About the Journal

Journal of Health, Wellness and Community Research (JHWCR)

ISSN (Electronic): 3007-0570 DOI Prefix: 10.61919 Publisher: Link Medical Interface (Private) Limited Publication Frequency: Biweekly — two issues per month (from April 2025) License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

About the Journal

The Journal of Health, Wellness and Community Research (JHWCR) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal published biweekly by Link Medical Interface (Private) Limited, Lahore, Pakistan. The journal is dedicated to publishing high-quality interdisciplinary research that advances health, wellness, and community well-being across the health sciences, allied health, social sciences, and humanities.

JHWCR strongly encourages submissions from early-career and young researchers, supporting the next generation of scholars in global health.

Frequency History:

• January 2023 – March 2025: Biannual
• April 2025 onwards: Biweekly (two issues per month)

Open Access Policy

JHWCR is committed to immediate, unrestricted, and free open access to scholarly research. All articles are made freely available online upon publication with no embargo period. Readers may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of any article without registration, payment, or prior permission, provided appropriate attribution is maintained.

All content is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits sharing and adaptation for any purpose, including commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.

No subscription fees are charged to readers or institutions.

→ Read Full Open Access Policy

Aims and Scope

JHWCR invites original research, reviews, and clinical studies across the following disciplines:

• Epidemiology & Biostatistics — population health, statistical methods, disease burden
• Public & Behavioral Health — health promotion, behavioral interventions, community health
• Rehabilitation Sciences — physical, occupational, and allied health rehabilitation
• Chronic & Infectious Diseases — prevention, management, and outcomes research
• Environmental & Global Health — environmental determinants, global health equity
• Healthcare Innovations & Allied Health — emerging technologies, allied health practice
• Basic and Allied Sciences — biomedical and applied sciences with human healthcare implications

Article types accepted: Original Research, Systematic and Narrative Reviews, Case Reports, Short Communications, Commentaries, and Letters.

Licensing

All articles published in JHWCR are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Under this license, anyone may share, copy, redistribute, adapt, remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercial use, provided that:

• Appropriate credit is given to the authors and original source
• A link to the license is included
• Any changes made are clearly indicated

License link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

→ Read Full Licensing Policy

Copyright

Authors retain full copyright of their published work. By publishing in JHWCR, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive right to publish, archive, and disseminate the article under CC BY 4.0 terms. Authors are free to reuse, share, and deposit their work without requesting permission from the journal, provided the original publication in JHWCR is cited.

JHWCR does not require copyright transfer as a condition of publication.

→ Read Full Copyright Policy

Author Charges

Article Processing Charge (APC): PKR 18,000

This is the only charge associated with publishing in JHWCR. It applies to all authors equally regardless of nationality, and becomes payable only after a formal written acceptance decision has been issued following completion of peer review. No charges of any kind are collected at submission, during review, or at any point before acceptance.

Waiver Policy: Partial or full waivers are available for authors from low- and middle-income countries, early-career researchers without institutional funding, and authors experiencing documented financial hardship. Waiver requests must be submitted in writing after acceptance and before payment, with a brief justification. Waiver decisions are made independently of the editorial process and have no bearing on the acceptance decision already issued.

→ Read Full APC & Waiver Policy

Peer Review Process

JHWCR employs a double-blind peer review model in which neither authors nor reviewers are aware of each other's identity at any stage of evaluation. All submissions are assessed on scientific merit, originality, methodological soundness, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's scope.

Stage-by-stage timeline:

Total time from submission to first decision: typically 5 to 9 weeks, depending on reviewer availability and manuscript complexity. JHWCR does not offer expedited or fast-track review. All manuscripts follow the same process regardless of author affiliation, nationality, or APC status.

All manuscripts undergo plagiarism screening via Turnitin prior to peer review. Manuscripts with overall similarity exceeding 15%, or more than 5% from a single source, are returned to authors before proceeding to review.

Where two reviewers reach substantially divergent conclusions, a third independent reviewer is invited before an editorial decision is issued.

All special issue articles are subject to the same double-blind peer review process as regular submissions. Guest editor manuscripts are handled through an independent editorial pathway with no involvement of the guest editor in any aspect of their own manuscript's review.

→ Read Full Peer Review Policy

Publication Ethics

JHWCR adheres to internationally recognized standards for authorship, data integrity, conflict of interest, plagiarism prevention, and post-publication corrections. The journal follows COPE and ICMJE guidelines across all editorial decisions. All parties — authors, reviewers, and editors — are bound by clearly defined ethical responsibilities.

→ Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement → Conflict of Interest Policy → Data Sharing & Research Transparency Policy → Generative AI & Automated Tools Policy

Complaints & Appeals

Authors, reviewers, and readers may submit complaints or appeal editorial decisions in writing to editor@jhwcr.com. All complaints are acknowledged within three working days and a full response provided within two to four weeks.

→ Read Full Complaints & Appeals Policy

Editorial Team

Chief Editor Dr. Maryam Shabbir — Associate Professor, Doctorate, Physical Therapy The University of Lahore, Pakistan

Editor Dr. Umair Ahmed — Associate Professor, Doctorate, Neuro-Physical Therapy The University of Lahore, Pakistan

Managing Editor Dr. Muhammad Tahir — Consultant, MS, Neuro-Physical Therapy Therapy Plus Clinics, Pakistan

Editorial Board

Advisory Board

→ Editorial Endogeny & Self-Publication Policy

Author Guidelines & Submission

Full submission requirements, article types, formatting standards, reporting guidelines, and ethical documentation requirements are detailed in the Author Guidelines.

→ View Full Author Guidelines & Submission Instructions

Submission Email: editor@jhwcr.com

Publisher Information

Publisher: Link Medical Interface (Private) Limited Address: 8 Commercial, Sunny Park, Lahore 54000, Pakistan Website: https://lmi.education/ Editorial Contact: editor@jhwcr.com

→ Ownership & Management Disclosure

Archiving & Preservation

JHWCR ensures permanent long-term preservation of all published content through:

• PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) — distributed digital preservation via the Keepers Registry
• LOCKSS — distributed preservation through participating library networks
• CLOCKSS — dark archive ensuring long-term access in the event of journal discontinuation

→ Read Full Archiving Policy

Self-Archiving Policy

Authors may deposit any version of their manuscript (preprint, accepted manuscript, or published PDF) in any institutional or subject repository, preprint server, or personal website at any time. No embargo applies to any version. All self-archived versions must include a complete citation to the published JHWCR article and a link to the CC BY 4.0 license.

→ Read Full Self-Archiving Policy

Indexing

JHWCR is indexed and registered with Google Scholar, CrossRef (DOI prefix 10.61919), EuroPub, PakMediNet, and Afro-Asian Research Index.

All content published in JHWCR is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Authors retain full copyright. © Link Medical Interface (Private) Limited, Lahore, Pakistan