GHRN

Healthcare Research and Practice (HRP) is the official journal published by the Global Health Research Network (GHRN). The journal is issued quarterly, with publication dates on April 1, July 1, October 1, and January 1. Since its inaugural issue in 2025, HRP has been published exclusively online. Authors interested in submitting manuscripts can refer to the Instructions for Authors, which are available on the HRP website (https://ghrn.imweb.me).

HRP aims to promote interdisciplinary research and practical advancements across a wide spectrum of healthcare topics. The journal welcomes submissions in areas such as:

Aging and chronic disease management
Public health and digital healthcare innovation
Health equity and social determinants of health
Mental health and community health promotion
Translational research in medicine, health policy, and education

HRP encourages the integration of medicine, public health, social sciences, and digital technologies to address real-world health challenges. The journal is particularly interested in research that contributes to clinical practice, policy development, and global health impact.

Manuscript Submission

Manuscript submissions to Healthcare Research and Practice (HRP) are open to both members and non-members of the Global Health Research Network (GHRN). All manuscripts must be submitted via email to the editorial office at HRPJournal@gmail.com .

Submitted manuscripts must be original and unpublished, and may not be under consideration by another journal or digital platform. This includes text, tables, and figures. A clear declaration to this effect must be included in the cover letter.

HRP accepts the following categories of manuscripts:

Original Research Articles
Research Notes
Short Communications
Review Articles (by invitation only)

Statements and opinions expressed in published articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of HRP or GHRN.

Submission implies that all listed authors have approved the manuscript and agree to its submission. Along with the manuscript, authors must attach:

A completed manuscript submission checklist
A signed copyright transfer agreement (with signatures from all authors)

Templates for both documents are available upon request via email.

Only manuscripts sent to HRPJournal@gmail.com will be considered for peer review.

Peer Review

Healthcare Research and Practice (HRP) reviews all submitted manuscripts under a strict confidentiality policy. Upon initial submission, each manuscript is first assessed for adherence to the journal’s format and alignment with the aims and scope of HRP. Manuscripts that meet these preliminary requirements are then assigned to two independent experts in the relevant field for evaluation. HRP follows a double-blind peer review process, in which the identities of both authors and reviewers are anonymized. Author names and affiliations are removed during the review to ensure objectivity and fairness.

Once the manuscript is under review, HRP collects feedback from at least two reviewers. If necessary, the editorial team may also request a statistical review. Manuscripts are evaluated based on their scientific quality, originality, clarity, and significance to the field. Final decisions are made by the editor, based on the reviewers’ recommendations and detailed critiques.

An initial editorial decision is typically made within 8 weeks of submission. Reviewer comments and the decision are communicated to the corresponding author via the online submission and peer review system. Authors are required to respond to all reviewer comments point-by-point, and submit a revised manuscript accordingly. If a revised version is not submitted within 4 weeks of the editorial decision, the manuscript will be considered withdrawn.

The editor will notify the corresponding author of the final decision—acceptance, rejection, or request for further revision—as soon as possible after the review process is complete. Once a manuscript is accepted and fully complies with HRP’s formatting and publication standards, it is scheduled for publication in the next available issue.

Authoship

Healthcare Research and Practice (HRP) adheres to the authorship criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

All authors listed on a manuscript must meet all four of the following conditions:

Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
Significant involvement in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
Final approval of the version to be published.
Accountability for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Authors who do not meet all four criteria should not be listed as authors but may be acknowledged elsewhere in the manuscript.

Ethical Issues

The Editorial Board of Healthcare Research and Practice (HRP) will review any ethical concerns that arise in relation to submitted manuscripts and may provide guidance or decisions to the authors. In cases where an author disagrees with the decision made by the Editorial Board, the issue may be referred to the appropriate ethics committee at the author's affiliated institution or to a recognized international oversight body.

Policy on Redundant Publication

Submitted manuscripts must not include any material that has been previously published or is currently under consideration by another journal or publishing platform. According to the Council of Science Editors, redundant publication refers to the presentation of substantially the same work more than once without appropriate citation of the original source(s).

A potentially redundant manuscript typically includes the following characteristics:

At least one author is common across two or more publications.
The subject matter or study population is the same or substantially similar.
The methodology is identical or nearly so.
The results and interpretations differ minimally, if at all.

HRP follows the principles outlined in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
If authors believe that their manuscript may involve overlapping content, they must notify the editor in the cover letter and clearly explain the reuse of data or methods within the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript. A copy of any potentially overlapping or previously published work should also be submitted for comparison. In limited circumstances, redundant or duplicate publication may be acceptable if explicitly justified and approved by the editor, in accordance with ICMJE guidelines (https://www.icmje.org).

