Submissions

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
The submission file is in Microsoft Word document file format.
Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
The text is souble-spaced; uses a 12-point font.
The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines which is found in About the Journal.
If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.

Author Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in submitting your Manuscript to Healthy Dialogue (HD) Journal. We accept English language submissions from Undergraduate and Graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and interns affiliated with the School of Health Policy and Management (SHPM).

Healthy Dialogue (HD) Journal is completely online. We accept original contributions that are not under consideration by another journal within or outside of York University. Our journal publishes the following original research once a year: Qualitative, Quantitative, Mixed Methods, Essays, Literature Reviews, Conceptual Papers, Policy Briefs, Practicum Briefs and Perspectives.

All submissions are to be made in Microsoft Word Document and follow the American Psychological Association (APA 7th edition) style. Also, submitted material should not contain any identifying information (your name and all other information should not be contained in the word document). See detailed description here for types of submissions.

Submission Types

Quantitative Research

Quantitative Research is original empirical research using various techniques such as statistical, mathematics or any unbiased numerical data that can be applied broadly to the population. Healthy Dialogue Journal will accept high quality papers that address contemporary health debates, issues in policy and management.

Submission: A structured abstract with 250 words maximum is required with method, result, discussion and conclusion sections. Main paper should be up to 3500 words (maximum), not including abstract, tables, figures and references (30 maximum).

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research in health studies, is a systematic and scientific methodology of data analysis generated from interviews, focus groups, observations, document analysis and so forth. Healthy Dialogue accepts a variety of systematic qualitative analysis, such as thematic analysis, grounded theory, narrative analysis, content analysis, discourse analysis and so forth.

Submission: A structured abstract with 250 words maximum is required with method, result, discussion and conclusion sections. Main paper should be up to 4000 words (maximum), not including abstract, tables, figures, and references (30 maximum).

Mixed Methods Research

Mixed method is an interdisciplinary research methodology that systematically includes or combines both quantitative and qualitative research. In health studies this may include a mix of surveys with in-depth interviews or health records to get a deep understanding of a complex health study.

Essays

Healthy Dialogue accepts essay submissions from course assignments that include a theoretical and critical analysis as it relates to contemporary health studies policies and/or practices. Course papers in the process of being evaluated will not be accepted.

Submission: An unstructured abstract with 200 words maximum is required. Main paper should be up to 3500 words (maximum), not including abstract, tables, figures, and references (15 maximum).

Literature Reviews

Healthy Dialogue accepts health-related literature reviews that follow a clear and systematic methodology for the search of related work and the appraisal and synthesis of selected empirical evidence. Examples of accepted review submissions are systematic review, scoping reviews, rapid reviews, realist reviews and so forth.

Commentary

Healthy Dialogue will accept short analytical commentary on key contemporary issues, debates and realities in health studies. Book commentaries are also welcome.

Submission: An abstract with maximum word count of 150. Main paper should not exceed 1200 words, not including abstract, tables/figures, references (maximum 10).

Conceptual Papers

A conceptual paper explores and develops theoretical frameworks or conceptual advancements. The paper must focus on theoretical understanding or proposing new models or perspectives on advancing health policy, health equity, health management and/or digital/analytics for health decision-making.

Policy Brief

A policy brief is a short article aiming to directly influence government policy by critical review of current health-related research in an important area. Policy briefs from course assignments can be submitted, after completion of the course.

Submission: An executive summary (100 words) should be prepared. Main paper should not exceed 1500 word count limit, excluding executive summary, tables, figures, and up to five references (maximum). The recommended sections for the main paper are introduction, findings, implications and recommendations.

Perspectives

A perspective article comprise of critical reflections on contemporary health issues, practices, or theoretical frameworks in order to advance learning, practice, and/or policy.

Submission: An abstract with 250 words maximum. Main paper should be up to 3000 words (maximum), not including abstract and references (15 maximum). The main paper should include introduction, relevant topic headings, and a conclusion. If necessary, figures and tables may be included if relevant (maximum two).

Practicum/Presentation Briefs

A practicum brief allows students to share their practicum (e.g., undergraduate students) or presentation reflections with a focus on health policy, health equity, health management, and/or digital/analytics for health decision-making.

Submission: An abstract with 250 words maximum. Practicum Brief could be 1000-2000 words in length (maximum), excluding abstract and references. The number of figures and tables should be not more than three. At least 5 articles may be included in the references.

Plagiarizing

Authors are responsible for the originality of their submitted manuscript. HD only publishes original work and has the right to refuse any plagiarized material.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The following policy is to be followed and will continue to develop as we gain a better understanding of the effects of generative AI on scholarly publishing:

All authors in HD publications must disclose any use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the method section and citation. If AI tools have been used then an upload of the full output of the AI is required along with supplemental material stating how, when, and to what extent AI was used.
AI cannot be named as an author on an HD scholarly publication.

Peer Review Process

The manuscript submission and editorial review process is as follows:

An author submits a manuscript to the editorial board on HD online submission portal.
The manuscript is assigned to the HD journal section (Undergraduate or Graduate) editor(s).
The editor(s) reviews the manuscript and makes an initial decision based on the manuscript quality, for its relevance to the journal's aims and scope and conformity to its style guidelines and editorial priorities, usually either to send the manuscript to reviewers or to reject the manuscript at that point so that the author(s) can revise and re-submit to HD or consider another journal.
The anonymized manuscript will be sent to a minimum of two (2) reviewers to provide constructive feedback and comment on whether the submitted work is publishable as-is, needs revisions (major or minor), or not ready for publication in the current format. Each submission will be typically reviewed by one graduate or undergraduate student and a faculty member from the School of Health Policy & Management..
On receiving reviewers’ comments, the editor(s) will then make a decision and inform the authors along with reviewer recommendations. At this point, the typical decisions are: accept with no revision, provisionally accept with minor revision, provisionally accept following major revisions, revise and re-submit for re-review, or reject.
The decision letter is sent to the author.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in the Healthy Dialogue journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Publication Timeline

Submissions: September, 2025 and onwards

Editorial Decision: Rolling basis

Publication: April 1^st, 2026

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.