About the Journal
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The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and the global COVID pandemic highlighted profound challenges not only for public health, political, professional, educational, and healthcare systems, but also for scientific communication itself. It demonstrated the need for approaches that integrate knowledge across disciplines and translate it into clear, actionable understanding.
Addressing complex, real-world challenges—whether infectious disease, environmental risks, or broader societal disruptions—requires a transdisciplinary approach that brings together contributions from professions within and beyond the scientific community, including physical, biological, and behavioural sciences, engineering, management, and law. Established scientific journals are often limited to a single professional grouping or domain, while general-interest journals, though broader in scope, are not always effective vehicles for timely, science-based communication relevant to evolving societal needs.
To address this gap, we founded the online open access peer-reviewed journal WHN Science Communications. The journal does not charge article processing fees (APCs); all accepted articles are published without author-facing publication costs. The journal builds on the experience of the ongoing COVID pandemic while extending to a wider range of public health and societal challenges. It provides a platform for the structured dissemination of expert analysis, guidance, and recommendations grounded in the latest scientific understanding across disciplines.
The target audience includes experts seeking informed overviews beyond their own fields, practitioners and officials addressing complex challenges, and members of the public interested in clear, science-based perspectives on issues affecting health and society.
Prioritized Contributions
The journal will prioritize contributions that are broadly accessible across disciplines and written for an educated general audience and policymakers. Publications may take the form of written articles, graphics, videos, and illustrations. Careful distinctions will be made between scientific advances that contribute to knowledge that is yet distant from policy relevance, and those that are directly applicable to policy in order to avoid potential distraction or confusion.
Peer Review and Advisory Board
The Journal has an international expert advisory board (Editorial Board) and will subject papers to a rigorous peer review process that is both fast and efficient. In this rapidly changing environment, timely information is essential, and the peer review process has been designed to meet the demands of rapidity and stringency.
Journal Content
The journal will publish a combination of commissioned and submitted works addressing pressing challenges in public health and society. While its origins lie in the response to COVID-19, the scope extends to a broader range of complex, interconnected issues, including infectious diseases, environmental risks, health systems, and other large-scale societal disruptions.
Content will include scientifically and professionally grounded analyses that synthesize knowledge across disciplines, clarify emerging evidence, and identify actionable implications. Particular emphasis will be placed on work that bridges research and practice—providing insight into prevention strategies, system design, policy responses, and implementation challenges. The journal also welcomes contributions that examine structural factors such as inequality, economic conditions, and institutional dynamics as they relate to health and societal outcomes.
Submissions should aim to advance understanding, inform decision-making, and support effective action in real-world contexts. All articles and media are published open access.
Author Guidelines
Prior Publications
Prior peer-reviewed publication of a set of results or findings is generally discouraged by WHN Science Communications, but does not necessarily preclude a manuscript from publication. Should a manuscript include material from a previously peer-reviewed publication, it is essential that the authors demonstrate substantive revision of form and advancement of content. This must be in line with WHN Science Communications‘ mission of transdisciplinary research and the timely dissemination of easily understandable science-based information for individuals, organizations, and governments involved in pandemic response. Prior publication on a preprint server or in other non-peer reviewed form does not prevent a manuscript from being published in WHN Science Communications.
Article and Content Types
WHN Science Communications publishes articles in five distinct sections: Responses, Editorials, Reviews, Guidelines, and Updates.
Each section is defined by its purpose, and has specific word limits and reference requirements. Responses and Editorials must be 1,000 words or fewer, with up to 3 references. Reviews may be any length, but the Brief Review format of 1,500 words with 10-20 references is recommended. Guidelines have no length limit, although they should be appropriate to the information they contain. Updates are restricted to 600 words, excluding figures, captions, and equations, though exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis.
Responses are intended to provide particularly important and time-sensitive science-based information of relevance to organizations and governments involved in pandemic response. The importance of a response will be evaluated based on the timeliness and significance of its potential to translate knowledge into action or meaningful public or health policy. As responses receive priority for consideration for publication, authors should clearly articulate the need for this type of publication in their initial correspondence with the editors.
Reviews are concise summaries of current scientific understanding of a specific topic and are accessible to both scientific and public/policy audiences. They are written in a clear, concise language to ensure that a broad audience can understand the subject matter. The importance of the review is assessed based on the relevance for public or health policy, and the potential for the knowledge to be translated into action. Reviews should be of importance to both scientific advancement and policy implementations. Authors should clearly state the need for the publication of the review in their initial correspondence with the editors.
Editorials are conceived and written by Editors or Members of the Core Action Group (CAG), and are not open to external submissions.
