Aims & Scope · ISSN 2474-3585 · Open Access Pub
Prevention research with a clear route to better health
The Journal of Preventive Medicine and Care publishes research that identifies preventable risk, evaluates interventions, improves early detection, and strengthens preventive care at clinical, community, health-system, and population levels.
Fit in 60 seconds
A manuscript is likely to fit when all four statements are true
Topic alone does not establish fit. JPMC assesses the prevention question, the evidence used to answer it, and the relevance of the result.
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The research question is preventive
It addresses risk reduction, health promotion, screening, early detection, complication prevention, or delivery of preventive care.
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The outcome is defined and measurable
The study evaluates a health, behavioural, service, equity, implementation, or policy outcome rather than describing a condition alone.
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The methods can support the conclusion
Study design, analysis, reporting, ethics, and interpretation are appropriate to the question and population.
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The prevention implications are explicit
Readers can understand who could use the evidence, in which setting, and within what limits.
Journal remit
What JPMC aims to publish
JPMC connects prevention science with decisions made by researchers, clinicians, public-health teams, health systems, communities, and policy leaders.
The journal assesses manuscripts across the prevention continuum: primary prevention through risk reduction and health promotion; secondary prevention through screening, early detection and timely intervention; tertiary prevention through care models that reduce complications; and population health strategies that improve access and equity.
Risk reduction and health promotion
Behavioural, lifestyle, educational, environmental, occupational, and community interventions intended to prevent disease or injury.
Screening and early detection
Screening strategies, uptake, diagnostic pathways, risk stratification, and earlier intervention with patient- or population-relevant outcomes.
Preventive care delivery
Primary care, maternal and child health, healthy ageing, vaccination, chronic-disease prevention, and models that improve access or continuity.
Population and policy prevention
Epidemiology, social determinants, health disparities, prevention policy, implementation, and health-services research.
Priority domains
Research areas within scope
The following areas are considered when the manuscript states a clear prevention question, population, outcome, and route to use.
- Preventive medicine and disease-risk reduction
- Cardiometabolic and chronic-disease prevention
- Cancer screening and early detection
- Vaccination and infectious-disease prevention
- Behavioural health, physical activity, nutrition, and lifestyle interventions
- Health promotion, education, and risk communication
- Primary and preventive care delivery
- Maternal, child, adolescent, and ageing-related prevention
- Community-based and participatory prevention
- Occupational and environmental prevention
- Epidemiology, population health, and prevention surveillance
- Health equity, social determinants, and access to preventive services
- Implementation science, quality improvement, and health-services research
- Prevention policy and programme evaluation
- Digital and technological interventions with a defined preventive purpose
A topic name alone does not establish fit. The manuscript must make its prevention question, outcome, population, and practical or policy relevance clear.
Evidence and methods
Suitable study designs
JPMC considers quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research when the design is appropriate to the prevention question.
- Randomised and non-randomised intervention studies
- Cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, and longitudinal studies
- Screening, risk-prediction, and diagnostic-pathway evaluations
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
- Implementation and programme evaluations
- Health-services, quality-improvement, and policy studies
- Community-based and participatory research
- Economic, equity, and access evaluations
- Qualitative or mixed-methods studies of preventive behaviour or delivery
Observational findings should not be presented as causal unless the design and analysis support that inference. Screening and risk-prediction studies should explain the intended pathway, population, and potential consequences of use.
Article formats
Supported manuscript types
Each submission must use a supported article type and show the prevention contribution appropriate to that format.
- Original Research
- Primary quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods studies
- A clearly defined prevention question, methods, outcome, and interpretation
- Systematic Review
- Evidence syntheses, with meta-analysis where appropriate
- A transparent protocol and a prevention-relevant question
- Program Evaluation
- Clinical, community, health-system, or policy programmes
- Defined intervention, context, evaluation method, and transferable learning
- Brief Report
- Focused findings supported by a complete analysis
- A concise but methodologically sufficient prevention contribution
Detailed structure, reporting standards, files, and declarations are specified in the Instructions for Authors.
Scope boundaries
What is generally outside scope
JPMC is not a general clinical-treatment journal. Prevention must form part of the research question, design, or outcomes—not appear only in the discussion.
- Treatment, surgical, pharmacological, or disease-management studies without a defined prevention or complication-reduction objective.
- Case reports, small clinical descriptions, or narrative accounts that do not produce transferable prevention evidence.
- Basic laboratory or mechanistic work without a clear connection to a preventive intervention, pathway, or population outcome.
- Diagnostic studies that do not address screening, earlier detection, risk stratification, or a preventive-care pathway.
- Opinion-led health claims or promotional evaluations of a product or service.
- Studies whose conclusions exceed the design, data, population, or ethical approvals reported.
Borderline work may be appropriate when authors can state the preventive mechanism, intended users of the evidence, and the outcome by which prevention is evaluated. Authors who remain uncertain may contact the editorial office before submission.
Community served
Authors and readers
JPMC serves researchers and practitioners who generate, evaluate, deliver, or use prevention evidence.
Research and analysis
Preventive-medicine and public-health researchers, epidemiologists, behavioural scientists, implementation scientists, health-services researchers, programme evaluators, and policy analysts.
Practice and delivery
Primary-care and preventive-care clinicians, community-health teams, public-health leaders, health-system decision-makers, educators, and trainees.
Clinical implications must be presented as research interpretation, not individual medical advice. Publication does not constitute endorsement of a treatment, programme, technology, or policy.
Is the prevention question clear?
Before submitting, identify the preventable risk, the population and setting, the strategy or exposure, the measurable outcome, and the people who can use the evidence.
Submit a manuscriptJournal of Preventive Medicine and Care · ISSN 2474-3585 · Editorial policies · Article processing charges · Contact the editorial office