REVIEWER GUIDE

Reviewer Guidelines — Journal of Health Sciences and Collaborative Care (JHSCC)

Accept a review only when the subject matches your expertise and you can meet the deadline. Disclose conflicts of interest and decline where impartiality is compromised. The configured response deadline is two weeks and completion period is three weeks; contact the editor promptly if an extension is needed.

Evaluate relevance to evidence-based health sciences and collaborative care, originality, study design, sampling, instruments, analysis, ethics, results, interpretation, limitations, and references. Assess whether conclusions follow from the design and data, and whether implications for patient safety, prevention, coordinated care, or health outcomes are explained. Provide specific, constructive comments rather than personal criticism.

Check title and abstract accuracy, appropriate reporting guidance, ethics approval or exemption, consent, participant privacy, funding and conflicts, and the completeness and traceability of citations. Notify the editor confidentially about suspected overlap, unreliable data, or other ethical concerns; do not independently accuse or contact authors.

Treat manuscripts and reviews as confidential. Do not use unpublished findings, involve another reviewer, upload files to external AI services, or disclose review content without editorial authorisation. Protect double-anonymous review and advise the editor if identifying information is present.

Separate comments for authors from confidential comments for the editor. Explain your recommendation: accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject. Editorial decisions remain the editor’s responsibility. Request changes that improve the research record; do not demand irrelevant citations or cite your own work for personal advantage.