Journal profile · PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Social Science & Medicine
ISSN 0277-9536 · eISSN 1873-5347 · Elsevier Ltd · ENGLAND · Founded 1982
Social Science & Medicine: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 4.06; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,800; median 162 days to acceptance (156 articles, last 24 months); 1,025 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Social Science & Medicine is published by Elsevier Ltd 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 Health disparities and outcomes, Global Health Care Issues and Employment and Welfare Studies, together about 33.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are General Health Professions. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Browse through a wide range of high-quality academic journals offered by Elsevier, including open access options, to enrich your research journey.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences17.5%
- Global Health Care IssuesHealth Professions8%
- Employment and Welfare StudiesHealth Professions7.8%
- Global Maternal and Child HealthMedicine6.8%
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.6%
- Migration, Health and TraumaPsychology4.3%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.1%
- Healthcare Systems and ReformsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.6%
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 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | 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 1 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 1 |
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 1 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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 ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 8.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.85LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.09LetPub ·
- h-index
- 213LetPub ·
- h-index
- 395OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 16,340OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.86OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 49.66%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 958LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 23,700 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 809 | 539 | 313 |
| 2025 | 1,025 | 717 | 3,202 |
| 2024 | 889 | 618 | 6,998 |
| 2023 | 712 | 483 | 9,852 |
| 2022 | 729 | 512 | 16,837 |
| 2021 | 839 | 529 | 32,202 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
162 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 123 days – 212 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 2 days (156 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 165 days
- Sample
- 156 articles with submission and acceptance dates (2,078 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)
- 2–3 weeksLetPub ·
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,800 / EUR 3,550 / GBP 3,040 / JPY 471,310 | — | — |
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 1982
- ISSN
- 0277-9536
- Electronic ISSN
- 1873-5347
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Social Science & Medicine
What CAS zone is Social Science & Medicine in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Social Science & Medicine is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Public, Environmental & Occupational Health / Social Sciences, Biomedical; 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 Social Science & Medicine?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.06; CiteScore 8.2, h-index 395.
How long does peer review take at Social Science & Medicine?
Based on the dates recorded on 156 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 162 days (interquartile range 123–212 days); authors report an average review time of 2–3 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 Social Science & Medicine?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Social Science & Medicine is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is Social Science & Medicine open access, and what is the APC?
Social Science & Medicine is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,800.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, 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: .