Welcome to the Health Sciences Investigations Journal

Health Sciences Investigation (HSI) Journal is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to disseminating research findings in the health sciences. The HSI Journal is published by the University of Ghana College of Health Sciences.

Aim

Our aim is to advance knowledge in health-related sciences and promote equitable access to scientific reporting, particularly for researchers in resource-limited settings.

Mission

Our mission is to serve as a premier journal for advancing high-quality reporting of health and allied health sciences research in resource-limited settings and globally. We publish peer-reviewed research findings and policy analyses that impact local populations and inform the global scientific community.

Publication Scope

The HSI Journal welcomes submissions across a broad range of health sciences disciplines, including medical sciences, pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences, nursing, physical therapy, medical laboratory science, environmental and occupational health, public health, medical imaging and radiation sciences, and related fields. We publish diverse manuscript types ranging from original research articles and protocols to evidence syntheses, including systematic, scoping, and narrative reviews. Additionally, we accept case reports, medical images, brief communications, commentaries, and letters to the editor. Beyond standard issues, the Journal publishes special supplements and Books of Abstracts from scientific symposia. Authors may consult the Journal’s Article Types [insert URL] page for detailed descriptions of submission categories and requirements. Authors interested in proposing special issues or additional publication lines are encouraged to contact the editorial office at hsijournal.ug.edu.gh.

Licensing

  • Certified name: Health Sciences Investigations Journal
  •  Abbreviation: HSI Journal
  • Electronic ISSN: 2704-4890 (ONLINE)
  • Print ISSN: 2720-7609 (PRINT)
  • Website: www.hsijournal.edu.gh
  • Language of Publication: British English
     

Journal Address:

  • Office: University of Ghana College of Health Sciences, Charles Easmon Building, 2nd floor, Room 29, P.O Box k52, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana.
  • Contact email: hsijournal@ug.edu.gh
  • Contact numbers (Phone/WhatsApp):     
  •          Yvonne Okantey:   +233 0244156175 
  •          Amin Agongo:        +233 558005106

To Advertise

To advertise or reproduce content in HSI Journal, please send an email hsijournal@ug.edu.gh.

Publishing Model

The Journal operates a fully open access publishing model in accordance with the international standards set by the Budapest, Bethesda, and Berlin Declarations on Open Access,. All articles are freely available immediately upon publication without subscription or access barriers. Content is published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including for commercial purposes, provided the original work is properly cited. The Journal charges an Article Processing Charge (APC) to support the costs of editorial processing and publication; details are available on the Journal’s APC page [insert URL].

Article Processing Charges (APC)

The HSI Journal operates under a Gold Open Access publishing model, which ensures that all published articles are freely and immediately available to readers worldwide without subscription barriers. To sustain this model (covering costs such as digital hosting, manuscript submission and tracking systems, copyediting, typesetting, DOI registration, plagiarism screening, editorial management, and long-term archiving) the Journal applies a standard APC of USD 300 for all accepted manuscripts. This fee is default for every accepted submission, regardless of the author's geographic location or institutional affiliation. It is charged only after a manuscript has been accepted following peer review, and editorial decisions are made independently of an author's ability to pay. The APC invoice is issued to the corresponding author upon acceptance and must be settled before the article is officially published online. However, in alignment with the Journal’s commitment to inclusivity and equitable access, we provide a waiver programme [insert URL] to support authors from diverse financial backgrounds and institutional affiliations.

APC Waiver Programme

The Journal is committed to equitable access to scientific reporting through its APC waiver programme. We recognize that financial constraints should never be a barrier to the dissemination of quality research. As such, we offer waiver tiers, which must be requested at the time of manuscript  submission:

1. Standard Waiver (Flat Rate)    
                              Waiver                               USD 100
                              Amount payable                USD 200 
                              Eligibility                            Applies to manuscripts stemming from projects without dedicated research funding. This option is available to  authors who demonstrates a need for financial assistance, regardless of institutional affiliation or geographic location. 
                              Approval                            Granted on a case-by-case basis by the Editorial Office
    
2. University of Ghana (UG) Staff Waiver    
                            Criterion                              Details
                            Waiver percentage             Up to 50% off the standard APC
                            Amount payable                  USD 150 (50% of 300)
                            Eligibility                              First and corresponding authors must be current staff of the University of Ghana
                           Verification required             Institutional email address (ug.edu.gh) or official staff ID of first and corresponding authors
                           Approval                               Granted on a case-by-case basis by the Editorial Office
    
3. Funded Projects    
                         Criterion                                Details
                         Waiver                                  No waiver applies. The full APC is required as funding is available.
                         Amount payable                   USD $300 (full standard APC)
                         Eligibility                               Research funded by a grant or institutional funding. Research with dedicated funding
    
4. Partial or Full Waiver (Exceptional Circumstances)    
                       Waiver                                  Variable 
                       Amount payable                   Variable 
                       Eligibility    In exceptional cases of demonstrated severe financial hardship (such as unfunded researchers from low-income countries or independent scholars with no institutional support), the Journal may grant a partial or full waiver of the APC.  Editorial Invitations (Manuscripts specifically commissioned or invited by the Editor-in-Chief) may be granted a partial or full waiver.
Verification required    Authors requesting a full or partial waiver must upload a formal letter of request on their institution’s letterhead. This letter should be signed by a Department Head or Dean, confirming that the institution does not have a budget allocated for Article Processing Charges and that the research is not supported by an external grant.
Approval    Such requests are evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Editorial Office and require a written explanation of the author's circumstances.

Permissions

Any reproduction from this journal, apart from for the purpose of reviewing, private research, or ‘’fair dealing’’ must have the permission of the copyright holder. Request for copyright permissions must be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief via hsijournal@ug.edu.gh In all cases, acknowledgement of the journal must be made.

Publication Ethics

The HSI Journal is committed to supporting standards of ethical behaviour at all stages of the publication process. The HSI Journal adopts a neutral position on issues treated within its publications. It is the responsibility of authors to ensure that they comply with HSI Journal publication standards and guidelines. Our publication ethics align to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Best Practice Guidelines. The COPE standards protect the rights of authors, editors, reviewers and publishers alike, and seeks to uphold the reputation of Journals and