Journal profile · Bioethical Issues
Acta Bioethica
ISSN 0717-5906 · eISSN 1726-569X · Organizacion Panamericana de la Salud · Chile · Semiannual · Founded 2000
Acta Bioethica: CAS Zone 4 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.15; fully open access; no APC; review about 12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 39 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Acta Bioethica is published by Organizacion Panamericana de la Salud and is in Zone 4 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Ethics and bioethics in healthcare, Ethics in medical practice and Medical Malpractice and Liability Issues, together about 57.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Acta Bioethica is published biannually by the Interdisciplinary Center for Studies in Bioethic of the University of Chile. It constitutes a pluralistic source of perspectives and an important tribune which accepts the contributions of authors compromised with the interdisciplinary study of ethical determinants and consequences of techno scientific research.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Bioethical Issues
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Chile 8, Argentina 3, United States 2, Germany 1 (14 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ethics and bioethics in healthcareMedicine31.4%
- Ethics in medical practiceHealth Professions21.5%
- Medical Malpractice and Liability IssuesHealth Professions4.6%
- Law, Ethics, and AI ImpactBusiness, Management and Accounting3.7%
- Ethics in Clinical ResearchMedicine3.3%
- Patient Dignity and PrivacyMedicine3.3%
- Public Health and Social InequalitiesSocial Sciences3.2%
- Neuroethics, Human Enhancement, Biomedical InnovationsNeuroscience2.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceSciELOPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, Latindex, Redalyc, REDIB, Lilacs, scimago
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 0.15LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 0.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.18LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.43LetPub ·
- h-index
- 6LetPub ·
- h-index
- 26OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 119OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.34OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 52.87%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 28LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,031 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 31 | 31 | 4 |
| 2025 | 39 | 39 | 10 |
| 2024 | 38 | 38 | 23 |
| 2023 | 40 | 40 | 56 |
| 2022 | 39 | 39 | 83 |
| 2021 | 50 | 50 | 88 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Peer review
- Peer reviewLetPub
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- 3–6
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted3
- book reviewsBook reviews WATSON, Peter. IDEAS. A history from Fire to FreudLength not stated
- editorialEditorial PUBLICACIONES Y ACADEMIA. La dimensión éticaLength not stated
- originalOriginal A Genealogical Critique of Medicalization: From Conrad Back to FoucaultLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright
- AI use
Authors must state whether they used AI tools in all or part of the submitted article. Model summary
The authors must state whether they used, in all or part of the article they submit for evaluation, artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
Manuscript must not be already published and must not be submitted elsewhere without agreement of the PAHO/WHO Program on Bioethics. Model summary
This manuscript (or important parts of it) have not already been published and if accepted for publication in Acta Bioethica it will not be submitted for publication elsewhere without the agreement of the PAHO/WHO Program on Bioethics.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Names and email addresses in the journal are used exclusively for the journal's stated purposes and not for any other purpose or person. Model summary
The names and email addresses and placed in the journal Acta Bioethica be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be available for any other purpose or another person.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Notice
Authors retain copyright on their works and can reuse them as they decide. Model summary
Acta Bioethica is edited by the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethical Studies of the University of Chile and published under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International license.Intellectual property::The submission and evaluation of the manuscripts received implies that the author (s) declare that they are original and exclusive owners of the author's economic and moral rights o…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Organizacion Panamericana de la Salud
- Country or region
- Chile
- Language
- English, Portuguese, Spanish
- Frequency
- Semiannual
- Founded
- 2000
- ISSN
- 0717-5906
- Electronic ISSN
- 1726-569X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Acta Bioethica
What CAS zone is Acta Bioethica in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Acta Bioethica is in Zone 4 of Philosophy, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Ethics / Medical Ethics / Social Sciences, Biomedical. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Acta Bioethica?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 0.15; CiteScore 0.7, h-index 26.
How long does peer review take at Acta Bioethica?
Authors report an average review time of about 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Acta Bioethica?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: 3–6; Reference style: Vancouver; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Acta Bioethica based?
Of the 14 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Chile (8), Argentina (3) and United States (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Acta Bioethica?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Acta Bioethica is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and SciELO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Acta Bioethica open access, and what is the APC?
Acta Bioethica is a fully open-access journal. It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .