The Open Journal of Health and Social Care developed from the Open Health Research Ireland Network (OHRIN) project. The project aims to build a network to support Open Research in the Irish Health and Social Care sector both through training and support and through publishing infrastructure.   

Open Journal of Health and Social Care in Ireland is a place for health and social practitioners to publish and make their research accessible without financial barriers. 

Aims and Scope 

Open Journal of Health and Social Care in Ireland (OJHSCI) is a Diamond Open Access journal with a mission to publish high-quality, practice-informed research in health and social care. The journal provides an equitable route to publication for practitioner-researchers, ensuring that research outputs are free to publish and free to read. 

The journal welcomes interdisciplinary and practice-based scholarship that contributes to improved health and social care practice, policy, education, and service delivery, particularly within the Irish context. 

In Scope 

• Practice-based and practitioner-led research 

• Health and social care services research 

• Primary care, community care, and public health 

• Nursing, midwifery, allied health, and social care research 

• Health systems, workforce, and service improvement studies 

• Implementation science and quality improvement 

• Open research practices in health and social care 

• Policy-relevant research grounded in practice 

Out of Scope 

• Studies without a clear health or social care focus 

• Research lacking ethical approval where required 

• Submissions that do not align with open research principles 

Open Access and Licensing 

OJHSCI operates under a Diamond Open Access model. There are no article processing charges (APCs) for authors and no subscription or access fees for readers. 

All published articles are made available under a Creative Commons licence (CC BY by default). This allows for reuse and distribution with appropriate attribution. 

Types of Submissions 

The journal accepts the following article types: 

• Original research articles 

• Practice reports and case studies 

• Quality improvement and service evaluation studies 

• Methodological papers 

• Review articles (systematic, scoping, or narrative) 

• Policy and practice commentaries 

Submission Guidelines 

Submissions must: 

• Be original and not under consideration elsewhere 

• Clearly state ethical approval and consent procedures, where applicable 

• Follow the journal’s author guidelines for structure, referencing, and formatting 

• Include statements on funding, conflicts of interest, and author contributions 

Authors are encouraged to deposit preprints, datasets, and supplementary materials in trusted open repositories where appropriate. 

Peer Review Policy 

The OHRIN Journal uses a rigorous peer review process designed to be constructive, supportive, and transparent. We aim to be fair to authors and support them through the process in areas where they lack experience. 

• Submissions undergo initial editorial screening for scope, quality, and ethical compliance 

• Articles are reviewed by at least two independent reviewers with relevant subject expertise 

• The journal operates a double-anonymised peer review process unless otherwise stated 

• Reviewers are asked to provide developmental feedback, particularly for early career and practitioner-researchers 

Editorial decisions may include: accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject. 

Editorial Independence and Governance 

Editorial decisions are made independently by the Editorial Board. Funders, partners, and sponsors past, present or future have no influence over editorial outcomes. 

The Editorial Board reflects a diversity of disciplines, professional backgrounds, and institutions across health and social care. 

Research Ethics and Integrity 

The journal adheres to best practice guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). https://publicationethics.org/guidance/cope-position/authorship-and-ai-tools 

Authors must: 

• Confirm that research involving human participants received appropriate ethical approval 

• Disclose any conflicts of interest 

• Ensure accuracy, transparency, and honesty in reporting 

Allegations of misconduct, including plagiarism or data fabrication, will be investigated in line with COPE procedures. 

AI Usage and Author Declarations

The journal follows the COPE guidelines on AI usage and author declarations:

"The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT or Large Language Models in research publications is expanding rapidly. COPE joins organisations, such as WAME and the JAMA Network among others, to state that AI tools cannot be listed as an author of a paper.

AI tools cannot meet the requirements for authorship as they cannot take responsibility for the submitted work. As non-legal entities, they cannot assert the presence or absence of conflicts of interest nor manage copyright and license agreements.

Authors who use AI tools in the writing of a manuscript, production of images or graphical elements of the paper, or in the collection and analysis of data, must be transparent in disclosing in the Materials and Methods (or similar section) of the paper how the AI tool was used and which tool was used. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those parts produced by an AI tool, and are thus liable for any breach of publication ethics."

https://publicationethics.org/guidance/cope-position/authorship-and-ai-tools 

Data Sharing and Open Research Practices 

OJHSCI supports open research and encourages authors to: 

• Share data, protocols, and materials where ethically and legally possible 

• Use open repositories and provide persistent identifiers (e.g. DOIs) 

• Include data availability statements in all submissions 

Where data cannot be shared, authors should clearly explain the restrictions. 

Copyright 

Authors retain copyright of their work. By publishing in OJHSCI, authors grant the journal the right to publish and distribute the article under the agreed Creative Commons licence. 

Complaints and Appeals 

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a written request to the Editor-in-Chief. Appeals are reviewed by a senior editor not involved in the original decision. 

Complaints regarding editorial processes or publication ethics will be handled transparently and fairly. 

Archiving and Preservation 

All published content is preserved through trusted digital repositories and archiving services to ensure long-term accessibility. 

Updates to Policies 

These policies may be updated periodically to reflect best practice in scholarly publishing and open research. Substantive changes will be communicated on the journal website.