The Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved publishes original papers, commentaries, brief communications, reports from the field, columns, and reviews regarding the health of low-income and other medically underserved people. We welcome manuscripts. Though our concerns—health, health policy, and health care for the underserved—are universal, our focus is on North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa. Questions about the suitability of a topic should be sent to JournalQuestion@mmc.edu. Our mailing address, telephone numbers, and fax number are:
Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
Meharry Medical College
1005 D. B. Todd Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37208
Phone: 1-800-669-1269 or (615) 327-6819
FAX: (615) 327-6362
Editor: Virginia Brennan, PhD, MA
Journal article (GIVE COMPLETE PUBLICATION DATE PLUS VOLUME AND NUMBER. PubMed citations may be used as a guide):
1. Zuckerman B, Frank DA, Hingson R, et al. Effects of maternal marijuana and cocaine use on fetal growth. N Engl J Med. 1989 Mar 23;320(12):762-8.
Chapter in Book:
2. Morris JN. The last weeks of life: does hospice care make a difference? In: Mor V, Greer DS, Kastenbaum R, eds. The hospice experiment. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1988.
Government report:
3. National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 1989. (DHHS Pub. no. [PHS] 90-1232.) Hyattsville, MD: U.S. Public Health Service, 1990.
Published conference presentation:
4. Hinman AR. Progress over the last decade. In: Proceedings of the 24th Immunization Conference, Orlando (FL), May 21-5, 1990:17-20. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control, 1990.
Unpublished conference presentation:
5. McJamerson E, Pearson W Jr. The declining participation of African-American males in higher education: causes and consequences. Presented at: Mid-South Sociological Association Conference, Baton Rouge (LA), Oct 1989.
Material accepted for publication:
6. Hall LE, Callender CO, Yeager CL, et al. Organ donation in blacks. Transpl Proc (In press.)
Other unpublished material (cite in the text but not in the references):
(B. Jones, personal communication)
The Journal publishes several types of paper, including these primary types:
Guidelines for writing papers of these types, as well as the columns that we publish and book reviews, follow.
Empirical research papers, health policy papers, evaluations of innovative or otherwise noteworthy health and health care programs; 2,501-10,000 words of text. N.B.: While we allow research papers and literature reviews as many as 10,000 words of text, rarely does a paper merit that length. If your paper is very long, please edit it as carefully as possible, eliminating redundancy, unnecessarily protracted presentation of background material, and excessive verbiage.
1st level subheading: Boldface heading (with initial cap only) followed by period run into text.
2nd level subheading: Italicized heading (with initial cap only) followed by period run into text.
In cases where the primary heading, a 1st subheading, and a 2nd subheading all occur in immediate succession, simply follow the same pattern. For example,
Population studied. Demographic characteristics. The population studied was …
Shorter empirical research papers, health policy papers, evaluations of innovative or otherwise noteworthy health and health care programs; up to 2,500 words of text.
Literature reviews: A literature review is a type of academic/scientific publication that is of great value to scholars who wish to gain a holistic understanding of scholarly literature and findings on any given topic. N.B.: While we allow research papers and literature reviews as many as 10,000 words of text, rarely does a paper merit that length. If your paper is very long, please edit it as carefully as possible, eliminating redundancy, unnecessarily protracted presentation of background material, and excessive verbiage.
It is generally agreed that a systematic review is different from the traditional narrative review in that a systematic review (a) addresses a focused question; (b) involves a comprehensive search of the literature; (c) has explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria for papers included in the review; (d) addresses methodological quality of the papers; and (d) synthesizes results in a systematic way. (Thanks to John Philbrick of UVA for this formulation.)
We prefer systematic literature reviews except in the cases of topics that are inadequately represented in the conventional scholarly literature. The authors should make the case for a looser sort of literature review in the event that they submit one.
Some of the databases researchers might draw on to search the scholarly literature and gray literature (select among these and others, based on topic area):
Commentary on timely or controversial issues, grounded in the relevant scholarly literature; 1,000-4,000 words of text.
