Journal profile · Multiple
Sociology of Health & Illness
ISSN 0141-9889 · eISSN 1467-9566 · Wiley-Blackwell
Sociology of Health & Illness: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.55; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,330; median 189 days to acceptance (88 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 17% (journal website); 154 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Sociology of Health & Illness is published by Wiley-Blackwell 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 Mental Health and Patient Involvement, Health disparities and outcomes and Obesity and Health Practices, together about 21.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are General Health Professions. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Sociology of Health & Illness is an international English language journal which publishes sociological articles on all aspects of health, illness, medicine and healthcare. We welcome empirical and theoretical contributions in the form of original research, research notes, review articles and invited commentaries. In addition to the 9 regular issues published each year, we publish an annual monograph and occasional special issues. Sociology of Health and Illness actively seeks to publish research that recognises the diverse nature of society and that addresses diversity when discussing sampling, recruitment, data analysis and conclusions. We also actively encourage submissions from authors from groups who are underrepresented within academia due to, but not limited to, age, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, geography, race, religion, sexuality and social class. All Sociology of Health and Illness authors are encouraged to cite research from scholars from these underrepresented groups.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Janice McLaughlinPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 15, United States 7, Italy 2, Canada 2, Australia 2 (43 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Mental Health and Patient InvolvementHealth Professions8.9%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences6.6%
- Obesity and Health PracticesHealth Professions6.2%
- Employment and Welfare StudiesHealth Professions6.1%
- Global Public Health Policies and EpidemiologyBusiness, Management and Accounting5.3%
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions5.2%
- Mental Health and PsychiatryArts and Humanities5%
- Public Health Policies and EducationHealth Professions4.7%
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 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview 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 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview 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 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Sociology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
AHCIMEDLINEPubMedPsycINFOCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
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
- 2.55LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 3.57Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.18LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.58LetPub ·
- h-index
- 156OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,083OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.57OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 11.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 83.75%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 92LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 137Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,072,180Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,120 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 136 | 78 | 15 |
| 2025 | 154 | 111 | 253 |
| 2024 | 144 | 109 | 413 |
| 2023 | 144 | 112 | 919 |
| 2022 | 176 | 91 | 1,974 |
| 2021 | 196 | 99 | 2,481 |
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
189 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 103 days – 262 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 26 days (89 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 218 days
- Sample
- 88 articles with submission and acceptance dates (309 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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 17%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 17%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 202 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,330 / EUR 3,610 / GBP 2,890 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 100–200 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 9,000 words
- Reference style
- Harvard
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted10, with length limits
- book reviews'Book Reviews' should only be submitted in agreement with the book review editors.Length not stated
- commentaries'Commentaries': No longer than 2500 words and by invitation onlyLength not stated
- commentarypriorities (maximum word length= 2500) 'Commentaries': No longer than 2500 words and by invitation only 'Book Reviews' should only be submitmain text ≤ 2,500 words
- editorialPLEASE NOTE: The current editorial team have revised guidance on what constitutes a Review Article to provide greater clarity between what a Review Article is a…Length not stated
- literature reviewPLEASE NOTE: The current editorial team have revised guidance on what constitutes a Review Article to provide greater clarity between what a Review Article is a…Length not stated
- original article‘Original article’ refers to an article presenting findings from original research - usually, but not necessarily, empirical – and conceptual/theoretical develo…Length not stated
- research note‘Research note’ is a short reflection of an area of research that speaks to a topical issue and/or an issue that has been neglected in some way, identifying res…Length not stated
- reviewAfter being checked for anonymity and word length by our Managing Editor, your manuscript will be seen by the Editors-in-Chief who will assess its suitability f…Length not stated
- review articlePLEASE NOTE: The current editorial team have revised guidance on what constitutes a Review Article to provide greater clarity between what a Review Article is a…Length not stated
- systematic reviewPLEASE NOTE: The current editorial team have revised guidance on what constitutes a Review Article to provide greater clarity between what a Review Article is a…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Preprints
- Authorship Author contributions
For all articles, the journal mandates the CRediT (Contribution Roles Taxonomy), for more information please see Author Services.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics
Publication ethics Model summary
Sociology of Health & Illness abides to the ethical guidelines developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) during the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity in Singapore in 2010 (see http://publicationethics.org/resources/international-standards).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Transfer Agreement
If your paper is accepted, the author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to log in to Author Services; where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be able to complete the licence agreement on behalf of all authors on the paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access For authors choosing open access
If the open access option is selected, the corresponding author will have a choice of the following Creative Commons License Open Access Agreements (OAA):
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprint policy Model summary
Please find the Wiley preprint policy here.
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0141-9889
- Electronic ISSN
- 1467-9566
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 48, Issue 7 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Sociology of Health & Illness
What CAS zone is Sociology of Health & Illness in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Sociology of Health & Illness is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Public, Environmental & Occupational Health / Social Sciences, Biomedical / Sociology. 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 Sociology of Health & Illness?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.55; CiteScore 5.4, h-index 156.
How long does peer review take at Sociology of Health & Illness?
Based on the dates recorded on 88 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 189 days (interquartile range 103–262 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 17% (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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Sociology of Health & Illness?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 100–200 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 9,000 words; Reference style: Harvard; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. 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 Sociology of Health & Illness based?
Of the 43 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (15), United States (7) and Italy (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Sociology of Health & Illness?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Sociology of Health & Illness is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists AHCI, MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Sociology of Health & Illness open access, and what is the APC?
Sociology of Health & Illness is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,330.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .