REGULATIONS ON PEER REVIEW AND PUBLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES 

The peer review and publication process of the Journal of Community Medicine is described in the following flowchart:

Publication Process Flowchart

The publication process is divided into 3 basic stages: Initial Screening, Peer Review, and Publication Approval

Stage 1: Initial Screening

After the author submits the manuscript, the editorial office will respond directly or via the editorial office email confirming receipt of the manuscript. The submitted manuscripts will be reviewed by the Editorial Board and the editorial leadership. The assessment covers whether the manuscript meets all procedures and standards stipulated in the Journal's Submission Guidelines regarding format, structure, and content:

• If the manuscript meets the required standards, the Journal's editorial office will send the author a notification accepting the manuscript for entry into the peer review process.
• If the manuscript does not meet the requirements, there are two possible cases: (1) the manuscript can be revised and reconsidered, in which case the editorial office will return it to the author for revision to meet the prescribed standards; (2) the manuscript cannot be further revised, or although it meets the formal requirements, it contains fundamental academic errors or its content is inconsistent with the Journal's objectives, scope, and mission, in which case the editorial office will notify the author that the manuscript will not be accepted for the peer review process.
• The time for the editorial office to acknowledge receipt of the manuscript: 1 to 3 days from the date the author sends the email.
• The time for the editorial office to provide the initial screening result: 1 to 5 days from the date the editorial office confirms receipt of the manuscript from the author.

Stage 2: Peer Review

After the initial screening, the manuscript is anonymized and sent to two reviewers (double-blind peer review) appointed by the Editor-in-Chief or Deputy Editor-in-Chief based on recommendations from the Editorial Board:

The reviewers will read the manuscript and provide comments based on specific criteria for evaluating the submission. Overall, the peer review focuses on the following 6 main areas:

• Assessment of the manuscript's format and structure
• Assessment of the consistency between the article title, abstract, and the content of the full manuscript.
• Assessment of the appropriateness of the theoretical framework used in the study
• Assessment of the research methodology
• Assessment of the reliability of the research data
• Assessment of the scientific and practical significance of the article

The conclusion of the peer review stage may be:

• The manuscript is of good quality and can be published without revision or with only minor language and proofreading corrections.
• The manuscript requires revisions to its content and/or structure and must undergo another round of peer review before a decision is made regarding publication.

When the author receives the reviewers' comments, the author revises the manuscript and resubmits it to the editorial office. The manuscript is then returned to the reviewers for further consideration until they reach a final conclusion: acceptance for publication or rejection.

• Reviewer turnaround time: 7 to 15 days from the date the editorial office sends the manuscript to each reviewer. For complex studies, the review period may be extended to 30 days. (In certain special cases, the Editor-in-Chief may request an expedited review).
• Author revision and resubmission time: 1 to 15 days from the date the editorial office sends the review comments to the author (in certain special cases, the editorial office may request an expedited revision and resubmission).
• Time to complete the peer review stage: Within 30 days from the date the editorial office confirms receipt of the manuscript and enters it into the peer review process until a decision is made regarding the manuscript's status.

Stage 3: Publication Approval

The editorial leadership will decide whether to approve or reject publication in the following two cases:

• The manuscript is recommended for publication by the reviewers.
• If the editorial leadership approves publication, the editorial office will send the author a notification confirming acceptance of the manuscript and placing it on the publication waiting list. If the author requires confirmation that the manuscript has been accepted for publication, the editorial office will issue a publication acceptance certificate before the scheduled publication issue.
• If the editorial leadership requests further consideration and recommends an additional round of peer review to verify the authenticity and novelty of the research, the editorial office will return the manuscript to the peer review stage for further processing.
• The manuscript is rejected for publication by the reviewers.
• If the editorial leadership decides not to approve publication, the editorial office will notify the author that the manuscript has not been accepted for publication in the Journal of Community Medicine. The editorial office will notify the author of the publication decision within 30 days from the date the editorial office confirms receipt of the manuscript and enters it into the peer review process.

After the manuscript is approved for publication by the editorial leadership, it is transferred to the editorial department for editing of content, language, writing style, presentation, and formatting. During the publication editing process, editors may contact the author to assist in making accurate corrections to the content. After the editorial leadership conducts the final approval, the manuscript is sent for printing.

Finally, the editorial secretary archives the publication records for the journal issue, including the original manuscript, peer review reports, and manuscript versions produced during the checking and revision process.

The maximum time for editors to complete steps 2-4 is 2 days per step. The maximum time for IT staff to complete steps 4-6 is 1 day per step. The total time to complete the publication editing stage is 7-10 days from the date the approved manuscript is received.

Note: The above time periods do not include weekends and public holidays.