Other Research and Publication Ethics

For ethical issues not specifically addressed in these guidelines, authors and editors should follow the principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org) and other internationally accepted standards for responsible scholarly publishing.

Conflict of Interest

Maintaining public trust in the peer review process and the credibility of published work requires the clear disclosure and management of conflicts of interest (COI). A conflict of interest exists when authors, reviewers, or editors have financial, personal, or professional relationships that may inappropriately influence their actions or judgments. These relationships—also referred to as dual commitments, competing interests, or competing loyalties—may be significant or minor, and may exist regardless of whether the individual believes they affect their judgment.

Financial relationships (e.g., employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony) are the most easily identifiable and most likely to undermine scientific integrity. However, non-financial factors such as academic competition or personal relationships may also constitute conflicts of interest.

Informed Consent

Patients have a fundamental right to privacy, which must not be violated without explicit informed consent. Identifiable information such as names, initials, or hospital identification numbers should not be published unless scientifically essential and the patient (or a legal guardian) provides written informed consent for publication. This includes consent to view and approve the version of the manuscript in which they are identifiable.

Authors must disclose the identities of any individuals who assisted in writing or editing the manuscript and indicate any funding sources for such assistance. If anonymity cannot be fully guaranteed, informed consent should be obtained. Masking the eye region in photographs, for example, is not sufficient to ensure anonymity. If any identifying features are modified (e.g., in genetic pedigrees), authors must confirm that these modifications do not distort the scientific content, and editors should acknowledge this.

Informed consent procedures must be disclosed in the published article when applicable.

Human and Animal Rights

When reporting studies involving human participants, authors must confirm that all procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of their institutional and national research committees, and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, revised in 2013. If there is doubt about whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale and confirm that their institutional review board explicitly approved the research protocol.

For research involving animals, authors must state that their work complied with institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals.

Source: ICMJE, Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, December 2019

Manuscript Preparation Guidelines for HRP

1. General Formatting Requirements

Manuscripts must be written in clear, academic English and prepared using Microsoft Word.
Use Times New Roman, 12-point font, and double-spacing.
Set 3 cm margins on all sides.
Line numbers should appear in the left margin; page numbers should be located in the bottom right corner starting from the abstract.

2. Title Page

Title of the manuscript (specific, concise, and informative)
Author list (full names, institutional affiliations with city and country, and email addresses)
Corresponding author information marked with "\u00a7" including postal address, email, and phone number
Running head (maximum 50 characters): A short running head containing not more than 50 characters including spaces is required.
Acknowledgments: All persons who have made substantial contribution, but who are not eligible as authors are named in acknowledgment.
Funding sources (follow CrossRef-registered organization names)
Conflict of interest statement: The contribution of each author should be described using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) framework. Please specify the roles by listing the authors’ initials under the relevant CRediT categories. Authors may be credited for more than one role, and irrelevant categories can be omitted or additional roles added if appropriate. An example format is as follows:
Conceptualization: initials; Methodology: initials; Data analysis: initials; Experimental work: initials; Draft writing: initials; Review and editing: initials; Funding support: initials; Project oversight: initials.

3. Abstract and Keywords

Structured abstracts are required for original articles and should concisely and logically highlight the key components of the study. The abstract, which must not exceed 300 words, should be placed immediately following the title page.
Use a structured abstract (max 300 words) with headings: Background/Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusion.
List 3-6 keywords, separated by semicolons, using MeSH terminology when possible.

4. Main Text Structure

The main body of the manuscript typically consists of the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods (or Subjects and Methods), Results, and Discussion. When using abbreviations or acronyms for the first time, the full term must be provided, followed by the abbreviated form in parentheses. Abbreviations should be avoided in the manuscript title.

Introduction
Provide a focused summary of the existing scholarly literature that establishes the context of the research. Clearly define the core research question and justify its relevance in the current scientific or clinical landscape. Address any prevailing debates or unresolved issues, and explicitly state the primary objective and intended contribution of the study.
Materials and Methods
This section should provide a level of detail sufficient to allow replication of the study without reliance on supplementary documents. If applicable, include an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval statement along with the IRB or IACUC approval number. For devices and equipment used, include information such as model, manufacturer, and location (city, state, country) in parentheses. Trademark symbols like ™ or ® should be included only when essential.
In accordance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, clearly distinguish between the terms sex (biological classification) and gender (identity or sociocultural classification). Report the sex and/or gender of human participants, animals, or cells studied, and describe how these classifications were determined. If the study involves a population limited to one sex, a justification must be provided unless it is self-evident (e.g., prostate cancer studies). Authors must also specify the criteria for determining race or ethnicity and explain their scientific relevance to the research.
Results
Authors are encouraged to organize the results section using subheadings where appropriate. The findings should be clearly and thoroughly described in the text and may be supported by tables and figures as needed.
Discussion
The discussion should interpret the study's findings in the context of existing literature. Authors are expected to compare their results with previously published studies of similar scope and discuss the broader implications for future research or practical applications.

