Mission

Hawaii Medical Journal is an independently operated, open-access medical research publication dedicated to advancing clinical knowledge through rigorous reporting on peer-reviewed studies, clinical trials, and evidence-based findings. The journal serves physicians, clinical researchers, medical faculty, public health professionals, and healthcare administrators.

Founded in 2026 to bridge Pacific and global research, HMJ reports on medical research being conducted, pioneered, or applied in Hawaii—including studies from the John A. Burns School of Medicine, Queen's Medical Center, Tripler Army Medical Center, the University of Hawaii Cancer Center, and the Hawaii Department of Health—while maintaining comprehensive coverage of significant clinical findings published in major international journals.

The journal prioritizes research with implications for Pacific Islander and underserved populations, tropical and infectious disease surveillance in the Pacific Basin, and translational research that advances patient outcomes in island and rural healthcare settings.

Scope of Coverage

HMJ publishes evidence-based reporting, research summaries, systematic review analyses, clinical trial reports, and editorial commentary across the following disciplines:

Editorial Board

All members of the editorial board hold active clinical or research appointments at accredited institutions. Board members are selected on the basis of their publication record, clinical expertise, and commitment to evidence-based medicine. The board is responsible for manuscript review, editorial direction, and maintaining the scientific integrity of all published content.

Editorial Standards & Review Process

All content published by Hawaii Medical Journal undergoes editorial review by at least one member of the editorial board with relevant domain expertise. The review process evaluates manuscripts against the following criteria:

• Methodological rigor — Study design, sample size adequacy, appropriate statistical methods, and internal validity
• Accuracy of claims — All statistical findings verified against primary source data; DOI references required for cited literature
• Clinical relevance — Applicability to current clinical practice, patient outcomes, or public health policy
• Completeness of reporting — Confidence intervals, effect sizes, p-values, and study limitations must be included
• Adherence to reporting guidelines — CONSORT (clinical trials), STROBE (observational studies), PRISMA (systematic reviews), STARD (diagnostic accuracy)

Research summaries and clinical trial reports cite the original peer-reviewed publication with full bibliographic reference. Where findings are drawn from preprints or conference abstracts, this is clearly disclosed. We maintain a strict separation between evidence-based reporting and opinion content.

Errors of fact are corrected promptly and transparently through our formal corrections policy. Corrections are appended to the original article with a dated correction notice and linked from a dedicated corrections page.

Publication Ethics

Hawaii Medical Journal adheres to the principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations.

Disclaimer: Content published by Hawaii Medical Journal is intended for healthcare professionals, researchers, and medical educators. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations. Clinical decisions should be based on individual patient assessment, current evidence-based guidelines, and the clinician's professional judgment.

Open Access Policy

All articles published in Hawaii Medical Journal are freely available online under open-access terms, with no subscription, paywall, or registration requirement. We believe unrestricted access to medical research accelerates scientific progress, reduces knowledge asymmetry between well-funded and resource-limited institutions, and ultimately improves patient outcomes.

There are no article processing charges (APCs) for authors. Hawaii Medical Journal does not charge submission fees, page charges, or color figure surcharges. The journal is funded through its parent organization and does not depend on author payments or pharmaceutical advertising revenue.

Indexing & Discoverability

Hawaii Medical Journal content is indexed and discoverable through the following services and databases:

Applications for indexing with PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) are in progress. The journal uses ScholarlyArticle structured data markup (schema.org) to enhance discoverability by academic search engines.

Reporting Standards

Hawaii Medical Journal follows internationally recognized reporting guidelines to ensure consistency and completeness across all published content:

For a complete description of our editorial requirements, see our Editorial Standards page.

Submissions

Hawaii Medical Journal welcomes original research articles, systematic reviews, clinical trial reports, case reports, review articles, brief communications, and letters to the editor from the medical and scientific community. We are particularly interested in:

• Research conducted at Hawaii-based institutions or involving Pacific Islander populations
• Tropical and infectious disease studies relevant to the Pacific Basin
• Health disparities research in island and rural healthcare settings
• Translational research with near-term clinical applicability
• Novel applications of medical technology and digital health in underserved settings

Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. All submissions are directed to [email protected].

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