Guidelines are intended to support the effective implementation of preventive, mitigative, or operational measures across public health, professional practice, and community settings. They translate scientific and technical knowledge into clear, actionable recommendations that can be readily applied in real-world contexts. Guidelines should be structured for clarity and usability, typically using concise, well-organized formats such as bulleted lists or step-by-step frameworks, even when presented within a narrative structure. Language should be direct and accessible while maintaining scientific rigor, and should include references to relevant evidence or sources where appropriate. When useful, multimedia elements such as diagrams, infographics, or videos are encouraged to enhance understanding and practical implementation.
Updates are intended to provide timely, science-based summaries of emerging information, data, and developments relevant to public health and broader societal challenges. They synthesize current knowledge in rapidly evolving contexts and highlight implications for policymakers, practitioners, and the public. Updates may address changes in epidemiological or system dynamics, new findings related to risks, interventions, or technologies, policy measures or responses in specific locations or sectors, evidence regarding the effectiveness of preventive or mitigative measures, and developments in clinical care, public health practice, or system organization. They are published in a format similar to MMWR and may include analysis of new data, interpretation of trends, and corresponding recommendations, as well as critical assessment of recent announcements, policies, or scientific publications relevant to ongoing challenges.
Submission and Review Procedures
Submission: Authors submit manuscripts to teams@whn.global. Authors are notified of successful receipt of a submission within two business days.
Submissions formatted in MS WORD or LaTeX are preferred
Authors who submit a manuscript that passes initial editorial assessment are directed to read and sign a publication agreement for transfer of copyrights. This agreement does not take effect until the manuscript is formally accepted for publication in WHN Science Communications, but completion of this agreement expedites the review process.
Review Process: All articles and other items accepted for publication by WHN Science Communications are subjected to peer review. At least one independent expert judges each manuscript as new and useful, and ensures that it makes a valuable contribution to understanding and ending the pandemic, and that the manuscript is free of scientific and writing errors. Neither Journal nor referees guarantee the accuracy or originality of research of accepted manuscripts.
Review Timeline: Turnaround depends on multiple factors, including the availability of referees in a given field, editorial workload, article type, and publication prioritization. Author responses to comments and revisions to manuscripts also play a significant role in the expected timeline of review.
Referee Selection: Editors select one or several referees based upon criteria including the referee’s area of expertise and availability, referee report quality, and the referee’s response time.
Referee Suggestion: Authors are encouraged to suggest possible referees. Referee suggestions can be added during submission. Authors should not suggest previous coauthors or collaborators, unless such suggestions are pre-approved by the editors.
Rejection Without Review: Editors may reject manuscripts they judge to be unsuitable for the journal.
Rounds of Review: Editors work on an accelerated timeline, and final decisions are typically made within the first or second round.
Responding to Referee Reports: Authors should approach referee reports with an open mind. What may seem like a withering attack is more likely an urgent appeal for authors to clarify or generalize manuscript information, and eschew scientific jargon in favor of accessibility without sacrificing research integrity or best practices.
Receipt Date: The receipt date is the date that a manuscript was first received by the editors, as determined by the clock of WHN Science Communication’s submission server. This date is carried through all the way to publication, unless revisions are substantial or prolonged, in which case a new date will be assigned to the published manuscript.
Readability and Accessibility: Presentations and written language are expected to be clear, unambiguous, and actionable. Unlike many journals, the usefulness and accessibility of information to audiences outside an author’s narrow field is given substantial weight, alongside scholarly integrity, originality, and interest.
Editorial Policy
WHN Science Communications (WHNSC) is published under the aegis of the World Health Network Covid Action Group (CAG). Editors in chief have special responsibility for overall policy matters concerning WHN Science Communications. They are responsible for integrity of content, policy recommendations, and editorial matters relating to the Journal, and may be advised by the Editorial Board.
Members of WHNC’s Editorial Board are appointed by the WHN Steering Group in consultation with the Covid Action Group. Due to the ongoing and dynamic nature of the pandemic and the relationship of the Journal thereto, Editorial Board members serve at the discretion of their professional and personal capacities — but are generally requested to serve not less than six month terms. They may be asked by the Editors-in-Chief to advise in the review process, or adjudicate author appeals.
About the Journal
WHN Science Communications is the official publication of the World Health Network, and the only journal dedicated to the timely dissemination of critical and transdisciplinary material on the COVID-19 pandemic.
WHN Science Communications transcends professional and traditional scientific boundaries to provide rigorous yet accessible science-based communications essential to producing the most effective responses at the community, national, and international levels, including Responses, Reviews, Editorials, Guidelines, and Updates, published at both weekly and monthly intervals.
Our authors represent the most credible voices in their disciplines, across the fields of public policy, behavioral science, engineering, management, law, and architecture – in addition to original STEM research.
Our Joint Editors-in-Chief are Carlos Gershenson, Matthias Schneider, Stephane Bilodeau, and Yaneer Bar-Yam.
WHN Communications is hosted by the Covid Action Group (CAG) and New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI).