Journal profile · HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES
Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
ISSN 0885-4726 · eISSN 1528-6916 · Taylor & Francis
Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 81 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 74% (journal website); 21 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology, Religion, Society, and Development and Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health, together about 57.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy publishes peer-reviewed, scholarly articles based on original research, quality assurance/improvement studies, descriptions of programs and interventions, program/intervention evaluations, and literature reviews on topics pertinent to pastoral/spiritual care, clinical pastoral education, chaplaincy, and spirituality in relation to physical and mental health. Examples of topics that might be found include: clinical pastoral education, development of new spiritual care practices, patient assessment, evaluation of chaplain interventions, pastoral/spiritual care outcomes, application of new healthcare regulations to chaplains, standards of practice, spiritual support for persons with different diseases and health problems, reviews of relevant findings from various healthcare and scientific fields. The journal is an excellent resource for chaplains, psychologists; physicians, nurses, and other health-care researchers and clinicians. Peer Review Policy: All research, theoretical, and review articles in this journal have undergone initial editorial screening and rigorous double-anonymous peer review by at least two independent reviewers.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES
Editor-in-chief Kelsey B. WhitePublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 3 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Religion, Spirituality, and PsychologySocial Sciences33%
- Religion, Society, and DevelopmentSocial Sciences12.9%
- Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthPsychology11.4%
- Palliative Care and End-of-Life IssuesMedicine10.3%
- Biblical Studies and InterpretationArts and Humanities4.7%
- Theological Perspectives and PracticesSocial Sciences4.5%
- Religion and Society InteractionsSocial Sciences3.9%
- Christian Theology and MissionArts and Humanities1.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINECINAHLPublisher website
Other: Academic Search Complete, Academic Search Premier, AgeLine, Current Abstracts, Index Copernicus, Index to Jewish Periodicals, Orere Source (Pastoral Abstracts), MasterFile Premier, Religious & Theological Abstracts, SOCIndex, Social Work Abstracts
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 (publisher) 2025
- 1.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 1Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.2LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.2Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 34OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 160OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.58OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 33.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 24.53%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 21LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 88,000Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 88,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 574 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 20 | 10 | 5 |
| 2025 | 21 | 14 | 34 |
| 2024 | 18 | 9 | 54 |
| 2023 | 14 | 4 | 66 |
| 2022 | 32 | 7 | 301 |
| 2021 | 25 | 7 | 202 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
81 daysfirst decision after review
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 74%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 74%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 65 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 65 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 81 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review 2025
- 81 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discovera…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-anonymous peer review by at least two independent reviewers, with initial editorial screening. Model summary
All research, theoretical, and review articles in this journal have undergone initial editorial screening and rigorous double-anonymous peer review by at least two independent reviewers.
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0885-4726
- Electronic ISSN
- 1528-6916
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 32, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy
What CAS zone is Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Health Policy & Services. 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 Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.2 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 5.3, h-index 34.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy?
The publisher reports about 81 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 74% (2025). 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 Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE and CINAHL; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .