About the Journal

Purpose

A peer-reviewed, scholarly and multidisciplinary journal on global health policy and practice, promoting evidence-based and thoughtful analysis on effective and innovative approaches to global health from an integrated Christian perspective.

Goals

  1. Articulation and dissemination of evidence-based best practices among health-related institutions and Christian faith-based organizations (FBOs) leading to better health outcomes for the world’s underserved populations.
  2. Improved understanding of intercultural work undertaken by the Christian health mission sector in the context of health care and promotion for greater impact.
  3. Increased world-wide exposure to the innovations, experiences and perspectives of faith-based global health workers, advancing their professional development.
  4. Enhanced measurement and evaluation of outcomes for programs and initiatives to maximize stewardship and improve results in resource-constrained regions.
  5. Deepened understanding and action of the global Church in its role in health and healing.
  6. Integrated disciplines of public health, community development, biomedicine and theology in order to strengthen a wholistic multi-ethnic response to global health issues.

Focus and Scope

The Journal publishes evidence-based research and Christian reflection addressing the biological, social, environmental, psychological and spiritual determinants of health in a global context.  The broad scope of the journal facilitates actionable learning and capacity building in development contexts within a scholarly framework.  Topics include:

  • Community and Public Health (Health Promotion/Prevention, Nutrition and Food Security, Environmental Health, Maternal and Child Health, Community Development)
  • Health Care Services (Primary Health Care, Surgical Service, Disaster and Emergency, Rehabilitative services, Mental Health, Palliative Care)
  • Organization (Administration and Finance, Policy and Advocacy, Workforce)
  • Mission and Health (Theology, Outreach, Transformational Development)
  • Conditions of Special Interest (HIV/AIDS, Non-Communicable Disease, Neglected Tropical Diseases)

Types of Articles Published

  • Original Research
  • Commentaries
  • Review Articles
  • Editorials
  • Case studies
  • Case Reports
  • Short Communications/Field Reports
  • Current Debates
  • Opinion Pieces
  • Book Reviews
  • Journal Article Reviews
  • Conference Summaries
  • Poetry
  • Art

Peer Review Process 

Unbiased, independent, critical assessment is an intrinsic part of all scholarly work, including scientific investigation and theological reflection. The peer reviewers are experts in their field and thus are an important extension of the scholarly process.

Peer review of submissions and editing will be carried out by selected reviewers prior to publication. The purpose of this review is to assure that submissions meet the rigorous scientific, ethical and theological standards of the Journal. The peer review process entails the following:

1. The Author submits the manuscript electronically according to Author Guidelines.

2. The Journal editors shall determine if the articles are within the scope of, and appropriate for consideration by, the Journal.

3. All submissions that require peer review shall be sent out for review electronically to reviewers with expertise in the appropriate field.

4. All submissions shall be reviewed by at least two independent referees in a timely fashion.

5. Identity of the referee and author shall not normally be disclosed to either party, except at the discretion of the Editor. Such “double blind” review eliminates bias against less-known authors and bias in favor of well-known authors.

6. Standard review criteria will be applied in the review process.

7. The two referees shall electronically submit their views to the Editor. If they lack consensus, a third referee may be involved.

8. The peer review process will conclude in one of the following categories:

 Accept submission without changes
 Minor revisions with a view to accept if the revisions are appropriate and within a stipulated time.
 Recommend major revisions with an option to resubmit for another review round (within a stipulated time)
 Reject submission – either because it fails to meet standards, or if it is better suited to another journal

The Editors make the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection taking into account reviewers’ recommendations. We aim to issue a final decision on all articles within 12 weeks of submission.

 The author can submit an appeal to the Editors if they feel their submission was not been dealt with fairly.  A group from the editorial board will consider such appeals.

Publication Frequency 

Journal items can be published collectively semi-annually, as part of an issue with its own Table of Contents. Alternatively, individual items can be published as soon as they are ready, by adding them to the "current" volume's Table of Contents. 

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.  This in-turn leads to healthier lives for those around the world.

We believe that authors should retain copyright to the article they have worked so hard to produce. This is an Open Access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.

Authors are also free to make derivative works (alter, transform, or build upon), but the derivative work must be attributed to the author and to the Christian Journal for Global Health.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  

Archiving

This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. The journal uses the Private LOCKSS Network (PLN) from Public Knowledge Project through Simon Fraser University. 

Copyright Notice 

Christian Journal for Global Health applies the Creative Commons Attribution License to all articles that we publish. Under this license, authors retain ownership of copyright for their articles or they can transfer copyright to their institution, but authors allow anyone without permission to copy, distribute, transmit, and/or adapt articles, even for commercial purposes so long as the original authors and Christian Journal for Global Health are appropriately cited.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Support

Financial support for the journal is provided by institutional sponsors (US$1100 per year) and individual donations (variable). Advertisement space visible on each landing page is also available (US$500 per 6 months), and is not linked to content or reader behavior, and is accepted based on the discretion of the editors based on consistency with the scope and audience of the journal. The article processsing charge is and has been waived through 2020. Donations are gratefully received. Contact the Managing Editor for inquiries.  

Indexing

The journal is indexed in Directory of Open Access Journals, Scopus, Hinari, ATLA, Google Scholar, Crossref, Christian Periodical Index.