Instruction For Author

The Pakistan Journal of Health Psychology (PJHP) welcomes high-quality scholarly manuscripts that contribute to the advancement of health psychology and related disciplines. Authors are requested to carefully follow these guidelines before submitting a manuscript. Submissions that do not comply with the journal’s requirements may be returned for revision before peer review.

1. Scope of Submissions

PJHP considers original and scientifically rigorous work related to health psychology, mental health and well-being, behavioral medicine, psychological assessment and intervention, health behavior, stress and coping, chronic illness, psychosocial determinants of health, healthcare experiences, health promotion, and related interdisciplinary areas.

The journal may consider:

  • Original Research Articles
  • Review Articles
  • Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
  • Brief Research Reports
  • Case Studies
  • Theoretical or Conceptual Papers
  • Perspectives and Commentaries

2. Originality of Manuscripts

Manuscripts submitted to PJHP must be original, must not have been previously published, and must not be under consideration by another journal. All authors should have made meaningful contributions to the work and must approve the final manuscript and its submission.

Authors are responsible for appropriately acknowledging and citing all sources used in their work. Plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, data falsification, inappropriate authorship, and other forms of research misconduct are not acceptable.

3. Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be written in clear, professional academic English. Authors should submit an editable Microsoft Word document and use consistent formatting throughout the manuscript.

The manuscript should normally contain the following components, where applicable:

Title Page: Article title, names of all authors, institutional affiliations, corresponding author's contact information, and ORCID iDs where available.

Abstract: A concise summary describing the purpose, methodology, major findings, and conclusions of the study.

Keywords: Authors should provide approximately 4–6 relevant keywords that accurately represent the content of the manuscript.

Main Text: Original research manuscripts should generally follow the structure of Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion, where appropriate to the study design.

Declarations: Relevant statements concerning ethical approval, informed consent, conflicts of interest, funding, author contributions, data availability, and acknowledgements should be provided where applicable.

References: All references cited in the manuscript must appear in the reference list, and all references listed must be cited in the text.

4. Referencing Style

PJHP follows the American Psychological Association (APA) style, 7th edition, for in-text citations, references, tables, figures, statistical reporting, and other relevant aspects of manuscript presentation.

Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of all references, including author names, publication years, article titles, journal titles, volume and issue information, page ranges, and DOI information where available.

5. Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should be clearly numbered, appropriately titled, and referred to in the manuscript text. They should present information efficiently and should not unnecessarily duplicate information already provided in the text.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted figures, tables, questionnaires, scales, photographs, or other material when permission is required.

6. Research Ethics

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable institutional and internationally recognized ethical principles. Authors should state whether ethical approval was obtained from an appropriate Institutional Review Board, Research Ethics Committee, or equivalent body and provide relevant approval information where applicable.

Where required, authors should confirm that informed consent was obtained from participants or their legally authorized representatives.

Research involving vulnerable populations, sensitive information, or identifiable participant data should include appropriate safeguards for privacy, confidentiality, and participant welfare.

7. Clinical Trials and Research Reporting

Authors should follow recognized reporting guidelines appropriate to their study design. Where applicable, these may include CONSORT for randomized trials, PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, STROBE for observational studies, and CARE for case reports.

Clinical trials should be appropriately registered where required, and relevant registration information should be included in the manuscript.

8. Authorship and Contributions

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work. All listed authors must approve the submitted manuscript and accept responsibility for their respective contributions.

Authors should disclose relevant contributions and acknowledge individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship.

9. Conflict of Interest and Funding

All authors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, or personal relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.

Authors should also identify all sources of financial or material support for the research. If no external funding was received, an appropriate statement should be included.

10. Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors must remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and appropriate attribution of all submitted content. Artificial intelligence tools should not be listed as authors.

Where generative AI tools have been used in a manner that materially contributed to manuscript preparation or research procedures, authors should transparently disclose such use in accordance with the journal's editorial policy. AI-generated content must not replace authors' responsibility for verifying facts, citations, analyses, and conclusions.

11. Peer Review

Manuscripts that satisfy the journal's initial editorial requirements will be considered for peer review. Editorial decisions are based on factors including scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, clarity, and relevance to the scope of PJHP.

Submission of a manuscript does not guarantee acceptance. Authors may be asked to revise their manuscripts in response to editorial and reviewer comments.

12. Copyright and Permissions

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submission does not infringe the copyright or intellectual property rights of others. Permission must be obtained for copyrighted material reproduced or adapted in the manuscript whenever such permission is legally required.

Copyright and licensing arrangements for accepted articles will be governed by the journal's published copyright and open-access policies.

13. Submission Process

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically through the Pakistan Journal of Health Psychology online submission system. Authors should complete all required submission metadata, including author information, manuscript title, abstract, keywords, and other requested declarations.

Before completing submission, authors should ensure that:

  • the manuscript falls within the aims and scope of PJHP;
  • the submission is original and is not under consideration elsewhere;
  • all authors have approved the manuscript and its submission;
  • identifying information has been removed from the manuscript where required for anonymous peer review;
  • ethical approval and informed-consent information has been provided where applicable;
  • all references have been checked for accuracy;
  • tables and figures are appropriately numbered and cited;
  • conflicts of interest and funding have been disclosed; and
  • the manuscript has been carefully proofread.

14. Editorial Rights

The editorial team reserves the right to conduct an initial screening of submissions and to return or decline manuscripts that fall outside the journal's scope, do not meet basic scholarly or ethical standards, or substantially fail to comply with these instructions.

Acceptance of a manuscript is subject to successful completion of the journal's editorial and peer-review processes. Authors are expected to respond carefully and professionally to editorial and reviewer comments and to clearly identify revisions made to the manuscript.