Author Instructions

1. Submission Process

1.1 Manuscript Preparation and Author Responsibilities

Authors submitting to JHRR must prepare manuscripts in accordance with internationally recognized standards of research integrity, transparency, and scholarly conduct. Manuscripts must demonstrate originality, data integrity, and accurate citation of all sources. Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, and unethical research practices are strictly prohibited.

All listed authors must meet internationally accepted authorship criteria by making substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; drafting or critically revising the manuscript; and approving the final version for submission. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript prior to submission.

Before submission, authors must assemble all required supporting documents, including ethical approval or exemption letters, informed consent documentation, conflict of interest disclosures, funding statements, reporting guideline checklists, study registration details (if applicable), and any required permissions for reproduced material.

1.2 Originality and Prior Publication

Authors must confirm that the manuscript is original, has not been previously published, and is not under simultaneous consideration elsewhere. Manuscripts previously posted on recognized preprint servers are eligible for submission, provided that the preprint version is not updated during the peer review process. The preprint DOI or direct link must be disclosed at the time of submission.

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2. Editorial Assessment and Peer Review

2.1 Initial Editorial Assessment

Upon submission, the editorial office conducts an initial evaluation to determine whether the manuscript falls within the journal's scope and whether all required documentation is complete. Manuscripts that are incomplete or outside the journal's scope will be returned to the authors without proceeding to peer review.

2.2 Plagiarism Screening

All manuscripts that pass the initial editorial assessment undergo plagiarism detection using Turnitin software. As a general threshold, manuscripts with overall similarity above 15% or more than 5% from a single source may be returned to the authors for correction and resubmission. Manuscripts that pass similarity screening proceed to peer review.

2.3 Double-Blind Peer Review

JHRR follows a strict double-blind peer review process. Reviewers remain anonymous to authors, and authors' identities are concealed from reviewers during evaluation. Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.

Reviewers assess scientific merit, originality, methodological rigor, statistical validity, clarity of reporting, ethical compliance, and relevance to the fields of health, medical sciences, and rehabilitation. Direct communication between reviewers and authors during the review process is not permitted.

2.4 Editorial Decisions and Revisions

Based on reviewer feedback, the editorial decision may be rejection, major revision, minor revision, or acceptance. Authors receiving revision decisions must submit a revised manuscript along with a detailed point-by-point response addressing each reviewer comment. Revised manuscripts undergo re-evaluation before a final decision is rendered.

If the manuscript is rejected, authors will receive feedback explaining the decision. If accepted, the corresponding author will receive a formal acceptance notification.

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3. Post-Acceptance and Production

3.1 Article Processing Charge (APC)

APC: PKR 25,000

There is no submission fee, no peer review fee, no page charge, no colour figure charge, no supplementary file charge, and no fast-track or priority review fee. The APC of PKR 25,000 applies upon formal acceptance following peer review and is the same for all authors regardless of nationality or location.

The APC covers professional copyediting, typesetting and formatting, DOI assignment, online hosting, digital preservation and archiving, and editorial and administrative support. No additional charges are applied at any stage.

All editorial decisions are made independently of APC payment. Fee processing is handled administratively and does not influence editorial outcomes.

→ Full APC & Waiver Policy

3.2 Waiver Policy

Partial or full waivers may be granted on a case-by-case basis to authors from low- and middle-income countries, PhD students, early-career researchers, contributors to special thematic issues, or authors experiencing documented financial hardship. Waiver requests must be submitted with written justification at or immediately after acceptance. Waiver decisions are made independently of editorial decisions and do not affect the peer review process or outcome.

3.3 Production and Publication

After payment confirmation or waiver approval, the manuscript proceeds to professional copyediting and typesetting. A DOI is assigned and galley proofs are prepared. The corresponding author must review and approve the final proof before publication. Articles are published online immediately after production is complete under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

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4. Access and Publication Model

JHRR operates under a full open access publishing model. All accepted articles are made freely available online immediately upon publication under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided proper citation of the original work is maintained. No embargo period applies.

→ Full Open Access Policy

4.1 Journal Funding

JHRR does not receive institutional, governmental, or commercial funding. The journal operates independently and its sole source of operational revenue is Article Processing Charges collected from authors of accepted manuscripts.

Authors who receive grant funding, institutional support, or any external financial assistance covering study or publication costs must disclose this clearly in the Funding or Acknowledgements section of the manuscript. This disclosure will be published as part of the final article.

