About the Journal

International Journal of Health Systems and Implementation Research is the official journal of the Association for Health Systems Analysis and Strengthening (AHSAS).

It is an open access peer reviewed online journal with two issues per year, published in June and December.

E-ISSN: 2581-4427.

The mission of the journal is to advance public health research, policy, and practice,  with focus on health systems and implementation research. Journal will prefer articles where some health system problem is identified and some action is taken to solve the problem. We encourage articles on Innovations and technologies used to address the health systems problems. Articles can be published as Editorial/view point/ review articles/ original articles/ short articles or case studies/Letter to Editor/Policy Analysis/ Policy Debate related to implementation research. 

Implementation research differs from classical epidemiology and often draws on qualitative or experiential evidence. Small samples and descriptive accounts are welcome if they offer readers meaningful insight and are reported rigorously.

However, authors must check and ensure there is no plagiarism. Corresponding author should get the consent of all the authors. Authors should self certify that they had followed all ethical practices, and confidentiality of the relevant subjects and data was maintained.

Authorship Criteria: All authors should contribute substantially to qualify as author. For authorship guidelines please consult at following link: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html

Peer Review: We follow a double-anonymous peer review process to select quality articles. Authors and reviewers will not know each other's identities.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI-assisted editorial work): The editorial office uses an AI assistant (Claude, by Anthropic) to support the initial screening of submissions for scope and to prepare an additional editorial review with comments for the editors. AI output is advisory only. All editorial decisions are taken by the editors, and manuscripts continue to undergo double-anonymous peer review by human reviewers. Manuscripts are handled confidentially within the editorial office and are not shared, published or used for any other purpose. Reviewers must not upload manuscripts to AI tools. Authors must declare any use of AI tools in preparing their manuscript; AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

Editorial Online Work Flow and conflicts of interest: Authors can submit articles online. The journal follows a structured online process and follows COPE guidance. For submission, you register as author and submit your article. Chief Editor with help of Managing Editor and Associate Editor will screen the article for suitability. (2 weeks). If suitable, then a section editor will identify two reviewers from the list of registered reviewers and take consent for review ( 2 weeks). Authors identification details will not be revealed to reviewers. Confidentiality will be ensured during marking of articles for comments and for assigning name to the articles. Reviewer will be given time of another 2 weeks for review. Reviewers submit any conflict of interest statement in the online journal management system. Editors/ reviewers will mentor the authors if required to improve the quality of articles. After article is accepted, further editorial processes of production will be completed within a month. Final proof will be sent to authors before publication. In case complaint is received regarding any conflict of interest, then independent 3 member committee from the editorial board will be formed to discuss and resolve the issue. Editors do not handle their own submissions; these are handled by another editor.

Policy for Plagiarism, Misconduct and Article Withdrawal: Authors should check for Plagiarism before submission to the journal. On receipt of any complaint, the article will be checked for plagiarism within 7 days. If the complaint is upheld, the article will be retracted with a public notice, and the author may be barred from publishing in the journal for three years. Authors institute will be informed for penal actions as per their institute's norms. For any query about authorship, the corresponding author confirms, through the submission checklist declaration, that all authors have approved the manuscript. The complaint if received will be examined and the institute of publishing author will be informed for enquiry at the local level. Penal action if any should be taken by the author/s institute. Genuine errors are corrected through a published correction (corrigendum).

Article Processing Fee: Reading and downloading are free. To meet part of its running costs, the journal charges authors of accepted articles Rs 1,500 (India) or USD 50 (international). The fee is due only after acceptance and does not affect editorial decisions. It can be waived on request with justification. The journal has no other source of revenue.

Advertising Policy: Journal will not accept any donation from organisations and for products that can either have conflict of interest or are against public health policies of the country.  For example promotion of baby food products or promotion of branded medicines are against public health principles. Advertisements relating to medical and health events/ conferences/ workshops or publication of books and journals can be accepted.