This section of the Journal is intended for brief, descriptive papers. These papers may be about a host of different things that we believe will interest our readers — including but not only
Sometimes, a Report may make reference to program instruments or other materials suggesting the potential for future evaluations. We welcome this. Where applicable, authors should explicitly address future expectations based on this preliminary work: Do, if possible, talk about evaluation design and the time course over which you anticipate change. At the same time, bear in mind that the descriptive Report from the Field is not the place for drawing conclusions about effectiveness or causality: such conclusions may be drawn only on the basis of scientific study that goes well beyond the scope of what is covered in a Report from the Field.
Additionally, authors of Reports from the Field should take care to contextualize their work as much as possible – provide descriptive information about (for example) the demographic profile or history of the population, condition, region, neighborhood, program, or practice that is the topic of the Report.
While still hewing to the highest standards for timeliness and accuracy. Reports are not structured as research papers and do not contain statistical analyses (other than purely descriptive statistics). Innovative and/or newsworthy events especially will interest our readers. Word limit: 2,000 words of text.
A column published in the Journal since 2005, Heroes and Great Ideas is a space for telling the stories of people and initiatives that have worked successfully to improve life in medically underserved communities. Styles adopted vary widely and include traditional biographical or historical accounts, essays, and narratives. We welcome submissions to this section, which is reviewed by members of the editorial staff and editorial board. We recommend a limit of 2,000 words.
The ACU Column originates in the office of the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved. Interested authors should write to the Executive Director of ACU, Craig Kennedy, at ckennedy@clinicians.org .
Critical summaries of books, reports, videotapes, educational materials, and other materials of interest to our readers; 500-1,500 words. See Scholar One/Manuscript Central site (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/JHCPU) for current list of books available from the Journal office for review.
Thank you for your interest in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.
The Hopkins Press Journals Ethics and Malpractice Statement can be found at the ethics-and-malpractice page.
Manuscripts that pass an internal desk review (for suitability) are sent to at least two external reviewers who are experts in the topic area addressed by the paper. Reviewers provide comments to the editor, who relays them to the primary author. Reviews are double-blind (i.e., neither authors nor reviewers know each other’s identity or institutional affiliation), and we ask all reviewers to evaluate the manuscript bearing in mind the following considerations: Importance of subject to the welfare of poor and underserved communities, appropriateness of study design (for research papers), strength of evidence supporting conclusions, and clarity.
Virginia M. Brennan, PhD, MA
Robin Griffin
Jannie Frierson
David Baines, M.D.
Past President of the Association of American Indian Physicians; Family Practitioner, Tlingit and Tsimpsian tribes, AK
Claudia R. Baquet, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor, University of Maryland–School of Medicine (Ret.)
Gillian R. Barclay, D.D.S., M.P.H., Dr.PH.,
VP, Global Public Health and Scientific Affairs, Colgate Palmolive.
Carl Bell, M.D.
Director of Institute for Juvenile Research, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
James Blumstein, L.L.B.
Vanderbilt University Law School, University Professor of Constitutional Law and Health Law and Policy; Director, Health Policy Center, Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies, Nashville, TN
William P. Brandon, Ph.D., M.P.H., C.P.H.
Metrolina Medical Foundation Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Emeritus; Political Science & Public Administration Department, Public Policy Ph.D. Program, University of North Carolina–Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Robert D. Bullard, Ph.D.
Dean, Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Health, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX
Moon S. Chen, JR., Ph.D., M.P.H.
Professor, Associate Director, Population Research and Cancer Disparities, Cancer Center, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA
Glenn Flores, M.D.
Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
David Harrowe, J.D., M.D.
Gila River Indian Reservation, Department of Public Health, Gila River Indian Community, Sacaton, AZ
Edith Irby Jones, M.D.
Past President, National Medical Association, Houston, TX
Wilbert C. Jordan, M.D., M.P.H.
Medical Director, OASIS Clinic and AIDS Program and AIDS Institute, Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Paul J. Kaye, M.D., EVP
Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs, Association of Clinicians for the Underserved
Rosalyn C. King, Pharm.D., M.P.H.
Director, Office of International Programs, School of Continuing Education, Howard University, Silver Spring, MD
Robert S. Levine, M.D., M.S.P.H.
Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Maria Fatima de Lima, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research, City University of New York School of Medicine
Vickie M. Mays, M.S.P.H., Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology and Health Services, University of California, Los Angeles, Director, UCLA Center on Research Education, Training and Strategic Communication on Minority Health Disparities, Los Angeles, CA
Anna McPhatter, Ph.D., L.C.S.W.
Dean of the School of Social Work, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
Kyu Bak Rhee, M.D., M.P.P.
Senior Vice President, CVS Health and Chief Medical Officer, Aetna
Robert G. Robinson, M.S.W., Dr.P.H.
Associate Director of Health Equity, Office on Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA
Patricia Rodney, R.N., M.P.H., Ph.D.
Director, Master of Public Health Program and Associate Professor/International Health Track Coordinator, Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
George W. Taylor, D.M.D., M.P.H., Dr.PH.
Associate Professor of Cardiology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Bailus Walker, JR., Ph.D.
In memoriam.
Rueben C. Warren, D.D.S., M.P.H., Dr.PH.
Director, National Center for Bioethics, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, AL
Ruth Enid Zambrana, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Women’s Studies, Director, Consortium on Race, Gender,and Ethnicity, University of Maryland College Park, Adjunct Professor, Department of Family Medicine ,School of Medicine,University of Maryland Baltimore
Ed Zuroweste, M.D.
Medical Director, Migrant Clinicians Network, State College, PA
Background on Supplemental Issue and Sponsor: JHCPU is pleased to announce a supplemental issue on research findings on food access, nutrition security, and associated health outcomes to be published in November 2024. We hope you will find the questions posed by such a topic of interest. If you have work you would like to have considered for the supplemental issue, please submit an abstract no later than February 5th, 2024. Details below and attached.
Instacart is working together with the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved to produce a supplemental issue dedicated to innovative research, impacts, and lessons learned from research focused on advancing food access and nutrition security to improve health outcomes. In support of this goal, researchers from academia, industry, government, and community-based organizations are invited to submit abstracts of 350 words or less. Original research must focus on the intersection of food access, nutrition security, and health outcomes. The organizing committee will review the abstracts and issue invitations to submit full papers to those chosen.
Message from the Sponsor: On behalf of the sponsor, Instacart, the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved issues a Call for Abstracts on the topic of Research Findings on Food Access, Nutrition Security, and Health Outcomes. Nutrition security is defined by the USDA as “consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, affordable foods'' for health and wellbeing. Additionally, the issue will identify potential directions for future work about the issue theme. Inadequate access to healthy, nutritious food is a challenge faced by millions of people and is related to increased prevalence of chronic disease and high health care costs. These challenges have a more severe impact on some groups, including Black and Hispanic households, urban and rural communities, and families living below the poverty line. As a result, the scope of the supplemental issue is guided by the following:
Notes: Abstracts should be blinded and no longer than 350 words long. The authors should include a title and list of 5 keywords (title and keywords will not count toward the word count of the abstract). Please submit abstracts to JournalAdministration@mmc.edu no later than midnight ET, February 5th, 2024.
Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America. As a company at the center of millions of people’s relationship with what they eat, Instacart supports research and policy in the following areas:
Abstracts in the following areas, as well as others meeting the general issue theme, are welcome. Please note that papers providing examples of programs preferably will include outcomes data and evaluations or plans for evaluation. Comprehensive literature reviews will also be considered.
Send books for review to:
Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
Meharry Medical College
1005 D. B. Todd Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37208
Please send book review copies to the address above. Review copies received by the Johns Hopkins University Press office will be discarded.
Following is a list of books that have recently become available for review. We welcome readers with suitable expertise to serve as reviewers. If one of these titles interests you, please e-mail JournalBooks@mmc.edu, telling us you would like to review it and briefly explaining your interest. If you know of a book that would be suitable for review in JHCPU that we have not listed on this page (or in past issues), please let us know that as well. Thank you in advance for your help. We welcome review copies from publishers of books in the area of health and health care for underserved populations, especially in the United States. Publishers are asked to send two review copies.
Source: Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory.
1.2 (2023)
1.6 (Five-Year Impact Factor)
0.00394 (Eigenfactor™ Score)
Rank in Category (by Journal Impact Factor):
99 of 118 journals, in “Health Policy & Services”
317 of 403 journals, in “Public, Environmental & Occupational Health”
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