1. Original Research Articles

Description: Original Research Articles report new empirical findings derived from clinical, experimental, biomedical, epidemiological, observational, computational, translational, or other scientifically appropriate investigations. Contributions must present a clearly defined research question, transparent methodology, original results, and conclusions supported by the evidence.

Requirements

• A clearly formulated research question, objective, and hypothesis where appropriate to the study design.
• An appropriate and sufficiently detailed research methodology.
• A logical manuscript structure, normally following Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD).
• Transparent reporting of participant or sample selection, experimental procedures, measures, and analytical methods where applicable.
• Appropriate statistical, qualitative, computational, or other analytical procedures.
• Clear reporting of study limitations, uncertainty, and the relevance of the findings.
• Ethical approval, informed consent, and clinical trial registration where applicable.
• Compliance with relevant reporting guidelines, including CONSORT, STROBE, or other study-specific standards.

2. Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Description: Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses provide comprehensive and methodologically transparent syntheses of existing research evidence. They address clearly formulated questions through systematic identification, selection, appraisal, and synthesis of relevant studies. Quantitative meta-analysis may be conducted where justified by the available evidence.

Requirements

• Compliance with the applicable PRISMA reporting guidelines and relevant extensions.
• A clearly defined review question, objectives, eligibility criteria, and scope.
• A reproducible literature search strategy, including databases searched, search terms, and search dates.
• Transparent study screening, selection, and exclusion procedures.
• A suitable assessment of methodological quality or risk of bias in the included studies.
• An appropriate qualitative synthesis or quantitative meta-analysis, with justification for the selected approach.
• Consideration of heterogeneity, publication bias, certainty of evidence, and other relevant limitations where applicable.
• Disclosure of review protocol registration or availability where applicable, including any material deviations from a prespecified protocol.

A meta-analysis is not mandatory where quantitative pooling would be inappropriate. In such cases, the authors must explain the rationale for using another suitable synthesis approach.

3. Narrative Reviews and Perspectives

Description: Narrative Reviews and Perspectives provide critical scholarly examinations of established knowledge, emerging developments, clinical practices, theoretical questions, or significant debates in medicine and health sciences. These contributions may synthesize existing literature, examine conceptual issues, identify research gaps, or develop evidence-informed interpretations and future research directions.

Requirements

• A clearly defined topic, scholarly objective, and rationale.
• A coherent structure and critically developed argument supported by relevant literature.
• Accurate and balanced consideration of major findings, competing interpretations, and limitations.
• Appropriate transparency about the selection and use of evidence, especially where the review claims comprehensive coverage.
• A clear distinction between established empirical findings, theoretical interpretation, and expert opinion.
• Identification of unresolved questions and scientifically justified directions for future research where appropriate.
• For historical or theoretical scholarship, appropriate attention to source accuracy, conceptual clarity, and relevant disciplinary methods.

Narrative Reviews and Perspectives do not need to follow a systematic review methodology unless the authors explicitly present their work as a systematic evidence synthesis. Manuscripts should not imply systematic completeness without using and reporting appropriate methods.

4. Case Reports

Description: Case Reports present carefully documented clinical cases or case series that offer meaningful diagnostic, therapeutic, educational, or methodological insights. Reports may concern unusual clinical presentations, diagnostic challenges, treatment responses, adverse events, or other clinically informative observations.

Requirements

• Compliance with the CARE reporting guidelines where applicable.
• A clear explanation of the case's clinical significance and educational or scholarly contribution.
• Sufficient relevant patient history, clinical findings, diagnostic assessments, interventions, and outcomes.
• A clear chronological account or clinical timeline where relevant.
• Appropriate discussion of treatment decisions, follow-up, adverse events, and limitations.
• Protection of patient confidentiality and appropriate consent for publication.
• Accurate reporting of any clinical procedures, traditional interventions, or integrative care approaches used.
• Conclusions that reflect the descriptive and observational nature of the evidence.

Case Reports may concern conventional medicine, TCM, or interdisciplinary healthcare. Integration of different medical approaches is not required. Authors must not infer general treatment efficacy or causal relationships solely from an individual case or uncontrolled case series.

5. Methodological and Theoretical Papers

Description: Methodological and Theoretical Papers develop, refine, evaluate, or critically examine research methods, analytical procedures, conceptual frameworks, and theoretical models relevant to medical and health-related scholarship. Contributions may address clinical research, biomedical methodology, traditional medical theories, interdisciplinary frameworks, public health methods, or healthcare systems.

Requirements

• A clearly identified methodological or theoretical problem.
• A substantial and critically informed foundation in relevant literature or source materials.
• An explicit statement of the proposed methodological, conceptual, or theoretical contribution.
• Logical coherence, clarity of concepts, and appropriate justification of assumptions.
• Appropriate methodological evaluation, analytical demonstration, comparative assessment, or theoretical argumentation.
• Transparent discussion of limitations, conditions of applicability, and unresolved questions.
• Where empirical validation is claimed, adequate evidence and appropriate procedures supporting the claim.
• Where classical medical knowledge is examined, careful interpretation and accurate attribution of primary and secondary sources.

Methodological contributions should demonstrate why an approach is needed and how it improves, extends, or critically evaluates existing methods. Theoretical contributions should provide a coherent scholarly argument and a substantive contribution to knowledge.

Interdisciplinary integration is not mandatory. A rigorous methodological or theoretical study conducted entirely within conventional medicine, TCM, or another relevant health discipline is eligible where it falls within the journal's scope.

6. Short Communications

Description: Short Communications present concise accounts of focused research findings, preliminary but scientifically sound investigations, methodological advances, or significant observations that merit timely scholarly dissemination. The format is intended for contributions that can be reported accurately and meaningfully within a shorter manuscript.

