About the Journal

Journal Aim and History

The Californian Journal of Health Promotion (CJHP) is a scholarly, peer-reviewed, open access, online journal devoted that aims to help health professionals and scientists learn about the state-of-art findings and trends in health promotion practice and research. We strive to present all work, including but not limited to empirical research, reports on practical applications, and advocacy for health promotion policies so it is meaningful to both practice and research communities. We welcome contributions from colleagues over all parts of the world, provide a forum for exchange among a diversity of disciplines that contribute to the advancement of health education and disease prevention; that advocate the promotion of information-sharing to inform the development and implementation of health promoting policies and programs; and that raise the standard of health promotion research and practice through publications and education.

The journal was first launched in 2003 by Dr. Mark Tomita at California State University, Chico, who edited the journal 2003-2008 in CD-ROM format (ISSN 1545-8717). In 2008, the journal moved to California State University, Fullerton, reconceived in an online format (ISSN 1545-8725). CSU Fullerton faculty have since served as editors: Dr. Jie Weiss (2008-2010), Dr. Michele Mouttapa (2010-present), Dr. Elaine Rutkowski (2016-present), and Dr. Maria Koleilat (2016-present). The journal publication schedule is now twice a year, in June and December.

Focus, Scope, and Content Types

Topics for manuscripts can include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

  1. Health behaviors related to cancer control, diabetes, heart disease, HIV and sexually transmitted infections, nutrition and weight control, physical activity and fitness, psychosocial and emotional health, smoking, alcohol, and other drug use.
  2. Work related to prevention and intervention such as complementary and alternative medicine, community health and professional practice, environmental and occupational health, health policy and health legislation.
  3. Psychometrics and analytic techniques, evaluation of health education and promotion programs, patient education techniques used in medical care facilities, use of technology in health education and health promotion.
  4. Health disparities, such as health education and health promotion programming in special populations such as low literacy, homeless, elderly, disabled, foster care and adoptable children and families.

The content types that will be considered for publication include:

  1. Commentary - Essays that express a personal point of view about health related issues.
  2. Theory and Research - Research studies (both qualitative and quantitative), theory papers, and review articles.
  3. Professional Practice - Articles discussing professional practice in a variety of settings, such as school, community, clinical, worksite, university professional preparation and health services. Brief reports are encouraged for work on those lines.
  4. Brief Report - Work derived from smaller datasets and/or pilot studies that do not facilitate higher-order analyses, but nevertheless add to the literature.
  5. Multimedia Work - Authors are welcome to submit digitized videos of interviews, skill building exercises, lectures about various health education topics, keynote addresses from conferences and seminars and other work with consultation of the editor.

