The foremost mission of the American Journal of Public Health (the Journal) is to promote public health research, policy, practice, and education. We aim to embrace all of public health, from global policies to the local needs of public health practitioners. Contributions of original unpublished research, social science analyses, scholarly essays, critical commentaries, departments, and letters to the editor are welcome. The Journal adheres to the criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
Deciding What to Submit
Informal Inquiries. The editors cannot respond to individual queries regarding the appropriateness of planned contributions. Therefore, if a planned contribution is close to completion, please consult the guidelines detailed here in order to better judge a paper's appropriateness for our readership. It is also helpful to consult recent issues of the Journal regarding our scope of coverage of public health issues. On our web site, http://www.ajph.org, you can search for and view abstracts in specific subject areas at no charge. If you are a subscriber or member, you have access to full text as well. Alternatively, you may purchase access from your personal computer to individual articles for 1 day at a cost of US$10 and to all articles for 2 days at a cost of US$22. Simply find the article you wish to view, click on full text, and follow the prompts.
Authors desiring special guidance on writing or reviewing for scholarly publication are encouraged to attend the seminar offered each year by the Editorial Board of the Journal at the Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association.
Authors wishing to discuss groundbreaking public health initiatives with the Editor-in-Chief, Dr Mary Northridge, may e-mail her at men11@columbia.edu , or contact Editorial Assistant Cynthia Dunbar at 212-305-1744 or cd254@columbia.edu . Organizations wishing to discuss publication of special supplements should contact the APHA Director of Publications, Ellen Meyer, at ellen.meyer@apha.org.
Appropriate Format. A variety of Journal formats are available in order to reach diverse audiences and fill varied needs within public health. Scholarly essays, critical analyses, and policy papers may be submitted as Commentaries (up to 2500 words in main text, 2 tables/figures, and an unstructured abstract of 120 words). Analytic Essays (up to 3500 words in main text, 4 tables/figures, and an unstructured abstract of 120 words) provide a forum for critical analyses of public health issues from disciplines other than the biomedical sciences, including (but not limited to) the social sciences, human rights, and ethics. On the Other Hand (up to 1000 words, 10 references) was designed to present a forum for critical debate about timely public health topics. Papers that report the results of original quantitative or qualitative public health research are published as Research and Practice articles (up to 3500 words in main text, 4 tables/figures, and a structured abstract of 180 words). Preliminary or novel findings may be reported as Briefs (up to 800 words in main text, 2 tables/figures, and an abstract of up to 80 words).
Essays in the Health Policy and Ethics Forum present critical views on public health policy and ethics controversies (up to 3500 words in main text, 4 tables/figures, and an unstructured abstract of 120 words). Government, Politics, and Law encourages both new and familiar voices to sound off on essential public health topics, with arguments grounded in critical analysis (up to 3500 words in main text, 4 tables/figures, and an unstructured abstract of 120 words). Framing Health Matters features social science scholarship, the work of new disciplines within public health, and critical perspectives of public health problems. The department calls for an analytic essay format (up to 6500 words in main text - with under 4000 words strongly encouraged, 4 tables/figures, and an unstructured abstract of 120 words). Public Health Then and Now is devoted to history that bears on contemporary public health (up to 5500 words in main text, 4 images, and an unstructured abstract of 150 words). Voices From the Past presents brief historical extracts from the works of public health pioneers that are republished with an accompanying biographical sketch (up to 2500 words in main text, no abstract). Field Action Reports feature practice-based programs and initiatives that have the potential to advance the public's health, both locally and more broadly (up to 1000 words in main text, 3 tables/figures/images, and a summary). Letters comment briefly on findings of Journal articles or other noteworthy public health advances (up to 400 words in main text, no abstract, limited to 10 references). Please note that word counts refer exclusively to the main text and do not include abstract, references, or acknowledgments.
You may see other formats in the Journal. Editorials, Images of Health, Going Public, and Faces of Public Health are typically commissioned by the Journal's editors. If you wish to submit in one of these categories, please contact ajph.submissions@apha.org for referral to the appropriate editor.
Manuscript Preparation
Titles and Subtitles. Titles should be concise, specific, and informative, and should contain the key points of the work.
