Thank you for your interest in Health Care Science. Please refer to the following instructions to help you prepare your manuscript, and feel free to contact us if any questions. To ensure fast peer review and publication, manuscripts that do not adhere to the following instructions may be returned to the corresponding author for technical revision before undergoing peer review. We are looking forward to your submission.

Once the submission materials have been prepared in accordance with the Author Guidelines, manuscripts should be submitted online at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/healthcarescience

For help with submissions, please contact: healthcarescience@tup.tsinghua.edu.cn

This journal does not charge submission fees.

Article Preparation Support

Wiley Editing Services offers expert help with English Language Editing, as well as translation, manuscript formatting, figure illustration, figure formatting, and graphical abstract.

Also, check out our resources for Preparing Your Article for general guidance about writing and preparing your manuscript.

Free Format submission

Health Care Science offers free format submission for a simplified and streamlined submission process. 

Before you submit, you will need:

• Your manuscript: an editable file including text, figures, and tables, or separate files—whichever you prefer. Your manuscript should include all required sections: abstract, introduction, methods, results, and conclusions. Figures and tables must have legends. Upload figures in the highest resolution possible. References may be submitted in any style or format, so long as it is consistent throughout the manuscript. Submit supporting information in separate files. The editorial office will send back any difficult to read figures or tables to you for revision. Your manuscript may also be sent back to you for revision if the quality of English language is poor.
• An ORCID ID, freely available at https://orcid.org. (Why is this important? Your article, if accepted and published, will be attached to your ORCID profile. Institutions and funders are increasingly requiring authors to have ORCID IDs.)
• The title page of the manuscript, including:
• Your co-author details, including affiliation and email address. (Why is this important? We need to keep all co-authors informed of the outcome of the peer review process.)
• Statements relating to our ethics and integrity policies, which may include any of the following (Why are these important? We need to uphold rigorous ethical standards for the research we consider for publication):
• data availability statement
• funding statement
• conflict of interest disclosure
• ethics approval statement
• patient consent statement
• permission to reproduce material from other sources
• clinical trial registration

Open Access

This journal is a gold open access title 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. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access. 

Article Publication Charge (APC) is waived for manuscripts submitted from 2022 to 2024. You can read more about APCs and whether you may be eligible for waivers or discounts, through your institution, funder, or a country waiver.

Preprint Policy

Please find our preprint policy here.

This journal accepts articles previously published on preprint servers. You are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article. You may also post the final published version of the article immediately after publication.

Registered Reports

See the Registered Reports Author Guidelines for full details.

Data Sharing and Data Availability

This journal expects data sharing. Review Wiley's Data Sharing policy where you will be able to see and select the data availability statement that is right for your submission.

Data Citation

Please review Wiley's Data Citation policy.

Data Protection

By submitting a manuscript to or reviewing for this publication, your name, email address, and affiliation, and other contact details the publication might require, will be used for the regular operations of the publication. Please review Wiley's Data Protection Policy to learn more.

Funding

You should list all funding sources in the Acknowledgments section. You are responsible for the accuracy of their funder designation. If in doubt, please check the Open Funder Registry for the correct nomenclature.

Authorship

All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version. Review editorial standards and scroll down for a description of authorship criteria.

ORCID

This journal requires ORCID. Please refer to Wiley's resources on ORCID.

Reproduction of Copyright Material

If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, credit must be shown in the contribution. It is your responsibility to also obtain written permission for reproduction from the copyright owners. For more information visit Wiley's Copyright Terms & Conditions FAQ.

The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce the material "in print and other media" from the publisher of the original source, and for supplying Wiley with that permission upon submission.

Title Page

The title page should contain

1. A brief informative title containing the major key words. The title should not contain abbreviations (see Wiley's best practice SEO tips);
2. A short running title of less than 40 characters;
3. The full names of the authors;
4. The authors’ institutional affiliations where the work was conducted, with a footnote for the author’s present address if different from where the work was conducted, and, if desired, twitter handles;
5. Acknowledgments.

Main Text File

The main text file should be in Word and include:

Manuscripts can be uploaded either as a single document (containing the main text, tables and figures), or with figures and tables provided as separate files. Should your manuscript reach revision stage, figures and tables must be provided as separate files. The main manuscript file can be submitted in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format.

Your main document file should include:

• A short informative title containing the major key words. The title should not contain abbreviations;
• The full names of the authors with institutional affiliations where the work was conducted, with a footnote for the author’s present address if different from where the work was conducted;
• Acknowledgments;
• Abstract structured or unstructured;
• Up to 10 keywords;
• Practitioner Points (optional) Authors will need to provide no more than 3 ‘key points’, written with the practitioner in mind, that summarize the key messages of their paper to be published with their article;
• Main body: formatted as introduction, materials & methods, results, discussion, conclusion;
• References;
• Tables (each table complete with concise title and footnotes);
• Figure legends: Legends should be supplied as a complete list in the text. Figures should be uploaded as separate files (see below).