Manuscript Review and Publishing Process

  1. Submission. Starting October 1, 2019, manuscripts must be submitted through the CJHP manuscript management system.
  2. Internal Review. When a manuscript is received by the editor(s), it is checked for originality and plagiarism via Turnitin and literature scans, evaluated for suitability for the journal, topic area article type, and assessed for conformity to scholarly and reporting standards. During this internal review, corresponding authors may be contacted with questions or requests. Depending on the results of the internal review, authors may be notified that the journal does not wish to pursue publication of the manuscript.
  3. Double-Blind, External Peer Review. After the internal review process is completed, manuscripts are sent out for double-blind, external peer review. Reviewers are asked to disclose conflicts of interest and also to follow the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. The reviewers' identity is not revealed to the author or to other reviewers.
  4. Publication Decisions and Revisions. Most decisions are made within 90 days of receipt of the manuscript with notifications made via email. Most manuscripts require revisions before they are accepted. Using feedback from the peer reviewers and staff editors, authors receive revision instructions in the decision letter. Revised manuscripts should be submitted through the manuscript management system with a point-by-point response to the reviewer's and editor's comments.
  5. Editing. Once accepted, all manuscripts are edited for content and overall presentation, not merely for grammar and correct style. During editing, authors should be prepared for further revisions. Requested revisions at this stage may address presentation, completeness, clarity, and/or balance. Revisions may also include stylistic changes to conform with scholarly guidelines and journal standards. Corresponding authors are required to ensure the accuracy of the final, edited version and must consult with all co-authors or obtain their advance authority to approve the final version on their behalf.
  6. Layout. Once the editing phase is completed, the article is placed into layout. The corresponding author is responsible for proofreading the final materials carefully. In this phase, authors may correct any errors in data, typographical errors, or problems created due to typesetting. Discretionary or non-error-related changes are discouraged.
  7. Publication. Manuscripts are published to the journal website twice a year after the layout approvals are complete. The electronic Table of Contents is emailed to subscribers when the issue is published. Articles may be promoted by the journal on its social media outlets.
  8. Corrections. Honest errors are a part of science and publishing and require a correction when detected. CJHP follows the ICMJE guidelines on publishing corrections. When a correction is warranted, the journal will work with the authors to post a correction notice detailing changes from and citing the original publication. The correction will appear on electronic printpage and appear in the next Table of Contents. In addition, a new article version will be posted with prominent notes on previous versions indicating that there is a more recent version.
  9. Retractions. Misconduct, inappropriate methodology or errors serious enough to invalidate a paper's results and conclusions may require retraction. CJHP follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Retraction Guidelines and the ICJME Recommendation on Retractions and Expressions of Concern.
  10. Indexing and Archiving. The Californian Journal of Health Promotion is indexed by Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). Readers have access to the published PDF articles via this site and EBSCO. The journal is in the process of establishing archiving in LOCKSS.

Warranties and Statements

In exchange for publishing the work in the Californian Journal of Health Promotion, the authors represent and warrant that they are the sole creators of the work, and owners of all rights, titles and interests in and to the work, including the complete and undivided copyright interest to the work. The authors represent and warrant that they have not granted any person any interest, including permissions, licenses or assignments, in the work that conflicts with the rights, titles and interests granted here. To each author's knowledge, the work does not infringe the copyright or other intellectual property rights of any person nor defame, slander or libel any person nor invade the privacy or other like rights of a person. The authors represent and warrant that they either have express written permission to any third-party content used in their submission to or that they have a good-faith belief that the works they are using are in the public domain, theat their use is a fair use, or that they are using works under an appropriate Creative Commons (or other open-content) license.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

Authors must declare any conflicts of interest that may affect the information, research, analysis, or interpretation presented in the manuscript. The cover page of the manuscript should disclose any conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as validity of the research) may be influenced by secondary interests (such as financial gain). If there are none to declare, please indicate "Conflicts of Interest: None" on the cover page of the manuscript. Additional information on Conflicts of Interest is available for downloading through the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Although this form is not required by the Californian Journal of Health Promotion, it may assist authors in identifying conflicts: http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/.

TREATMENT OF HUMAN RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

The author affirms that an Institutional Review Board (IRB) has reviewed research projects which involve human participants to ensure that two broad standards are upheld: first, that participants are not placed at undue risk; second, that they give uncoerced, informed consent to their participation.

TREATMENT OF ANIMAL SUBJECTS

When animals are used in research, the journal requires written confirmation that the research was approved by an institutional animal care and use committee. The article should contain a description of the research protocols and methods used along with the research standards set by the institutional or national guides for the care and use of laboratory animals.

General Terms and Conditions of Use

Users of the website and/or software agree not to misuse the service or software in any way. The failure of to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the policies or the Submission Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of the Submission Agreement or these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Submission Agreement and these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies and the Submission Agreement constitute the entire agreement between and the Author(s) regarding submission of the Article.

OJS-ORCID Integration

ORCID is an independent non-profit organization that provides a persistent identifier – an ORCID iD – that distinguishes you from other researchers and links your research activities and accomplishments to your iD. ORCID is integrated into many systems used by publishers, funders, institutions, and other research-related services. Learn more at orcid.org. This journal uses the ORCID plugin provided by Open Journal Systems to allow users to authenticate their ORCID account and to allow authors to display their ORCID iD with their articles.