About the Journal

Review Process

The Journal of Healthcare Research and Education (JHER) is committed to publishing high-quality, ethically sound, and globally relevant research. To ensure fairness and transparency, JHER strictly follows a double-blind peer review system where authors, reviewers, and associate editors remain blind to each other’s identities. The Managing Editor, supported by the Editorial Office, manages the entire review workflow to maintain strict anonymity.

1. Double-Blind Review Model: Authors are anonymous to reviewers. Reviewers are anonymous to authors. This impartial system is maintained by the Managing Editor and Editorial Office, who alone manage identities and reviewer assignments.
2. Role of the Managing Editor: The Managing Editor manages all aspects of the peer review process. Reviewer invitations and assignments are made only by the Managing Editor or Editorial Office staff. Associate Editors receive only anonymized manuscripts and anonymous reviewer reports, without access to identities. Authors interact only with anonymized feedback and final decisions, communicated via the system.
3. Initial Screening: Every manuscript undergoes plagiarism detection (iThenticate). Articles are checked for scope relevance, ethical compliance, and formatting. Authors are informed within 7 days if the submission is unsuitable.
4. Reviewer Assignment: A minimum of four independent reviewers with subject expertise are assigned by the Managing Editor. Reviewers are selected to maintain diversity of geography, institution, and discipline. Conflicts of interest are carefully screened at this stage.
5. Review Workflow:
   First Cycle: Reviewers provide detailed comments (scientific quality, novelty, methodology, ethics, clarity);
   Revision Stage: Authors are given 2–3 weeks to revise based on reviewer feedback.
   Second Cycle: Revised manuscripts are re-evaluated by the same reviewers.
   Acceptance Criterion: At least three out of four reviewers must recommend acceptance before an article proceeds. Additional revisions may be requested only if essential to meet scientific or ethical standards.
6. Special Policy for Editorial Board and Foundation Submissions: To avoid conflict of interest, manuscripts submitted by Editorial Board members, Editors, or Directors of the HRE Foundation will be handled exclusively by the Managing Editor. Such submissions will not be assigned to reviewers from the same institution or close collaborators of the submitting author. Decisions on these manuscripts will be taken independently by external reviewers and, where necessary, overseen by an external Guest Editor. The submitting editorial board member or director will have no role in the review or decision process for their own manuscript.
7. Decision-Making: Final decisions (Accept / Minor Revision / Major Revision / Reject) are based on consolidated reviewer recommendations. Authors receive anonymized reviewer feedback with clear justifications for decisions.
8. Timelines (Author-Friendly Assurance):
   • Desk screening: Within 1 week.
   • First review decision: Within 4–6 weeks.
   • Revision resubmission: 2–3 weeks.
   • Final decision: Normally within 6–10 weeks from submission.