Abstracts. Unstructured (without headings) abstracts are required for the following article types/departments: Analytic Essays; Briefs; Commentaries; Field Action Reports; Framing Health Matters; Government, Politics, and Law; Health Policy and Ethics Forum; Public Health Then and Now. Briefs abstracts should not exceed a word limit of 80 words; all other unstructured abstracts should not exceed 120 words. Structured (with headings) abstracts are required for Research and Practice articles, and should be limited to fewer than 180 words (headings not included). Please see the AMA Manual of Style for further instructions. Submissions to the Editorials, Letters, and Voices From the Past departments do not require an abstract. Please write your abstract so that it accurately summarizes your article independently of the article. Avoid passive voice except when describing methods, and use past tense for actions taken in the past.
Headings. All headings should conform to a consistent pattern, using no more than 3 outline levels, and should be kept brief. Avoid acronyms and sentences.
Addenda. The use of addenda is discouraged; if material must be added after manuscript acceptance, it should be incorporated into the original text.
Acknowledgments. Disclosure of all financial and material support is required. Upon acceptance, the first author will be asked to certify that all persons who have contributed substantially to the work but who do not fulfill authorship criteria have been listed, and that written permission for listing them has been obtained.
Human Participant Protection. The Journal adheres to the . If human participants are involved, a statement of approval by an institutional review board and the participants?informed consent are required.
Tables and Figures. Please note the following guidelines for the number of tables, figures, and images: Analytic Essays (4 tables/figures), Articles (4 tables/figures), Briefs (2 tables/figures), Commentaries (2 tables/figures), Field Action Reports (3 tables/figures/images), Framing Health Matters (4 tables/figures), and Public Health Then and Now (4 images).
Each table and figure should have a self-contained title that is fully comprehensible without reference to the text. Click here for a more in-depth explanation of our graphics requirements.
If references are cited within a table or figure, they should be ordered as though they fall at the first callout (i.e., text mention) of that table or figure.
Tables cannot include subordinate parts (i.e., no more than 1 column head is permitted per column) and cannot include charts. All items within a column must conform as much as possible--in identity and in units--to the column head. Avoid submitting text or simple lists as tables. Please note that confusion may arise between stub heads that indicate raw data and those that denote a variable; for example, "Without housing, %" is not the same as "Percentage without housing, OR (95% CI)."
Figures must be created with a computer program and submitted in their original formats, NOT placed in Word or PowerPoint. Legends and notes should be included in the article file and NOT the figure itself. Please avoid more than 4 charts per figure and submit each chart in a separate file. All figures must be done in black and white unless special arrangements have been made for the use of color.
Flowcharts depicting study design or recruitment of participants are not necessary and should not be included if they duplicate text. Exceptions may be made for complex or novel study designs.
Supplementary/Image Files. Be prepared to include relevant prior publications in-press or in-process if they contain related or potentially duplicative findings. These files will not appear with the print article, though they might accompany the final version of the paper on-lin at the Editor-in-Chief’s discretion. Supplementary files are not converted to PDF for review but will be available to editors and staff exactly as uploaded.
Images. The Journal uses photography and graphics to illustrate the issues raised in our published articles. We are particularly interested in finding images for these departments: Commentaries, Editorials, Field Action Reports, Going Public, and Public Health Then and Now.
Appendices. On occasion data that may not be easily presented in text or figure form may warrant the use of an appendix. Appendices should be created as a supplementary file to the manuscript; they will not be converted to PDF for review, but will be available to editors and staff exactly as uploaded. Appendices will neither be edited nor published in print, but can be linked to the online version of the article if they are accepted with the article. If your article has an appendix and you would like it to appear online, please contact production staff before your article is finalized. For more information, query staff at ajph.production@apha.org
References. All references (see exceptions below) should be formatted according to the AMA Manual of Style. Please remove all automatic footnotes and endnotes, and all automatic links between citation numbers and the references. (Note that some bibliographic software offers one-step removal of linking codes specifically for submitting manuscripts to publishers.) Verify all references using MEDLINE. For Public Health Then and Now and Framing Health Matters only, authors may follow endnote style (Documentation 1) in the Chicago Manual of Style (14th ed. 1993:487-635). Note that Letters and Responses are limited to 10 references.
