Journal profile · Medicine-Health Policy
International Journal for Equity in Health
ISSN 1475-9276 · Springer Nature · United Kingdom
International Journal for Equity in Health: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 5.11; fully open access; APC about USD 3,790; median 139 days to acceptance (130 articles, last 24 months); 381 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
International Journal for Equity in Health is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 2 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Healthcare Systems and Reforms, Global Maternal and Child Health and Health disparities and outcomes, together about 40.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are General Health Professions. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
International Journal for Equity in Health presents evidence relevant to the search for, and attainment of, equity in health across and within countries. International Journal for Equity in Health publishes research which improves the understanding of issues that influence the distribution of health and healthcare within populations. This includes the discussion of political, policy-related, economic, social and health systems- and services-related influences, particularly with regard to identifying and understanding the systematic differences or the lived experiences of one or more aspects of health in population groups defined demographically, geographically, or socially. Although there is a large amount of literature on the 'social determinants' of health, the journal focuses heavily on understanding what influences at the level of the individual, and, what influences at the community level. The literature is relatively sparse on studies that look at what influences the policy and political arenas, and is especially deficient in analyses that examine the population-attributable fraction of ill health resulting from social, behavioral, medical, or biological factors, and the interrelated contributions of these spheres of influence. Such information and the insight derived from it is required by policy-makers in order to make informed choices and evidence-based decisions, and this is the focus of International Journal for Equity in Health.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Health Policy
Editorial board by country: 6 in mainland China (about 7%); most named United Kingdom 19, United States 15, India 7, Mainland China 6, Spain 5 (91 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Healthcare Systems and ReformsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance15.6%
- Global Maternal and Child HealthMedicine15.3%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences9.6%
- Migration, Health and TraumaPsychology5.4%
- Global Health Care IssuesHealth Professions4.6%
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions4.5%
- Child Nutrition and Water AccessNursing3.9%
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.8%
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 | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEMEDLINEEmbaseCASCAB AbstractsPublisher 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
- 5.11LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.55LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.85LetPub ·
- h-index
- 137OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,268OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.29OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 351LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 5,000,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,433 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 290 | 290 | 89 |
| 2025 | 381 | 381 | 2,079 |
| 2024 | 275 | 275 | 2,834 |
| 2023 | 279 | 279 | 5,042 |
| 2022 | 191 | 191 | 4,809 |
| 2021 | 264 | 264 | 9,855 |
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
139 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 92 days – 202 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 15 days (130 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 155 days
- Sample
- 130 articles with submission and acceptance dates (737 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 28 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 28 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 2,990 / USD 3,790 / GBP 2,690 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,690 / EUR 2,890 / GBP 2,590 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 2,490 / USD 3,490 / EUR 2,790 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 2,690 / USD 3,790 / EUR 2,990 | — | — |
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 accepted5
- commentFormatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below. Comment Research Review Systematic review Matters ArisingLength not stated
- matters arisingFormatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below. Comment Research Review Systematic review Matters ArisingLength not stated
- researchFormatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below. Comment Research Review Systematic review Matters ArisingLength not stated
- reviewFormatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below. Comment Research Review Systematic review Matters ArisingLength not stated
- systematic reviewFormatting guidelines for specific article types can be found below. Comment Research Review Systematic review Matters ArisingLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteData availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- 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
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND or CC BY licence; 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. International Journal for Equity in Health articles are published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND (Creative …
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
- 1475-9276
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- 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 International Journal for Equity in Health
What CAS zone is International Journal for Equity in Health in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, International Journal for Equity in Health is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; it is a Top journal. 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 International Journal for Equity in Health?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.11; CiteScore 6.6, h-index 137.
How long does peer review take at International Journal for Equity in Health?
Based on the dates recorded on 130 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 139 days (interquartile range 92–202 days); authors report an average review time of about 28 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.
Where are the editorial board members of International Journal for Equity in Health based?
Of the 91 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 6 (about 7%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (19), United States (15) and India (7). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index International Journal for Equity in Health?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, International Journal for Equity in Health is indexed in SSCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists SCIE, MEDLINE, Embase, CAS and CAB Abstracts; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is International Journal for Equity in Health open access, and what is the APC?
International Journal for Equity in Health is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,790.
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: .