5. References

Number references in the order they appear in the text using brackets [ ].
List all references at the end in the same order.
Follow NLM and KoreaMed journal title abbreviations.
Example formats:
- Journal: Author 1, Author 2, Author 3.Title of the aritcle. Nutr Res Pract. Year;Volume:page range.
- Book: Hong KD. Community Nutrition. Seoul: Youngil; 2003. p.35-47.

6. Tables and Figures

Each table and figure must be inserted in the manuscript according to the sequence in which it is referenced in the text. A maximum of 10 tables and figures combined is allowed. Tables should have a concise, informative title positioned above, while figures should have their titles placed below. Tables must also include legends, footnotes, and any necessary explanatory text beneath them.
Footnotes within tables should be numbered in the order of appearance using superscripted numerals (e.g., 1), 2), 3), etc.). Avoid the use of internal horizontal or vertical lines in tables. Only three horizontal lines—above the table, below the header, and at the bottom—should be used unless additional lines are essential.
For figures or charts created using Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) or other software, ensure files are submitted in an accepted format (TIFF, JPEG, EPS, PDF, or native Office format) with a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Avoid submitting images with low resolution or insufficient pixel density, especially for standard page sizes (8.5 x 11 inches or 215.9 x 279.4 mm). To ensure clarity, all abbreviations, acronyms, symbols, and numeric indicators used in tables or figures must be accompanied by sufficient explanatory text to make the content self-contained and easily interpretable.

7. Units and Abbreviations

Numerical quantities should be expressed using Arabic numerals, except when they appear at the beginning of a sentence, in which case the number must be spelled out (e.g., “Twenty-two meals were prepared”). All units of measurement must follow the International System of Units (SI).
The following standard abbreviations should be consistently used throughout the manuscript:
centimeter (cm), liter (L), deciliter (dL), milliliter (mL), milligram (mg), kilogram (kg), kilocalorie (kcal), weight (wt), second (s), hour (h), month (mon), year (yrs), mean (m), standard deviation (SD), standard error (SE), and number (n).
When introducing an abbreviation or acronym for the first time in the abstract or main text, spell out the full term followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Commonly recognized abbreviations such as RDA or UNICEF do not need to be defined. Abbreviations must also be explained upon their first use in table footnotes or figure legends.
Always insert a space between the number and its unit, with the exception of percent signs (%) and degrees Celsius (°C).
Examples: 10 mL, 20 µL, 20%, 10 °C

8. Statistical and Ethical Requirements

National survey data must apply correct complex sampling methods.
Clearly state survey year/wave and statistical tools used.
Declare IRB approval or exemption.
Clarify race/ethnicity, sex/gender reporting standards (per ICMJE).

9. Short Communications

A short communication is a concise report that presents original findings of significant relevance or novelty within the field of nutrition science and practice. It should not contain preliminary or incomplete results. Submissions in this category are subject to the same peer-review standards as full-length articles.
Manuscripts intended as short communications must include the following:
- An abstract not exceeding 300 words
- A main text of no more than 2,500 words (excluding abstract and references)
- A maximum of five figures and/or tables
- Up to 30 references
- Clearly separated sections: Introduction, Materials/Subjects and Methods, Results, and Discussion

10. Review Articles

Review manuscripts should follow the same formatting guidelines as original articles, but may differ in structure. Unlike original research papers, review articles do not require a structured abstract or sectioned main text, and the total number of references should not exceed 100.

11. Submission

Submit via email to HRPJournal@gmail.com
Include manuscript file, title page, cover letter, author checklist, and copyright transfer form

Copyright Policy
All submitted manuscripts must be original works that have not been previously published, submitted, or accepted for publication elsewhere, except in abstract format. Upon acceptance for publication, the copyright of the article will be transferred from the author(s) to Healthcare Research and Practice (HRP). Abstracts may be reused without formal permission if the original source is properly cited.

Publication Fee
An invoice for publication charges will be sent via email. The total cost may vary depending on the number of tables and figures. This fee covers services such as editing, proofreading, online publication, and submission to indexing platforms such as PubMed Central. The corresponding author is responsible for payment via wire transfer or credit card prior to online release. Page charges will be waived for invited submissions.

Proofs
Proofs will be sent to the corresponding author unless otherwise specified. Authors must return corrected proofs within 48 hours of receipt to avoid publication delays. Corrections should be limited to typographical or typesetting errors only; major content changes will not be permitted at this stage. Editorial changes made for clarity, grammar, or style may not be reversed unless they affect the scientific content.

Global Healthcare Resaerch Network(GHRN)