Requirements

• A focused research question, objective, or clearly identified scientific observation.
• A concise presentation of the study rationale and its contribution.
• Sufficient methodological detail to permit appropriate scientific evaluation.
• Clear and accurate reporting of the principal findings.
• A limited number of essential tables and figures, selected according to the study's reporting needs.
• Transparent discussion of uncertainty, preliminary status, and research limitations.
• Ethical approval, informed consent, trial registration, and reporting checklist information where applicable.
• Conclusions proportionate to the strength and completeness of the evidence.

A shorter article format does not justify reduced research integrity standards, insufficient disclosure, or unsupported conclusions. Preliminary findings must be identified accurately and must not be presented as definitive clinical evidence.

7. Editorials and Commentaries

Description: Editorials and Commentaries provide concise, evidence-informed scholarly perspectives on important medical developments, recently published research, emerging scientific questions, clinical controversies, research ethics, or issues affecting public health and healthcare policy.

Requirements

• A clearly defined topic with identifiable scholarly or clinical relevance.
• A concise, coherent, and critically developed argument.
• Accurate citation of relevant scientific evidence and primary sources.
• Clear distinction between factual findings, scholarly interpretation, and the authors' opinions.
• Balanced discussion of limitations, competing perspectives, or areas of uncertainty where appropriate.
• Disclosure of relevant competing interests, funding, and AI-assisted preparation where applicable.
• Professional and evidence-informed discussion without unsupported clinical claims or misleading generalizations.

Editorials and Commentaries are normally commissioned or considered with the approval of the Editorial Office. Unsolicited proposals may be considered at editorial discretion, but authors should obtain guidance from the Editorial Office before preparing a substantial contribution specifically for this category.

These contributions are generally subject to editorial assessment. Additional independent expert review may be arranged where appropriate to the content, scientific claims, or editorial circumstances.

General Requirements for All Article Types

All submissions to Health Nexus must comply with the journal's editorial, ethical, and manuscript preparation policies. Specific requirements vary according to article type, study design, and the nature of the research.

A. Scope and Scholarly Quality

• The manuscript must fall within the journal's Aims & Scope and an appropriate research section.
• The work must present an identifiable original scholarly contribution or a justified synthesis, analysis, or commentary.
• The study design, theoretical approach, and reporting methods must be appropriate to the research objectives.
• Findings and conclusions must be supported by appropriate evidence.
• Research within one medical discipline is not required to demonstrate interdisciplinary integration.

B. Research Ethics and Publication Integrity

• Authors must comply with the journal's Publication Ethics Policy and applicable COPE and ICMJE principles.
• Manuscripts must be original and must not be under simultaneous consideration by another journal.
• All authors must meet the applicable authorship criteria and approve submission.
• Human and animal research must have appropriate ethics approval or documented exemption where applicable.
• Informed consent, clinical trial registration, and patient confidentiality requirements must be satisfied where applicable.
• Funding sources, competing interests, and relevant AI use must be disclosed accurately.

C. Research Reporting Guidelines

Authors must follow reporting standards appropriate to their study design, including the following where applicable:

• CONSORT: Randomized controlled trials.
• PRISMA: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
• STROBE: Observational studies.
• CARE: Clinical case reports.
• STRICTA: Acupuncture intervention reporting, where applicable.
• Other specialized guidelines: Relevant standards for diagnostic accuracy, qualitative research, prediction models, animal experiments, health economic evaluations, and specific clinical or methodological fields.

Authors should provide the relevant reporting checklist and supporting documentation when required by the journal. Reporting guidelines support transparent communication but do not substitute for an appropriate research design or valid scientific analysis.

D. Mandatory Statements and Declarations

All manuscripts must include the required declarations, with statements adapted to the nature of the work and the journal's double-blind submission requirements.

• Competing Interests Statement: Disclosure of relevant financial or non-financial interests, or an explicit declaration that none exist.
• Funding Statement: Identification of funding sources and relevant sponsor roles, or a declaration that no specific funding was received.
• Data Availability Statement: A mandatory statement describing supporting data availability, access conditions, repositories, or applicable restrictions.
• Ethics Approval Statement: Details of ethical review, approval, exemption, or non-applicability as appropriate.
• Informed Consent Statement: Participant or publication consent information where applicable.
• Clinical Trial Registration: Registry details and registration identifier for applicable clinical trials.
• AI-Use Declaration: Disclosure of relevant artificial intelligence or AI-assisted research and manuscript preparation where required.

Identifying declarations must be placed in the appropriate unblinded submission file or prepared in an anonymized form for external review, as directed by the journal's Author Guidelines.

E. Double-Blind Manuscript Preparation

Research manuscripts submitted for external peer review must satisfy the journal's double-blind review requirements.

• Upload a separate unblinded Title Page containing author names, affiliations, correspondence details, and relevant declarations.
• Provide an anonymized main manuscript without direct or indirect author-identifying information.
• Remove identifying information from document properties and file metadata.
• Prepare self-citations and acknowledgments so that the anonymity of the review process is preserved.
• Submit figures, tables, appendices, and supplementary materials in accordance with the journal's instructions.

F. Similarity Report and Originality Screening

G. Manuscript Formatting and References

• Manuscripts must be written in clear academic English.
• The principal manuscript must be prepared in the file format and layout required by the Author Guidelines.
• Abstracts and keywords must comply with the selected article type and general manuscript requirements.
• References must be accurate, verifiable, and formatted consistently in accordance with the journal's AMA Citation Style policy.
• Figures, tables, and supplementary files must be relevant, appropriately labelled, and supported by necessary source attribution and permissions.
• Authors must consult current journal policies and announcements before submission.