About JPHMP Direct

JPHMP Direct is the companion site of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. We highlight the latest research in public health management and practice, profile public health professionals, provide expert commentaries on topical public health issues, and develop resources for authors and students.

Our Audience

We publish public health practice and research news, profiles and interviews, commentaries, and other content related to an audience interested in evidence-based public health practice. (See more about our audience below).

Our Contributors

We invite JPHMP authors, editorial board members, public health practitioners, academics and students of schools of public health programs, and other public health experts to contribute relevant work that adheres to our guidelines.  

Queries

We do not accept unsolicited submissions. However, we may extend an invitation to submit if you query us first by summarizing the objective and key takeaways of your piece in no more than 150 words.

We have no interest in paid promotional content, so please do not query us unless you are interested in writing an original article on a public health topic aimed at an audience of public health professionals, outlined elsewhere on this page.

Send us your query via our contact page. Due to the volume of queries, we will only respond to authors the editors wish to invite to submit. If you do not hear from us within 10-12 days, it is safe to assume your query is not a good fit with us. Please do not email for editors’ comments. We regret that we are unable to provide responses to every query we receive.

Review

All submissions, invited or otherwise, must be approved by the editors of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. It is the sole discretion of the editors to accept, reject, or recommend revisions before publication on our site. Submitting your work means you agree to these terms.

Copyright

Contributors retain copyright of their work and may republish elsewhere at their discretion; however, we do request acknowledgement (with a link, if possible) that the work originally appeared on our site.

Credits for Source Materials

Contributors are responsible for acquiring copyright permissions to use any written material, photos, tables, charts, video, audio, and other intellectual property that isn’t their own, which is used in work appearing on our site. Citations, links, and all other intellectual property requirements must be properly credited to appropriate sources.

Perspectives

The views expressed on JPHMP Direct are not necessarily the views of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, its publisher, editors, staff, contributors, partners, or affiliates. JPHMP Direct seeks to offer a wide range of perspectives, opinions, and voices from all human experiences, regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, political, religious, ethnic, cultural, or other identifiers.

Opinions & Viewpoint Diversity

We support viewpoint diversity as defined and explained in this post by Dr. Sandro Galea. However, our editors reserve the right to refuse a platform to viewpoints that are not open to rebuttal by those who take the opposing position, views which endorse or encourage violence, and views that traffic in well-established falsehoods.

Right of Refusal

Our editors reserve the right to refuse to publish any work that may be deemed harmful, slanderous, malicious, or otherwise inappropriate for our audience. Invitations to publish are at the sole discretion of the editors.

Word Limits

• Practice or Research News ……… 500 – 750
• Interviews/Profiles/Q&As ………… 600 – 1,000
• Commentaries …………………………. 750 – 1,200

General Guidelines for Writing a Good Blog Post

1. POV: As a rule of thumb, we suggest writing your post in your own voice, using a first-person POV. In some cases, it may be better to write in third person. (See Further Suggestions below.)
2. Focus: Fully describe your topic, your experience with the topic, and your views on why the topic is relevant, including any recommendations to improve population health or advance the conversation around this particular issue.
3. Sources: Include relevant links and/or citations to source materials that support the points of your article. (See Credits for Source Materials above.)
4. Related articles (optional): Suggest 2-3 related articles (with links) published in credible sources, including but not limited to the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.
5. Photos: Feel free to include any photos, tables, charts, graphics, etc. that may be relevant. (See Credits for Source Materials above.)
6. Links: We’re happy to include links to other information or to embed podcasts or videos if permission is granted to do so. (See Credits for Source Materials above.)
7. Bio: Please write a short (50-word) statement about your professional experience and subject matter expertise in third person.
8. Author photo: Please provide a recent high-resolution head shot of yourself.
9. Social media: Don’t forget to share your Twitter handle, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram information with us so that we can tag you on all our social media accounts when your post is published. Please share with everyone in your network. And be sure to follow us @JPHMPDirect.

Further Suggestions

Consider Your Audience

JPHMP Direct is targeted towards students in schools of public health programs; health department professionals and other public health practitioners; public health researchers and faculty in schools of public health; city, county, state, local, Tribal, and federal public health agency leaders and staff; public health policy experts and lawmakers; and others interested in improving population health.

First Person or Third Person?

If you’re writing an opinion piece, a profile about a public health professional, or explaining important information about your research or practice experience, writing in first person will illustrate your expertise and bring immediacy to your readers by giving them a closer look at details that you know firsthand.

However, writing from a more distant, third-person perspective may be a better option if you are summarizing or delivering factual information about a program, announcing an event, or soliciting feedback. We will still include your byline and author bio, so don’t forget to include that information if you are invited to submit.

A Few Suggestions for Organizing Your Key Points

• Identify a public health problem
• Illustrate the problem with examples
• Underscore the implications of the problem if not addressed
• Acknowledge what is being done to address the problem currently and by whom and to what level of success
• Outline what more needs to be done to further address the problem
• Highlight a call to action and/or describe potential solutions to the problem

Alternatively, if you are writing about your research or practice, consider the following questions to help organize your post:

• What public health problem are you addressing?
• Why is it important to address the problem?
• What are the implications of not addressing the problem?
• What does your research or practical experience do to address the problem?
• What are the key takeaways from your findings?
• Who else can use your findings to improve population health?
• What methods may be replicated by other public health professionals?
• What else needs to be done/concluding thoughts?
• Where can readers learn more?

Write a Good (Not Too Long) Headline

A clear, concise headline should point to where readers can expect to be taken while reading your post. If you can keep your headline under fifteen words, it will look more attractive in our blog template.

Write a Short Summary

In one sentence, summarize what your post is about.

Key Words

List up to 10 key words that are relevant to your post.

Use Short Sentences

One way that Google ranks blog posts in its search engine is by readability. Sentences under 25 words will likely be considered more readable by a general audience. This may be something to consider as you write your post.

Use Acronyms and Technical Jargon Sparingly

While most JPHMP Direct readers are familiar with public health acronyms and technical terms, many of our readers are students (or aspiring to be students or are only coming across public health for the first time right now reading your blog post). So please write using simple, plain language that helps readers better understand your topic.

Use Active Voice

It’s easy to fall into the habit of using passive voice without even realizing it. Active voice is more direct, as if someone is doing something. Passive voice is as if something is being acted upon. For example, “Avoid passive voice” is more direct and active than “Passive voice should be avoided.” “I made a plan” is better than “Plans were made.”

Questions?

Email smonks(at)wakehealth(dot)edu.