This call is also posted on the HSR website.
Health Services Research (HSR) publishes two types of commentaries in most issues: those discussing a research article in the same issue and stand-alone commentaries that are not tied to another article in the issue. With an ambition to expand the diversity of topics and voices that are typically underrepresented in health services research while remaining true to the HSR mission including relevance to U.S. health care policy and practice, we are calling for proposals for stand-alone commentaries.
A proposal for a stand-alone commentary should take the form of a brief (300-word maximum) summary of the issue you wish to address. As all commentaries must be evidence-based, this summary should indicate at least some of the research on which it draws (references do not count toward the word limit). The summary should be accompanied by a statement (not counting toward the word limit) of how the proposed commentary would further HSR’s ambition articulated above — to expand the diversity of topics and voices while remaining true to the HSR mission.
Proposed summaries will be evaluated by the editors based on the:
- suitability of the topic for HSR
- degree to which it advances the goal indicated above to expand diversity, including (but not limited to) around age, career-stage, race and ethnicity, educational or socioeconomic status, gender identity or sexual orientation, and lived-experience with health services
- salience or urgency of the topic
- extent to which the perspective of the author is evidence-based
- novelty of the topic relative to other, recent commentaries in the journal
Please consult the author instructions for general criteria about suitable content for the journal, as well as other stylistic guidance. This example may serve as a stylistic model. The author instructions also indicate the requirements for full-length commentaries. Note as well that HSR has limited space for stand-alone commentaries (about one per issue), so many worthy commentaries may not be invited for this reason.
Editors will notify authors by email with a decision about the proposed commentary. Due to space limitations, invited commentaries may not appear in a print issue for some months after acceptance, though they will be posted online within weeks of acceptance. Submit proposals to hsr@aha.org.