Graphical Abstracts

Health Care Science publishes graphical abstracts for most articles, displayed online in graphical form with a brief abstract, in addition to the abstract above. The online table of contents will display a schematic figure to convey the core message of your paper, alongside a short abstract highlighting the major findings of the paper. Authors will be asked to submit a new and stand-alone image, or designate an image already included in the paper if your paper is accepted.

Your short abstract should consist of 2-3 sentences summarizing the essence of the paper. The image should fit within the dimensions of 50mm x 60mm, and be fully legible at this size.

Reference Style

This journal uses Vancouver reference style reference style. Review your reference style guidelines prior to submission.

This journal uses Vancouver reference style reference style; as the journal offers free format submission, however, this is for information only and you do not need to format the references in your article. This will instead be taken care of by the typesetter.

Figures and Supporting Information

Figures, supporting information, and appendices should be supplied as separate files. You should review the basic figure requirements for manuscripts for peer review, as well as the more detailed post-acceptance figure requirements. View Wiley's FAQs on supporting information.

Peer Review

This journal operates under a single-anonymized peer review model. Except where otherwise stated, manuscripts are peer reviewed by at least two anonymous reviewers. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements.

In-house submissions, i.e. papers authored by Editors or Editorial Board members of the title, will be sent to Editors unaffiliated with the author or institution and monitored carefully to ensure there is no peer review bias.

Wiley's policy on the confidentiality of the review process is available here.

Guidelines on Publishing and Research Ethics in Journal Articles

The journal requires that you include in the manuscript details IRB (Institutional Review Board) approvals, ethical treatment of human and animal research participants, and gathering of informed consent, as appropriate. You will be expected to declare all conflicts of interest, or none, on submission. Please review Wiley’s policies surrounding human studies, animal studies, clinical trial registration, biosecurity, and research reporting guidelines.

This journal follows the core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and handles cases of research and publication misconduct accordingly (https://publicationethics.org/core-practices). 

This journal uses iThenticate’s CrossCheck software to detect instances of overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts. Read Wiley's Top 10 Publishing Ethics Tips for Authors and Wiley’s Publication Ethics Guidelines. 

Author Contributions

For all articles, the journal mandates the CRediT (Contribution Roles Taxonomy)—more information is available on our Author Services site.

The table below outlines general specifications of the different Health Care Science article types.  

1. Original Article

Description: Original Articles should be scientific reports of new research findings or original primary research in oncology field.

Word limit: 4,000 words maximum excluding references, tables and figures.

Reference limit: No limit.

Abstract: The Abstract should be structured and up to 350 words. Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract. Reports of randomized controlled trials should follow the CONSORT extension for abstracts. The abstract must include the following separate sections:

• Background: The context and purpose of the study;
• Methods: How the study was performed and statistical tests used;
• Results: The main findings;
• Conclusions: Brief summary and potential implications;
• Trial registration: If your article reports the results of a health care intervention on human participants, it must be registered in an appropriate registry and the registration number and date of registration should be stated in this section. If it was not registered prospectively (before enrolment of the first participant), you should include the words, ‘retrospectively registered’.

Keywords: 3 to 10 keywords representing the main content of the article.

Background: The Background section should explain the background to the study, its aims, a summary of the existing literature and why this study was necessary or its contribution to the field.

Methods: The methods section should include:

• the aim, design and setting of the study
• the characteristics of participants or description of materials
• a clear description of all processes, interventions and comparisons. Generic drug names should generally be used. When proprietary brands are used in research, include the brand names in parentheses
• the type of statistical analysis used, including a power calculation if appropriate

Results: This should include the findings of the study including, if appropriate, results of statistical analysis which must be included either in the text or as tables and figures.

Discussion: This section should discuss the implications of the findings in context of existing research and highlight limitations of the study.

Conclusions: This should state clearly the main conclusions and provide an explanation of the importance and relevance of the study reported.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

2. Review

Description: Reviews are summaries of recent insights in specific research areas within the scope of the journal. Key aims of Reviews are to provide systematic and substantial coverage of mature subjects, evaluations of progress in specified areas, and/or critical assessments of emerging technologies.

Word limit: 3,000 words maximum excluding references, tables and figures.

Reference limit: No limit

Abstract: The Abstract should not exceed 350 words and should be unstructured (no use of sub-headers). Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract.

Keywords: 3 to 10 keywords representing the main content of the article.

Background: The Background section should explain the background to the article, its aims, a summary of a search of the existing literature and the issue under discussion.

Main text: This should contain the body of the article, and may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings.

Conclusions: This should state clearly the main conclusions and include an explanation of their relevance or importance to the field.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

3. Short Communication

Description: Short communications are brief articles that present particularly novel or exciting results, introduce new theories or ideas, or offer new methodological approaches. The papers should be highly original and represent ideas that will challenge current paradigms or approaches. They should stimulate thought, serving as precursors to new research programs or working groups.

