Journal profile · Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Harm Reduction Journal
ISSN 1477-7517 · Springer Nature · United Kingdom
Harm Reduction Journal: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.2; fully open access; APC about USD 3,390; median 196 days to acceptance (114 articles, last 24 months); 222 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Harm Reduction Journal is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 2 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk, Opioid Use Disorder Treatment and Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes, together about 61.5% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Harm Reduction Journal is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes research and commentary on approaches diminishing the harm of stigmatization, marginalization and criminalization of public health, human rights and social justice issues, as well as rebuking the de facto criminalization of marginalized and stigmatized communities. Historically applied to drug use and policy, Harm Reduction Journal now encourages submissions on gambling, alcohol, tobacco, sex work, the internet, human enhancement drugs, psychoactive and addictive substances, incarceration, road trauma, youth, and law enforcement. We define 'harm reduction' as 'policies and programs which aim to reduce the health, social, and economic costs of this range of behaviors without necessarily reducing the behaviors themselves'. There are various harm reduction strategies, practices and programs that aim to reduce the adverse impact of policies, laws and regulations on both individuals and communities: Harm Reduction Journal seeks to encourage research and commentary on these approaches and their effectiveness. The journal’s broad focus deliberately encourages a collaborative approach where evidence of effectiveness in historic harm reduction approaches, can be applied to newer areas where problematic policy and criminalization are still prevalent. We welcome research articles, case studies, methodologies, reviews (including narrative and systematic reviews), meeting reports, perspectives and comments, amongst others across this wide range of issues. The Editor-in-Chief also invites discussion on other complex issues for which a harm reduction approach is appropriate or should be considered – please contact our editorial office if you have any questions about the suitability of your work.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Editor-in-chief Phillip MarottaPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- HIV, Drug Use, Sexual RiskMedicine26.4%
- Opioid Use Disorder TreatmentMedicine19.9%
- Substance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesMedicine15.2%
- Forensic Toxicology and Drug AnalysisPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics5.8%
- HIV/AIDS Research and InterventionsMedicine5.2%
- Smoking Behavior and CessationMedicine3.7%
- Hepatitis C virus researchMedicine3.5%
- Homelessness and Social IssuesHealth Professions3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Substance Abuse | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEMEDLINEEmbasePsycINFOCASPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, Semantic Scholar
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
- 4.2LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.51LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.33LetPub ·
- h-index
- 91OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,013OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.11OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 14.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.83%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 213LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 2,500,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,847 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 177 | 177 | 51 |
| 2025 | 222 | 222 | 718 |
| 2024 | 230 | 230 | 1,816 |
| 2023 | 180 | 180 | 2,571 |
| 2022 | 145 | 145 | 2,892 |
| 2021 | 134 | 134 | 3,651 |
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 Crossref · to
196 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 147 days – 289 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 18 days (114 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 230 days
- Sample
- 114 articles with submission and acceptance dates (446 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 26 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 15 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 26 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 | EUR 2,890 / USD 3,390 / GBP 2,490 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,290 / EUR 2,790 / GBP 2,390 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 2,390 / USD 3,290 / EUR 2,790 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 2,490 / USD 3,390 / EUR 2,890 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers3, by deadline
Publisher websiteArticle types accepted13
- brief reportBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- case reportBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- case studyBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- commentBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- correspondenceBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- matters arisingBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- meeting reportBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- methodologyBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- perspectiveBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- research articleBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- reviewBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- study protocolBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
- systematic reviewsBrief report Case report Case study Comment Correspondence Matters Arising Meeting report Methodology Perspective Research article Review Study Protocol Systema…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI - Usage Guidelines
We believe in using AI responsibly and for the benefit of the research community. Read these guidelines carefully if considering the use of GenAI with Harm Reduction Journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Formatting the 'Availability of data and materials' section of your manuscript
The following format for the 'Availability of data and materials section of your manuscript should be used:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Licensing and copyright
Creative Commons licences: CC BY-NC-ND or CC BY; authors retain copyright. Model summary
Creative Commons licences Open access articles in Springer Nature journals are published under Creative Commons licences. These provide an industry-standard framework to support easy re-use of open access material. Under Creative Commons licences, authors retain copyright of their articles. Harm Reduction Journal articles are published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attribution …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Benefits of open access
Publishing open access (OA) offers a number of benefits, including greater reach and readership for your work: Cited more 1.6x more citations of OA articles than non-OA articles across all subjects Downloaded more 4x more downloads of OA articles than non-OA articles Greater impact 2.5x more Altmetric attention. OA articles attracted 1.9x more news mentions and 1.2x more policy mentions Open acces…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Peer review is the process used to evaluate the quality of a manuscript before publication. Independent researchers in the relevant field assess submitted manuscripts to check their validity and robustness. Their feedback guides editors in making publication decisions. Typically, two or more experts evaluate each manuscript based on three main criteria: scientific robustness: is the research metho…
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
- Springer Nature
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1477-7517
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Harm Reduction Journal
What CAS zone is Harm Reduction Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Harm Reduction Journal is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Substance Abuse. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Harm Reduction Journal?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.2; CiteScore 5.8, h-index 91.
How long does peer review take at Harm Reduction Journal?
Based on the dates recorded on 114 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 196 days (interquartile range 147–289 days); authors report an average review time of about 26 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.
Which databases index Harm Reduction Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Harm Reduction Journal is indexed in SSCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists SCIE, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Harm Reduction Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Harm Reduction Journal is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,390.
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: .