Aims & Scope
Journal of Preventive Medicine and Care (JPMC) publishes population-level research on disease surveillance, epidemiological methods, health systems analysis, and public health policy interventions that advance evidence-based prevention strategies.
Core Research Domains
Epidemiological Methods & Surveillance
- Disease surveillance system design and evaluation
- Statistical modeling of disease transmission dynamics
- Risk factor identification through cohort and case-control studies
- Spatial and temporal disease pattern analysis
- Outbreak investigation methodologies
- Biostatistical approaches to population health data
"Development of a machine learning algorithm for early detection of infectious disease outbreaks using syndromic surveillance data from 500 primary care clinics."
Population Health & Chronic Disease Epidemiology
- Burden of disease studies and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)
- Population-level risk factor prevalence and trends
- Social determinants of health and health inequities
- Chronic disease surveillance and registry systems
- Age-standardized mortality and morbidity rates
- Health behavior patterns across populations
"Longitudinal analysis of cardiovascular disease incidence trends across socioeconomic strata in a national cohort of 2.3 million adults over 15 years."
Public Health Policy & Health Systems Research
- Evaluation of population-level health interventions
- Health policy impact assessment using quasi-experimental designs
- Cost-effectiveness analysis of prevention programs
- Health services utilization patterns and access barriers
- Implementation science for public health interventions
- Health system performance metrics and benchmarking
"Interrupted time series analysis evaluating the impact of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation on population obesity rates across 12 metropolitan regions."
Environmental & Occupational Epidemiology
- Environmental exposure assessment and health outcomes
- Occupational health surveillance and injury prevention
- Climate change impacts on population health
- Air quality, water safety, and infectious disease transmission
- Built environment and physical activity patterns
- Toxicological epidemiology and biomonitoring studies
"Geospatial analysis linking particulate matter exposure levels to respiratory disease hospitalization rates in urban populations across 50 cities."
Secondary Focus Areas
Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Population-level studies of vaccine effectiveness, immunization program evaluation, antimicrobial resistance surveillance, and infectious disease modeling. Focus on community transmission patterns rather than individual patient management.
Nutritional Epidemiology
Dietary pattern analysis at population level, food security and health outcomes, nutritional surveillance systems, and evaluation of population-based nutritional interventions. Excludes individual dietary counseling or clinical nutrition therapy.
Mental Health Epidemiology
Population prevalence of mental health conditions, social determinants of mental health, community-based mental health program evaluation, and mental health surveillance systems. Focus on population patterns, not individual psychotherapy or clinical psychiatry.
Health Communication & Behavioral Science
Population-level health communication strategies, evaluation of public health campaigns, health literacy assessment, and behavioral intervention effectiveness at community scale. Digital health tools for population health monitoring and health promotion.
Emerging Research Frontiers
Artificial Intelligence in Epidemiology
Machine learning for disease prediction models, natural language processing for syndromic surveillance, and AI-driven risk stratification at population level.
Genomic Epidemiology
Population-level genetic risk profiling, pathogen genomic surveillance for outbreak tracking, and gene-environment interaction studies in large cohorts.
Digital Epidemiology
Social media data for disease surveillance, wearable device data for population health monitoring, and mobile health interventions with population-level outcomes.
Planetary Health
Climate change and infectious disease emergence, biodiversity loss and zoonotic disease risk, and environmental degradation impacts on population health metrics.
Article Types & Editorial Priorities
Fast-Track
Original Research Articles: Novel epidemiological studies, surveillance system evaluations, health policy analyses (4,000-6,000 words). Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses: PRISMA-compliant syntheses of population health evidence (5,000-8,000 words). Methods Papers: Innovative statistical or epidemiological methods with validation (3,000-5,000 words).
Standard Review
Short Communications: Preliminary findings, outbreak reports, surveillance alerts (1,500-2,500 words). Data Notes: Novel datasets, surveillance system descriptions, data quality assessments (2,000-3,000 words). Perspectives & Commentaries: Policy analysis, methodological debates, field reflections (1,500-2,500 words).
Opinion Pieces: Only when addressing critical methodological or policy controversies with substantial evidence base. Narrative Reviews: Considered only when systematic review is not feasible and topic has high public health significance. Case Reports: Not accepted unless part of outbreak investigation with clear epidemiological analysis.
Editorial Standards & Requirements
Reporting Guidelines (Mandatory)
- STROBE for observational studies
- CONSORT for randomized trials (population-level interventions)
- PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses
- RECORD for routinely collected health data studies
- CHEERS for health economic evaluations
- GATHER for global health estimates
Data & Ethics Requirements
- Data availability statement required for all empirical studies
- Ethics approval documentation for human subjects research
- Preregistration encouraged for prospective studies
- Conflict of interest disclosure mandatory
- Funding source transparency required
- ORCID identifiers for all authors
Statistical Standards
- Confidence intervals required for all effect estimates
- Adjustment for multiple comparisons when applicable
- Sensitivity analyses for key assumptions
- Missing data handling explicitly described
- Power calculations for null findings
- Code availability for complex statistical models
Preprint & Open Science Policy
- Preprint posting encouraged (medRxiv, bioRxiv, SSRN)
- Preprints do not preclude consideration
- Open data encouraged with appropriate safeguards
- Open peer review option available
- All articles published under CC-BY 4.0 license
- No embargo period for author self-archiving
Ready to Submit Your Population Health Research?
Review our author guidelines for detailed submission instructions, formatting requirements, and editorial policies. Our editorial team is committed to rigorous, fair, and timely peer review.
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