4.2 Self-Archiving

Authors may deposit any version of their manuscript — preprint, accepted manuscript, or published Version of Record — in any institutional or subject repository, preprint server, or personal website at any time. No embargo applies to any version. All self-archived versions must include a complete citation to the published JHRR article and a link to the CC BY 4.0 license.

→ Full Self-Archiving Policy

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5. Ethics and Research Integrity

5.1 Human Subjects Research

Studies involving human participants must include prior IRB or ethics committee approval or documented exemption. The manuscript must state the committee name, approval identification number, and approval date. Written informed consent must be obtained from all participants, including parental or guardian consent for minors. Explicit consent is required for identifiable images or quotations. Where de-identified data are used, IRB waiver documentation must be provided where applicable.

5.2 Animal Research

Animal studies must include documented animal ethics approval and compliance with recognized animal care and use standards. Approval identification numbers must be reported.

5.3 Study Registration

Interventional studies must be registered in a recognized clinical trial registry before enrollment of the first participant. The registry name and identification number must be reported in the manuscript.

5.4 Data Availability

Each manuscript must include a Data Availability Statement specifying whether data are publicly available in a repository with DOI or URL, available upon reasonable request with appropriate safeguards, or subject to justified restrictions.

→ Full Data Sharing & Transparency Policy

5.5 Editorial Screening and Compliance

The journal reserves the right to screen manuscripts for similarity, image or data manipulation, authorship integrity, ethical compliance, AI use compliance, and data availability compliance. Non-compliance may result in rejection, correction, retraction, institutional notification, or reporting to relevant ethical oversight bodies.

→ Full Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement

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6. Article Types and Reporting Standards

All manuscripts must strictly adhere to Vancouver citation style.

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7. Manuscript Formatting and Submission Package

Manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word format with clearly defined section headings and subheadings. Figures must be high-resolution, minimum 300 dpi. Authors must obtain written permission for reproduction of any previously published material.

Each submission must include:

• Detailed cover letter highlighting the manuscript's novelty and significance
• Main manuscript file (anonymized for peer review)
• Separate high-quality files for all figures and tables
• Completed reporting guideline checklist relevant to article type
• Ethics approval documentation and informed consent forms where applicable
• Conflict of interest declarations for all authors
• Funding statement
• Study registration details where applicable

Submission email: submit@jhrlmc.com

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8. Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

Authors may use AI tools solely for language enhancement purposes, including grammar correction, spelling improvement, clarity enhancement, and translation, provided that scientific meaning is not altered and the final content is reviewed and approved by the authors.

Generative AI must not be used to generate original scientific content including hypotheses, conclusions, data interpretations, or research findings. AI-generated or AI-modified figures, tables, images, and graphical abstracts are prohibited unless AI usage constitutes a formally documented part of the study methodology. AI systems may not be listed as authors.

If AI tools were used during manuscript preparation, authors must include a disclosure statement under the heading "Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process," placed immediately before the References section. The disclosure must clearly state the tool name, version, purpose of use, and confirmation that the authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript content.

Non-compliance may result in rejection, retraction, institutional notification, or reporting to relevant oversight bodies.

→ Full AI & Automated Tools Policy

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9. Author Certification

The corresponding author certifies on behalf of all authors that:

• Journal guidelines and international research integrity standards have been followed
• Ethical approval and informed consent have been obtained where required
• Animal ethics compliance has been confirmed where applicable
• Trial registration has been completed where required
• Data availability compliance has been met
• Competing interests have been disclosed
• Funding sources and funder roles have been transparently stated
• Author contributions are accurately described
• AI use has been disclosed as required
• All third-party permissions have been obtained
• The manuscript is original and not under simultaneous consideration elsewhere
• All authors have approved the final manuscript

False declarations may lead to rejection, retraction, or institutional notification.

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10. Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain full copyright of their published work. Upon acceptance, authors grant JHRR a non-exclusive right to publish, archive, and disseminate the article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). No copyright transfer is required as a condition of publication.

Under CC BY 4.0, others may share, adapt, and build upon the work for any purpose, including commercial use, provided appropriate credit is given, a link to the license is included, and any changes are indicated.

Authors confirm that their submission does not infringe on the rights of any third party and that all necessary permissions for reproduced material have been obtained.

→ Full Copyright Policy → Full Licensing Policy

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11. Privacy

Names and email addresses entered into the journal system are used exclusively for stated journal purposes and are not shared with any third party.

→ Full Privacy & Data Protection Policy

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Editorial Contact: editor@jhrlmc.com Submission Email: submit@jhrlmc.com Publisher: Link Medical Interface (Private) Limited, 8 Commercial, Sunny Park, PCSIR Phase II, Lahore 54000, Pakistan