Use of Statistics. Please distinguish between regression parameter estimates and standardized regression parameter estimates by (1) changing all Beta symbols to b (for unstandardized regression parameter estimates) or to B (for standardized regression parameter estimates) and (2) replacing all text or symbolic references to "Beta" in the manuscript and tables to language referencing b (parameter estimates) or B (standardized parameter estimates), as appropriate.
Please be careful to describe relative risks accurately, because common errors can confuse the reader. For example, an odds ratio of 4.79 indicates that the outcome in question is almost 5 times as likely to occur, compared with the reference condition, and indicates a nearly 4-fold increase in risk, NOT a nearly 5-fold increase in risk.
On-line Submission
The Journal uses a web-based submissions system. All authors wishing to submit their manuscripts must do so online, as we can no longer accept hardcopy versions of papers. We hope authors will enjoy their experience with the Journal's new on-line submission, review, and production tracking system. Advantages include instantaneous file access; reference checking via links to MEDLINE; manuscript status information; automated record keeping; deadline reminders for authors, editors, and reviewers; faster peer review and publication; savings on postage; and enhanced archival capability. Staff are available during the day to answer questions.
If you have not done so previously, you must first register at http://submit.ajph.org to access the Author Area. Please make certain that the email address you use allows for the receipt of automated emails, as the Journal's online system will email updates to you as your paper moves through submission/production processes. Be aware that certain email addresses (such as those associated with EarthLink spamBlocker) WILL block the Journal's automated emails to authors. If you know that your email address has spam protection that deflects automated emails, you may want to register using a different email address with lowered spam protection. Also check your spam/bulk mail folder from time to time to ensure that none of the Journal's email updates concerning your paper have been misdirected as spam. If you have questions, contact the submissions staff at ajph.submissions@apha.org for guidance.
At the beginning of the submission process, you will be asked to enter some basic manuscript, keyword, and author information. Then you will upload relevant electronic files. The system subsequently converts your manuscript file to a PDF and appends other figure files for the anticipated review process. If you encounter any difficulties, technical assistance is available during normal business hours. Simply click the FEEDBACK button located at the top of each page.
The following instructions apply specifically to electronic submission of new manuscripts. Instructions for preparing revised manuscripts are provided through correspondence at later stages of review. Instructions for preparing final version production files are available at http://www.ajph.org/misc/production.shtml.
Providing Manuscript, Keyword, and Author Information
In the Manuscript Information section, you will be prompted to fill in a series of required information fields. Explanations of the content of some fields are given below. These fields will remain a part of your manuscript record and will be viewed on a confidential basis by editors and staff as needed. Reviewers will see only the abstract information. (Please be sure to keep a personal copy of your statements of contribution, acknowledgments, and Human Participant Protection, as you will not be able to access it online after submission.) Information that you will need to complete in this section includes
- Author contributions;
- Article type and category;
- Special theme, conference, or companion paper designation;
- Abstract;
- Cover letter;
- Acknowledgments;
- Ethics compliance statement;
- Human participant protection statement;
- Submission agreement signature; and
- Names and email addresses of suggested reviewers.
Authorship and Contributorship. Individual contributions of each author must be specified in a single brief statement. Listing more than 6 authors requires justification.
- Example: E.C. Frampton conceived of the study and supervised all aspects of its implementation. S. Hampton assisted with the study and completed the analyses. R.E. Lewison synthesized analyses and led the writing. N.C. Smithson assisted with the study and analyses. All authors helped to conceptualize ideas, interpret findings, and review drafts of the manuscript.
Authors must confirm that the content has not been published elsewhere and does not overlap or duplicate their published work. Exceptions are made for abstracts and reports from scientific meetings. Upon acceptance, all authors must certify that they will take public responsibility for the content and provide any relevant data upon request. All authors must also certify that they have contributed substantially to conception and design or analysis and interpretation of the data, drafting or revision of content, and approval of the final version. Copyright is transferred to the American Public Health Association upon acceptance.
Cover Letter. Disclose all possible conflicts of interest (e.g., funding sources for consultancies or studies of products). A brief indication of the importance of the paper to the field of public health is helpful in gaining peer review. Do not include this cover letter in the manuscript file that you later will upload for review.
