Author Guidelines

Online ISSN: 3117-7492 Print ISSN: 3117-7506 Frequency: Bi-Annual Open Access (CC BY 4.0)

The Healthcare Quality Professionals Journal (HQPJ) welcomes high-quality scholarly manuscripts addressing healthcare quality, patient safety, clinical governance, health services management, quality improvement, healthcare administration, accreditation, healthcare outcomes, and related interdisciplinary areas.

Authors are expected to submit original, scientifically sound, ethically prepared, and professionally presented manuscripts that make a meaningful contribution to healthcare quality research, policy, management, education, or professional practice. Authors should carefully review these guidelines before submitting a manuscript to the journal.

Before Preparing Your Manuscript

Authors should ensure that the proposed manuscript is relevant to the journal’s scope and demonstrates sufficient academic, professional, clinical, managerial, or policy significance.

  • The manuscript should present original scholarly work.
  • The topic should fall within the scope of HQPJ.
  • All authors should approve the submission.
  • The manuscript should not be under simultaneous review elsewhere.
  • Research methods should be clearly reported.
  • Relevant ethical requirements should be addressed.
  • Conflicts of interest should be disclosed.
  • Funding sources should be acknowledged where applicable.

Areas of Submission

  • Healthcare Quality Management
  • Patient Safety
  • Clinical Governance
  • Quality Improvement
  • Healthcare Administration
  • Hospital Management
  • Healthcare Accreditation
  • Clinical Audit
  • Risk Management in Healthcare
  • Patient-Centered Care
  • Healthcare Outcomes & Performance
  • Health Services Research
  • Nursing Quality & Professional Practice
  • Public Health Quality
  • Digital Health & Quality Systems
  • Healthcare Policy & Governance
  • Infection Prevention & Quality Control
  • Healthcare Education & Workforce Development

Types of Manuscripts Accepted

Manuscript Type Description
Original Research Articles Original quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, observational, experimental, implementation, or health-services research addressing healthcare quality and related fields.
Review Articles Critical and comprehensive reviews of established evidence, current developments, challenges, and future directions in healthcare quality.
Systematic Reviews Structured reviews based on clearly defined research questions, search strategies, selection criteria, evidence assessment, and synthesis methods.
Quality Improvement Studies Studies describing evidence-based interventions intended to improve healthcare processes, patient safety, service delivery, efficiency, or clinical outcomes.
Case Studies Detailed analyses of healthcare organizations, quality initiatives, patient-safety interventions, accreditation processes, or management challenges.
Short Communications Concise scholarly reports presenting timely findings, innovative quality initiatives, emerging evidence, or important professional observations.

General Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be written in clear academic English and organized logically. The structure may vary according to manuscript type; research articles should generally include:

Main Structure

  • Title Page & Author Information
  • Abstract & Keywords
  • Introduction & Literature Review
  • Research Objectives
  • Materials and Methods / Methodology
  • Results / Findings
  • Discussion & Conclusion

Statements & Declarations

  • Limitations & Practical / Policy Implications
  • Acknowledgments & Funding Statement
  • Conflict of Interest Statement
  • Ethical Approval Statement (if applicable)
  • Data Availability Statement
  • References & Supplementary Material

Title Page Requirements

  • Full manuscript title
  • Full names of all authors
  • Department and institutional affiliation
  • City and country
  • Corresponding author details & Professional email
  • ORCID / Researcher identifier
  • Author contribution statements

Methodology Reporting

  • Study Design & Setting: Clearly state framework and clinical/hospital setting.
  • Participants & Sampling: Describe eligibility and sampling criteria.
  • Data Collection: Explain instruments, surveys, and database tools.
  • Data Analysis: Detail statistical or qualitative evaluation methods.
  • Quality Indicators: Define key performance and evaluation metrics.

Research Ethics & Integrity

  • Ethics committee approval obtained where required.
  • Informed consent from participants.
  • Strict protection of participant/patient confidentiality.
  • Plagiarism, data fabrication, or falsification is strictly prohibited.
  • Full disclosure of conflicts of interest and funding sources.

Use of Generative AI

Where generative AI or AI-assisted technologies contribute to manuscript preparation, authors must disclose such use transparently in the manuscript.

AI systems cannot be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, citations, integrity, and scholarly content of the work.

Submission & Editorial Process

1

Manuscript Submission

Authors submit the manuscript together with author information, declarations, and files.

2

Editorial Screening

Evaluated for scope relevance, originality, completeness, and ethical compliance.

3

Peer Review

Proceeds to scholarly peer review for methodological and scientific quality assessment.

4

Author Revision

Authors revise the manuscript and provide a point-by-point response to comments.

5

Editorial Decision

Final decision reached by the editorial authority based on review feedback and revisions.

6

Publication

Accepted manuscripts undergo production and formatting before publication in an issue.

Pre-Submission Checklist

Before submitting, please confirm that all the following requirements are met:

Manuscript is original & not under review elsewhere.
Subject fits within HQPJ scope.
All authors have approved the final submission.
Author names, affiliations & emails are complete.
Abstract and keywords are provided.
Research methods & analytical procedures detailed.
Tables, figures, and legends properly labeled.
References verified and properly cited.
Ethical approval & consent stated where required.
Funding & Conflict of Interest statements included.

Copyright & Open Access Policy

Healthcare Quality Professionals Journal follows an Open Access publishing model under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Authors retain copyright of their work while granting the journal the right of first publication.

Author Responsibility & Notice

Submission to Healthcare Quality Professionals Journal (HQPJ) indicates that the authors accept full responsibility for the originality, accuracy, ethical integrity, authorship, references, research data, and declarations of the manuscript. Authors are expected to cooperate with the journal during editorial screening, peer review, revision, and publication procedures.