Word limit: 1,500 words maximum excluding abstract, references, tables and figures.

Abstract: The Abstract should be structured and up to 350 words. Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract. The abstract must include the following separate sections:

• Background: The context and purpose of the study;
• Methods: How the study was performed and statistical tests used;
• Results: The main findings;
• Conclusions: Brief summary and potential implications.

Keywords: 3 to 10 keywords representing the main content of the article.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

4. Case Report

Description: Case report should describe a single case or a small series. A case report must be unique, groundbreaking and/or educational and draw attention to important or unusual health care situations, concepts, or application.

Word limit: 1,500 words maximum excluding references, tables and figures.

Reference limit: 20 maximum.

Abstract: The Abstract should not exceed 350 words and should be unstructured (no use of sub-headers). Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract.

Keywords: 3 to 10 keywords representing the main content of the article.

Main text: This should contain the body of the article, and may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings.

Figures/tables: 4 maximum.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

5. Commentary

Description: Commentaries can discuss a paper published in a specific issue and should set the problems addressed by the paper in the wider context of the field. Commentaries can also generally address unresolved and timely issues in Oncology, and should provide ample evidence to support the authors' views. The topic should be of interest to the broad readership of Health Care Science.

Word limit: Broad interest commentaries should be 1500 words maximum; invited commentaries should be 1,000 words maximum.

Reference limit: 20 maximum.

Abstract: Not required.

Keywords: 3 to 10 keywords representing the main content of the article.

Figures/tables: 2 maximum.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

6. News and View

Description: News and Views articles should address unresolved and timely issues in health care. They can involve discussion of new discoveries related to health care. Although the nature of this section lends itself to opinion, ample evidence to support the authors' views must be provided, and the topic should be of interest to the broad readership of the journal.

Additionally, key developments presented and discussed at meetings can be submitted under News and Views. The main content of the article should focus on new research discoveries and the application of this knowledge.

Word limit: 1,000 words maximum excluding references, tables and figures.

Reference limit: 10 maximum.

Abstract: Not required.

Keywords: 3 to 10 keywords representing the main content of the article.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

7. Editorial-Invited only

Description: Editorials are opinions or perspectives on the content of Health Care Science or of relevance to the field of health care.

Word limit: 2,000 maximum excluding references, tables and figures.

Reference Limit: 20 maximum.

Abstract: Not required.

Keywords: 3-10 keywords representing the main content of the article.

Figure/table limit: 2 maximum.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

8. Practice and Policy

Description: Public statement of what a representative group of experts agree to be evidence-based and state-of-the-art knowledge on an aspect of practice/policy; Expert opinion from one or more people on the practice/policy of relevance to the field of health care.

Word limit: 1,500 words maximum excluding references, tables and figures.

Reference limit: 20 maximum.

Abstract: The Abstract should be unstructured (no use of sub-headers) and up to 350 words. Please minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references in the abstract.

Keywords: 3 to 10 keywords representing the main content of the article.

Figure/table limit: 2 maximum.

List of abbreviations: If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.

First Look

After your paper is accepted, your files will be assessed by the editorial office to ensure they are ready for production. You may be contacted if any updates or final files are required. Otherwise, your paper will be sent to the production team.

Wiley Author Services

When an accepted article is received by Wiley’s production team, the corresponding author will receive an email asking them to login or register with Wiley Author Services. You will be asked to sign a publication license at this point as well as pay for any applicable APCs.

Copyright & Licensing

Health Care Science is an Open Access journal: authors of accepted papers pay an Article Publication Charge (APC waived currently) and their papers are published under a Creative Commons license. This journal uses the CC-BY/CC-BY-NC/CC-BY-NC-ND Creative Commons License. Note that certain funders mandate a particular type of CC license be used.

Proofs

Authors will receive an e-mail notification with a link and instructions for accessing HTML page proofs online. Authors should also make sure that any renumbered tables, figures, or references match text citations and that figure legends correspond with text citations and actual figures. Proofs must be returned within 48 hours of receipt of the email.

Article Promotion Support

Wiley Editing Services offers professional video, design, and writing services to create shareable video abstracts, infographics, conference posters, lay summaries, and research news stories for your research – so you can help your research get the attention it deserves.

Correction to authorship

In accordance with Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Research Integrity and Publishing Ethics and the Committee on Publication Ethics’ guidance, Health Care Science will allow authors to correct authorship on a submitted, accepted, or published article if a valid reason exists to do so. All authors – including those to be added or removed – must agree to any proposed change. To request a change to the author list, please complete the Request for Changes to a Journal Article Author List Form and contact either the journal’s editorial or production office, depending on the status of the article. Authorship changes will not be considered without a fully completed Author Change form. Correcting the authorship is different from changing an author’s name; the relevant policy for that can be found in Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines under “Author name changes after publication.”