Peer Review Policy

Journal of Nursing and Patient Care (JNPC)

The Journal of Nursing and Patient Care (JNPC) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, transparency, and scholarly excellence. To ensure the quality and credibility of published research, JNPC follows a rigorous double-blind peer review process, where both the identities of authors and reviewers are kept confidential.

1. Peer Review Model

JNPC adopts a double-blind peer review system, ensuring:

  • Authors do not know the identity of reviewers
  • Reviewers do not know the identity of authors

This approach minimizes bias and promotes objective evaluation based solely on the academic merit, originality, and relevance of the manuscript.

2. Initial Editorial Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial evaluation by the editorial team to ensure:

  • Alignment with the journal’s scope (nursing, patient care, healthcare practices)
  • Compliance with submission guidelines
  • Originality and absence of plagiarism (checked via plagiarism detection tools)

Manuscripts that do not meet these criteria may be rejected without external review.

3. Reviewer Selection Process

Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are assigned to at least two independent expert reviewers with relevant expertise in the subject area. Reviewers are selected based on:

  • Academic qualifications and research experience
  • Publication record in relevant fields
  • Absence of conflicts of interest

4. Review Criteria

Reviewers are requested to evaluate manuscripts based on the following criteria:

  • Originality and novelty of the research
  • Scientific rigor and methodology
  • Relevance to nursing and patient care practices
  • Clarity, organization, and language quality
  • Ethical compliance (including patient consent and approval where applicable)
  • Contribution to existing knowledge

5. Review Outcomes

Based on reviewers’ feedback, the editorial decision may be:

  • Accept without revisions
  • Accept with minor revisions
  • Revise and resubmit (major revisions required)
  • Reject

Authors are provided with detailed reviewer comments to improve their manuscripts.

6. Revision Process

Authors are expected to:

  • Address all reviewer comments systematically
  • Provide a response-to-reviewers document
  • Highlight changes made in the revised manuscript

Revised submissions may be sent back to reviewers for further evaluation.

7. Final Decision

The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision on manuscript acceptance based on:

  • Reviewer recommendations
  • Scientific quality
  • Relevance to journal scope

8. Review Timeline

JNPC strives for an efficient review process:

  • Initial screening: 3–5 days
  • Peer review: 2–4 weeks
  • Final decision: 4–6 weeks after submission

9. Ethical Standards

JNPC adheres to ethical guidelines consistent with international publishing standards, including:

  • Confidential handling of manuscripts
  • Avoidance of conflicts of interest
  • Protection of patient privacy and data

Reviewers are required to:

  • Maintain confidentiality
  • Provide objective and constructive feedback
  • Declare any conflicts of interest

10. Confidentiality

All manuscripts are treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not:

  • Share or distribute manuscripts
  • Use unpublished data for personal advantage