3 days
Reviewer invitation (minimum two independent reviewers) 7 days
Peer review — full evaluation 1 week
Editorial decision (Accept / Revise / Reject) 7-8days
Author revision turnaround 2weeks
Re-review and final decision 3weeks

 

(Only fill in the day/week counts once you actually have a process in mind — an invented timeline is worse than none, because authors will hold you to it.)

Publication Ethics

JPHFM is committed to upholding rigorous standards of publication ethics and follows the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Authors are expected to submit only original work, accurately represent their research, and disclose all funding sources and conflicts of interest. Data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and duplicate submission are treated as serious breaches of publication ethics.

Reviewers are expected to evaluate manuscripts objectively, maintain confidentiality, and disclose any conflicts of interest. Editorial decisions are based solely on the validity and relevance of the work, without regard to authors' race, gender, religion, nationality, or institutional affiliation.

Concerns about the ethical conduct of anything published in this journal should be directed to editor@researchloom.org.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, and readers may submit complaints or appeal an editorial decision in writing to editor@researchloom.org. Complaints will be acknowledged within business days and a full response provided within 2 weeks.

Author Guidelines and Submission

Full submission requirements, formatting standards, and ethical documentation requirements are detailed in the Author Guidelines. 

Submission Email: submission@researchloom.or

Publisher Information

Publisher: Research Loom

Address: POF Wah Cantt  

Editorial Contact: editor@researchloom.org

Self-Archiving Policy

Authors may deposit any version of their manuscript (preprint, accepted manuscript, or published version) in an institutional repository, subject repository, preprint server, or personal website at any time, provided the self-archived version includes a complete citation to the published JPHFM article.

Indexing

JPHFM is a newly established journal and is not yet indexed in any external database. Indexing applications (e.g. Google Scholar, DOAJ, HEC recognition) will be pursued once the journal has an established publication record.