Journal profile · Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Frontiers in Public Health
ISSN 2296-2565 · FRONTIERS MEDIA SA · Switzerland · Continuous publication · Founded 2007
Frontiers in Public Health: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.06; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 66 days to acceptance (193 articles, last 24 months); 5,420 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Public Health is published by FRONTIERS MEDIA SA and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are COVID-19 and Mental Health, Health disparities and outcomes and COVID-19 epidemiological studies, together about 23% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Public Health publishes developments in all fields of public health research, aiming to advance our understanding of causal relationships for disease, promote community-based interventions and explore prevention at the community and individual level. Led by Field Chief Editor Paolo Vineis of Imperial College London, United Kingdom, Frontiers in Public Health welcomes submissions across all areas of the field that advances population health, furthers disease prevention and promotes health for all members of society. Topics include: • aging and public health • children and health • digital public health • disaster and emergency medicine • environmental health and exposome • health economics • infectious diseases: epidemiology and prevention • injury prevention and control • life-course epidemiology and social inequalities in health • occupational health and safety • planetary health • public health education and promotion • public health policy • public health and nutrition • public mental health • radiation and health • substance use disorders and behavioral addictions. The journal welcomes submissions which advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), notably SDG 3, Good Health and Well-Being, in the effort to address significant global public health concerns, preparedness and develop appropriate mitigation measures. Manuscripts that focus solely on health services, clinical trials on drugs, medical imaging, and disease-specific studies that do not have a clear public health relevance, are not suitable for publication in this journal. Additionally, studies that are purely predictive or prognostic models without a relevance to public health practice or policy will not be considered. The journal does not accept papers concerning simple bibliometric studies and discourages publication of cross-sectional studies, with exceptions. Authors are welcome to submit Systematic Reviews using publicly available data, but these must adhere to the PRISMA guidelines and have a conclusion related to public health. Manuscripts reporting findings from Mendelian Randomization studies need to be accompanied by a completed STROBE-MR checklist. Frontiers’ journals require that manuscripts primarily comprising computational studies of public data, must include appropriate validation. Please refer to the Frontiers Standards for research methodology policy, for more information. Manuscripts not adhering to these standards will not be considered. Frontiers in P
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 12%); most named United States 3, Mainland China 2, United Kingdom 2, Germany 2, Australia 2 (17 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- COVID-19 and Mental HealthPsychology10.2%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences7%
- COVID-19 epidemiological studiesMathematics5.8%
- Healthcare Systems and ReformsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.7%
- Vaccine Coverage and HesitancySocial Sciences5.2%
- Obesity, Physical Activity, DietMedicine4.8%
- Physical Activity and HealthMedicine4.4%
- Global Maternal and Child HealthMedicine4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceMEDLINEPMCEmbasePsycINFOPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Astrophysics Data System, CLOCKSS, Crossref
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
- 4.06LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.1LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.31LetPub ·
- h-index
- 177OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 10,447OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.57OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.88%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 5,117LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 30,948 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6,073 | 6,073 | 2,375 |
| 2025 | 5,420 | 5,420 | 20,062 |
| 2024 | 4,104 | 4,104 | 33,275 |
| 2023 | 4,667 | 4,667 | 65,967 |
| 2022 | 5,291 | 5,291 | 93,053 |
| 2021 | 2,261 | 2,261 | 62,351 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
66 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 48 days – 94 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 18 days (193 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 87 days
- Sample
- 193 articles with submission and acceptance dates (12,163 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 14 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 14 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single 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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | CHF 3,150 | Yes | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 3,150 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 3,295 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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 prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Reference style
- Harvard
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
Figures, tables, and images published under CC-BY; permission required for copyrighted third-party material. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
Open access under CC-BY version 4.0 for articles from July 2012 onwards. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Manuscripts must meet international English language standards. Model summary
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
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
- FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Continuous publication
- Founded
- 2007
- ISSN
- 2296-2565
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Frontiers in Public Health
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Public Health in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Frontiers in Public Health is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Public, Environmental & Occupational Health. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Frontiers in Public Health?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.06; CiteScore 6.4, h-index 177.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Public Health?
Based on the dates recorded on 193 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 66 days (interquartile range 48–94 days); authors report an average review time of about 14 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 Frontiers in Public Health?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Keywords: 5–8; Reference style: Harvard. 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 Frontiers in Public Health based?
Of the 17 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 12%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (3), Mainland China (2) and United Kingdom (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Public Health?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Public Health is indexed in SCIE, SSCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, MEDLINE, PMC, Embase and PsycINFO; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Public Health open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Public Health is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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 2026-08-24). Last updated: .