Abstract. Copy and paste your abstract into the text box provided on the first page of the online submission form. We use this version of your abstract to solicit referees to review your manuscript. Potential reviewers may view it before they accept or decline the assignment.
We ask that the authors of Editorials, which are not published with abstracts, copy the first few paragraphs (Introduction) of their paper into the abstract text box located on the first page of the submission form.
Acknowledgments. Acknowledgments should be copied and pasted into the space provided on the first page of the submission form.
Ethics Compliance.The Journal adheres to the Public Health Code of Ethics of the American Public Health Association. You are required to state whether you have complied with this code. If you believe you were justified in departing from the code, a short explanation (1-2 sentences) is required.
Human Participant Protection. If you have received IRB approval, simply state that you have done so in the IRB field, along with the title of the board that gave you approval. It is the responsibility of the head author to keep a copy of the IRB approval received in his/her personal file. The Journal does not require a copy of the approval form. If IRB approval was not obtained, a short explanation (1-2 sentences) to this effect is required.
Author-Suggested Reviewers. (Optional) This field gives you the chance to suggest individuals who specialize in the topic(s) your paper covers to be used as reviewers for your paper. It is not necessary to suggest reviewers when you submit a paper, as the Journal maintains a large pool of reviewers drawn from all specialties in the arena of public health. However, the editors welcome your suggestions if you have some people in mind. You may submit up to 6 suggested reviewers, but all must be submitted with a valid email address. The Journal does not guarantee that the editors will choose to utilize all or even part of any suggested reviewer list.
Keywords. In terms of the keywords, the Journal aims for generalizations. In this way, a searcher is more likely to find a range of information under any particular topic. Unfortunately, we have to limit the keywords you can chose for your paper to listed keywords that readers can search within the search engine on the online Journal. Do not worry if your paper doesn't fit neatly under one or two headings. Just pick the keywords that generally cover your topic.
Author Information. Please include the email address, name, and institution for each author. You may add or delete authors in your list utilizing the "Insert" and "Delete" commands located at the top of the list (above the first author). Please do not list any author degrees at this stage, as the email/name/institution information you are providing is for paper tracking purposes only.
Uploading Your Files
After completing Manuscript, Author, and Keyword information, you will answer a few questions about word counts and the number of tables and figures. You will then upload files for review purposes. Contained within the main Manuscript File should be your title page, abstract, text, references, tables, and figures. This file will be converted to a PDF file that reviewers can print and read. You also may upload figure files separately from your manuscript file for review; these will be appended to the PDF version of your manuscript. In addition, supplementary and image files may be uploaded within the system.
Please submit a Word .DOC manuscript file. (If you prefer, you may submit in PDF format, but for review purposes only; a Word .DOC file will later be required as a final version for production if the article is accepted.) The Journal follows the guidelines of the International Committee and the American Medical Association Manual of Style (9th ed) for all quantitative research articles.
Title Page (page 1 of the Manuscript File). All that is necessary on the title page is the title itself. Authorship information must not appear on the title page (nor anywhere else in the Manuscript File). The Journal's review process is double-blind--to ensure an impartial evaluation, reviewers' identities will not be divulged to authors, and author's identities will not be available to reviewers until after an editorial decision is made. If you would like to include information such as the word counts for your abstract, main text, and references, as well as the number of tables/figures on the title page, please do so. This easily accessible information can be very useful to editors and reviewers.
Abstract (page 2 of the Manuscript File). Copy and paste your abstract as provided in the Manuscript Information section previously.
Text (begins on page 3 of the Manuscript File). Add subheads for clearer presentation and informed reading (at least 1 subhead for every 2 pages). Text heads should be brief. Editorial staff reserves the right to shorten heads to fit. Use acronyms sparingly, if at all.
We recommend the use of certain fonts: Times, Times Roman, Arial; please use the Symbol font for special characters. Using other fonts could make the PDF more difficult to read.
References (within the Manuscript File). References should appear after the main text (and before tables and figures) in the manuscript file that you will upload. They will become both a part of the PDF and a separate HTML file with links to the MEDLINE database and to journals hosted by HighWire Press. These links will allow editors and reviewers immediate access to works cited. While HTML references are certainly a handy feature, it is not at all essential that the references be flawlessly formatted and linked in order to submit. If you find that your HTML references are not displaying as well as you would like, you may wish to check out the section on resolving HTML references in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) area of the author home page. We advise, however, that you not spend an inordinate amount of time attempting to fix their appearance, and just submit them as is (or even completely unlinked, if you prefer). Your submission will be judged on its substance, which will be unaffected by the HTML reference section.
Tables and Figures (within the Manuscript File). Tables should each be placed on a separate page at the end of the manuscript file you will upload. Figures in Excel format should appear directly after tables, each on a separate page. Figures in other than Excel format can either (1) be pasted onto the end of the Manuscript File, each on a separate page, or (2) be uploaded as figure files (see Other Figure Files below).
Note: Do not upload Excel files as figure files. Instead, you must submit Excel-based figures by cutting and pasting them into the end of your manuscript file. If you try to upload them as figure files, they will not appear with the PDF and may prevent conversion altogether.
Other Figure Files. Upload non-Excel black-and-white (no color) charts and graphs as Figure Files. Formats not supported include the following: Bitmap (.bmp), Canvas (.cnv), CorelDRAW (.cdr), Excel (.xls), PhotoShop (.psd), PICT (.pict), and locked or encrypted PDFs. Multi-page PowerPoint files (.ppt) are not supported; however, one slide per file is acceptable. Your figures will be converted and appended to the PDF of your manuscript.
Supplementary/Image Files. Upload relevant prior publications in-press or in-process if they contain related or potentially duplicative findings. These are files that will not appear with the print article, though they might accompany the final version of the paper on-line at the Editor-in-Chief's discretion. Supplementary files are not converted to PDF for review but will be available to editors and staff exactly as you upload them.
Images. High-quality digital photos and other images should be uploaded as "Supplementary/Image Files." These files are not converted to PDF for review but will be available to editors and staff exactly as you upload them. Image formats accepted are TIFF, PSD, EPS, WMF, PDF, and JPEG files of minimum 300 dpi resolution at 4 by 6 inches. TIFF files are preferred. Do not submit low-resolution images such as GIFs saved from your Web browser as image files.
Any images uploaded as "Figure Files" will appear in the PDF, and thus will be seen by reviewers. You may upload a small, low-resolution image as a Figure File, IF you also upload a high-quality version as a supplementary/image file, or plan to send one by mail or e-mail upon acceptance. For further guidance on images, we recommend you carefully read our graphics requirements.
Submission Checklist
- Cover letter with conflict of interest disclosure
- Justification for more than 6 authors
- Explanation of authors' contributions
- Abstract (correct format and word limit)
- Text (manuscript file in Word format)
- References (accuracy, style, and numbering)
- Acknowledgments (funding sources, contributors who didn't fulfill authorship requirements)
- Human Participant Protection (IRB approval, consent)
- Tables (numbered, with title and footnotes)
- Figures (numbered, black-and-white, EPS, WMF, PPT, or PDF)
- Related supplementary material, including images (TIFF, PSD, EPS, WMF, PDF, or JPEG of more than 300 dpi, 4" x 6")
Review, Editing, and Production
We acknowledge new, revised, and resubmitted manuscripts upon receipt. Approximately 60% of submissions are rejected upon initial screening by the editors, usually within 1-2 weeks of receipt. Peer review of the remainder takes 2.3 months from submission to initial decision. The review process is double-blinded, with authors unaware of the identities of reviewers and reviewers unaware of the identities of authors until acceptance. The time from submission to final acceptance of reviewed/revised papers averages 5 months. Upon acceptance, authors will be asked to submit final version source files for editing and production.
Please visit our Production Page for information regarding the production process. After editing, authors receive first proofs for review; corrected proofs are automatically posted in the First Look section of the online journal 4 to 6 weeks in advance of final publication. The Journal publishes about 20% of initial submissions. Publication of uncommissioned manuscripts generally occurs within 10 to 12 months of acceptance.
Questions? Send an e-mail to ajph.submissions@apha.org .
Revised 7/11/2006
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