Article Type

Manuscript Types & Scientific Article Requirements

Article Types

Journal of Health Literacy and Qualitative Research prioritizes original research that demonstrates clear scientific novelty, methodological rigor, and a substantive contribution to health literacy, health communication, patient education, qualitative health research, health behavior, community health, healthcare experiences, patient perspectives, health promotion, health information access, and related fields.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PRIORITY QUALITATIVE RIGOR REQUIRED HEALTH LITERACY RELEVANCE

The journal gives priority to original research articles, particularly studies that advance understanding of health literacy and qualitative health phenomena. Review articles, qualitative case studies, and short communications are accepted selectively when they are strongly aligned with the journal's Focus and Scope and provide clear theoretical, empirical, methodological, educational, clinical, or community-health contributions.

Core Scientific Requirements

Regardless of manuscript type, articles should demonstrate the following core elements:

✓ Clear health-literacy or qualitative-health problem and significance ✓ Adequate state of the art
✓ Explicit research gap / novelty justification ✓ Clearly stated research objective
✓ Appropriate qualitative, mixed-method, health-literacy, or interpretive method ✓ Findings, interpretation, and conclusion grounded in evidence
Editorial Priority: Manuscripts without a clear state of the art, research gap or justification of novelty, explicit research objective, appropriate methodological justification, and transparent analytical procedures may receive lower editorial priority or be returned before peer review.
1 Original Research Article PRIMARY TYPE

Original Research Articles are the primary and preferred manuscript type. They must report original findings derived from a systematic research process and demonstrate a clear contribution to health literacy, health communication, patient education, healthcare experiences, community health, health behavior, or qualitative health research.

Required characteristics:

  • Relevant health, communication, behavioral, social, or healthcare background and clearly defined research problem;
  • Adequate review of current scholarship or state of the art;
  • Explicit identification of the research gap;
  • Clear justification of novelty or scientific contribution;
  • Explicit research objective(s) or research question(s);
  • Appropriate and sufficiently described qualitative, phenomenological, grounded-theory, ethnographic, case-study, narrative, content-analysis, discourse-analysis, mixed-method, or health-literacy research method;
  • Clear description of participants, setting, sampling strategy, data sources, interview or observation procedures, instruments, and researcher role where applicable;
  • Transparent explanation of data analysis, coding, theme development, interpretation, and strategies used to support trustworthiness;
  • Clear presentation of findings supported by participant data, themes, categories, quotations, observations, or other appropriate evidence;
  • Critical interpretation and comparison with relevant health-literacy, communication, behavioral, social, or qualitative-health literature; and
  • Conclusion that directly responds to the research objective and explains relevant clinical, educational, community, policy, or health-promotion implications.
Recommended Structure:
Introduction → Methods → Results / Findings → Discussion → Conclusion → Declarations → References
2 Review Article SELECTIVE

Review Articles are considered selectively and must provide a comprehensive, critical, and original synthesis of a clearly defined body of literature in health literacy, health communication, patient education, qualitative health research, health behavior, community health, healthcare experiences, or related fields.

A high-quality review article should:

  • Present a clearly defined review question or analytical objective;
  • Explain the literature-search and selection approach;
  • Use adequate, relevant, and sufficiently current references;
  • Critically compare previous health-literacy frameworks, qualitative findings, communication models, health-education approaches, and empirical evidence;
  • Identify inconsistencies, methodological limitations, population differences, communication barriers, emerging themes, and research gaps;
  • Provide original analysis or synthesis by the authors; and
  • Develop a research agenda, conceptual framework, thematic synthesis, theoretical model, or substantive conclusion.
Not Acceptable: A literature review that only summarizes previous health-literacy, communication, or qualitative-health studies without critical appraisal, synthesis, interpretation, or an original scholarly contribution.
3 Qualitative Case Study LIMITED

Qualitative Case Studies are considered when the case provides significant scientific, clinical, educational, social, community, or healthcare-system relevance and offers transferable insights into health literacy, health communication, or lived healthcare experiences.

A Qualitative Case Study must include:

✓ Clear qualitative research objective ✓ Case-selection and contextual justification
✓ Appropriate qualitative data-collection approach ✓ Transparent coding, thematic, or interpretive analysis
✓ Comparison with relevant literature or conceptual frameworks ✓ Clear clinical, educational, social, or policy contribution
Not Acceptable: Purely descriptive patient stories, community narratives, program descriptions, or healthcare experiences without a clear qualitative research question, systematic data collection, transparent analysis, interpretation, and scholarly contribution.
4 Short Communication LIMITED

A Short Communication presents concise but important original findings, emerging health-literacy evidence, preliminary qualitative findings, communication barriers, patient-information needs, community-health insights, or timely healthcare experiences relevant to the journal's scope.

Although shorter than a full Original Research Article, a Short Communication must still contain sufficient scientific and interpretive substance and demonstrate a clear contribution to health-literacy or qualitative-health knowledge.

Minimum Scientific Elements:
Objective Method Findings Interpretation Conclusion

Manuscript Type Priority

Manuscript Type Journal Priority Main Requirement
Original Research Article HIGH Original findings + research gap + methodological rigor + health-literacy or qualitative contribution
Review Article SELECTIVE Comprehensive review + critical appraisal + synthesis + original interpretation
Qualitative Case Study LIMITED Objective + contextual justification + qualitative method + transparent analysis + contribution
Short Communication LIMITED Concise but complete findings, interpretation, and health-literacy relevance

Manuscripts Not Considered

  • Purely descriptive health or communication articles without substantive analysis;
  • Opinion articles without a clear scholarly method or evidence base;
  • Literature summaries without critical appraisal and synthesis;
  • Interview-based studies without a clearly defined qualitative methodology and analytical approach;
  • Qualitative studies that present quotations without adequate coding, theme development, interpretation, or contextual analysis;
  • Patient or community narratives presented without systematic data collection and scholarly interpretation;
  • Health-literacy surveys that only report descriptive statistics without appropriate conceptual framing and analysis;
  • Health-education or communication programs without clear objectives, evaluation methods, participant outcomes, and interpretation;
  • Studies that use qualitative terminology without demonstrating methodological coherence, reflexivity, or analytical transparency;
  • Healthcare-experience reports without a clear research question, sampling strategy, analytical method, and contribution;
  • Conference abstracts submitted without substantial development;
  • Articles outside the journal's Focus and Scope;
  • Previously published manuscripts; and
  • Manuscripts simultaneously submitted to another publication.
Editorial Principle

The journal prioritizes original research that advances understanding of health literacy, health communication, and qualitative health phenomena. Non-original research formats are considered selectively and must demonstrate clear scientific objectives, methodological coherence, analytical depth, transparent interpretation, originality, meaningful health relevance, and strong alignment with the journal's Focus and Scope.