Journal profile · Social Sciences-Communication
European Journal of Health Communication EJHC
ISSN 2673-5903 · University of Zurich, IKMZ – Department of Communication and Media Research · Switzerland
European Journal of Health Communication EJHC: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 48 weeks (community reports); 23 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
European Journal of Health Communication EJHC is published by University of Zurich, IKMZ – Department of Communication and Media Research. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Health Literacy and Information Accessibility, Media Influence and Health and Communication and COVID-19 Impact, together about 36.9% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The European Journal of Health Communication (EJHC) is a peer-reviewed open access journal for high-quality health communication research with relevance to Europe or specific European countries. The journal aims to represent the international character of health communication research given the cultural, political, economic, and academic diversity in Europe. EJHC welcomes the full breadth of health communication research. It publishes articles that relate to the following health communication issues with an emphasis on their relevance to Europe: Media issues, such as media coverage of health topics, health literacy, information seeking behaviour, usage and effects of health messages. Strategic issues, focusing on communication strategies and prevention campaigns, narrowcasting health messages, and health public relations. Health technologies issues, such as usage and effects of novel health technologies, communicative challenges related to novel technologies, e-health, telemedicine. Social and community issues, such as health-related interpersonal communication, social influence and support, and community health risk management. Patient-provider issues, such as determinants, content, and outcomes of patient-provider interactions, communication skills, or trust and disclosure in interactions. Intercultural issues, such as health communication for ethnic minorities, challenges of intercultural health communication, and cross-cultural differences in health communication issues. Methodological issues, comprising methodological innovations and challenges in current health communication research, both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Academic issues, such as self-observations and introspective studies in the field of health communication.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Communication
Editor-in-chief Thomas FriemelPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Germany 14, Netherlands 12, Switzerland 9, United States 5, Austria 4 (54 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Health Literacy and Information AccessibilityHealth Professions13.1%
- Media Influence and HealthArts and Humanities12.7%
- Communication and COVID-19 ImpactSocial Sciences11%
- Patient-Provider Communication in HealthcareHealth Professions10.6%
- Misinformation and Its ImpactsSocial Sciences5.1%
- Risk Perception and ManagementSocial Sciences5.1%
- Vaccine Coverage and HesitancySocial Sciences4.7%
- Public Relations and Crisis CommunicationSocial Sciences4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communication | Q2 | 183/541 | 66th |
| Health (social science) | Q2 | 172/387 | 55th |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
Database indexing
ScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Article Access StatisticsPublisher website
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
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.39LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.52LetPub ·
- h-index
- 12OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 15OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.02OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 116 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2026 | 14 | 14 | 102 |
| 2025 | 23 | 23 | 120 |
| 2024 | 20 | 20 | 103 |
| 2023 | 19 | 19 | 80 |
| 2022 | 21 | 21 | 56 |
| 2021 | 15 | 15 | 17 |
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 48 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 48 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — |
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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 200 words
- Keywords
- 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 7,000 words
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted5, with length limits
- meta-analysisDuring the submission process you will be asked to indicate the type of your manuscript. EJHC publishes the following types of articles: Original research paper…Length not stated
- original research paperDuring the submission process you will be asked to indicate the type of your manuscript. EJHC publishes the following types of articles: Original research paper…Length not stated
- research reportDuring the submission process you will be asked to indicate the type of your manuscript. EJHC publishes the following types of articles: Original research paper…Length not stated
- reviewDuring the submission process you will be asked to indicate the type of your manuscript. EJHC publishes the following types of articles: Original research paper…Length not stated
- review articleDuring the submission process you will be asked to indicate the type of your manuscript. EJHC publishes the following types of articles: Original research paper…main text ≤ 7,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism
- Publication ethics Publication Ethics and Malpractice (PEM)
The European Journal of Health Communication is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity. In adherence to the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (2022), the journal follows internationally recognized standards for editors, reviewers, and authors. Authorship and Contributorshi…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Notice
The authors agree to the following license and copyright agreement: a. Authors retain copyright in their work. b. Authors grant the European Journal of Health Communication the right of first publication online on the internet (on the publication platform HOPE of the Main Library of the University of Zurich). c. The electronic contributions on the internet are distributed under the „Creative Commo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access Strategy
Academic research is publicly funded and both editors and reviewers work voluntarily. Therefore, EJHC supports the idea of open science and is a platinum open access journal. This means that neither the users nor the authors will be charged. This open access strategy will heighten the visibility of the European field of health communication and ensure that authors obtain the maximum possible expos…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Process and Anonymisation
All articles undergo a double-blind peer review process. Therefore, the manuscript and all supplemental material that is subject to a peer-review must be anonymized. To ensure anonymization, omit all directly identifying information (e.g. project identifiers). Whenever possible, references to your own works should stay visible in the text but it must be ensured that the wording does not explicitly…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software, such as PlagScan Pro. Specifically, it will be checked whether the article has plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement.
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
- University of Zurich, IKMZ – Department of Communication and Media Research
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2673-5903
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 7, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about European Journal of Health Communication EJHC
How long does peer review take at European Journal of Health Communication EJHC?
Authors report an average review time of about 48 weeks. 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 European Journal of Health Communication EJHC?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 200 words; Keywords: 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 7,000 words; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; 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 European Journal of Health Communication EJHC based?
Of the 54 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (14), Netherlands (12) and Switzerland (9). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index European Journal of Health Communication EJHC?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, European Journal of Health Communication EJHC is indexed in Scopus and DOAJ.
Is European Journal of Health Communication EJHC open access, and what is the APC?
European Journal of Health Communication EJHC is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .