Texas Public Health Association
Information for Authors

The Texas Public Health Journal is the quarterly publication of the Texas Public Health Association and is a benefit of membership. 

Texas Public Health Journal Goals  

Our TPHA Journal is listed with the EBSCO index as a peer-reviewed journal.

Our quarterly publication is typically released as follows: Winter Issue 1 released in January; Spring Issue 2 released in April (generally coincides with National Public Health Week); Summer Issue 3 released in July; Fall Issue 4 released in October.  Clicking here will take you to an index of abstracts from 2010 through
the Fall 2016 issue.

If your agency or group is interested in sponsoring a focused issue of our journal that will highlight  a specific public health topic, please contact us at txpha@aol.com 
Example Focused Issue

Public Health Practice Commentaries, Editorials, Book or Software Reviews
All public health professionals, students and interested individuals are encouraged to submit this type of article. You need not be a member to submit.  These items are not typically peer-reviewed, but are reviewed by our editorial board for:

• Must not exceed 3 total pages including references, graphics, tables etc. (please refer to related guidelines for each below under the "Manuscript" section) 
• Include a title, author's name and affiliation with contact information
• If Internal Review Board (IRB) approval was involved, please include specifics   

Example: Science of Making Movies

John Smith, MPH¹; Jane Doe, MBA² and John Wayne, PhD³

¹ Department, Agency, City, State

² Department of xxxxx, University of xxxxx, Lexington, KY

³ Universal Studios, Hollywood, CA

Address correspondence to:

John Smith, MPH

Title

Agency

Mailing Address with city state and zip code

Telephone: xxx-xxx-xxxx

E-mail: 

Body of Paper: Text should be narrative with complete sentences, and few abbreviations. If abbreviations are used, all must be defined when first used. Body of the manuscript should generally be arranged in the following order: Abstract or Summary (250-300 words); Introduction or Background (recommend inclusion of statement of public health relevance and significance); Population and Methods (please include statement regarding Internal Review Board (IRB) approval, or if none was required, please state); Results; Conclusion or Discussion.  Overall manuscript length is limited to 1800-2000 words or about six pages excluding references, figures, tables etc.

Subheadings should be logical. Please ensure the entire manuscript is checked for spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Quotations must be given credit to both author and source. 

References:
- Accuracy and completeness of references is the sole responsibility of the author(s).
- References must be numbered in the order each appears in the text with superscript reference numbers in the body of the paper. Please click on the example manuscript to review.
- References need not follow an established format but at a minimum must contain, in this order: (1) Author's last name, first name/initials; (2) Year the article was published; (3) Title of article/book; (4) Name of journal; (5) Volume number, month, year, and inclusive page numbers. For books, the title should be followed by the name of the publisher and year published.

Example: REFERENCES
1. American Cancer Society (ACS). Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2011-2012. Atlanta: American Cancer Society, Inc.; 2011.
2. Jemal A, Siegel RS, Xu J, Ward E. Cancer Statistics, 2010. CA: A CancerJournal for Clinicians 2010;60(5):277–300.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Vital signs: Breast cancerscreening among women aged 50-74 years - united states, 2008. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2010;59(26):813-816.
4. National Center for Health Statistics Health (NCHS), United States, 2008 With Chartbook Hyattsville, MD: 2009.
5. Ryerson AB, Miller JW, Eheman CR, Leadbetter S, White MC. Recent trends in U.S. mammography use from 2000-2006: A population-based analysis. Prev Med 2008;47(5):477-482.

It is the responsibility of the author to acknowledge the work of others and to obtain permission from the original author or publisher to use any previously published material such as extensive text, illustrations, or tables. Copies of permission must accompany the manuscript. 

About Submission and Journal Operations:

When submitting manuscripts for peer review, please include the word "manuscript" in the subject line of your submission letter email.  Receipt of all manuscripts will be acknowledged with an automated reply. If this automated reply is not received, please email txpha@aol.com for confirmation of receipt or your manuscript, or simply try again.  Each manuscript will be forwarded for appropriate peer review. Each submission is reviewed first by the Journal editorial team and is considered on individual merit, quality and suitability to our journal audience.  Content of each manuscript submission is reviewed to ensure that it is consistent with basic public health concepts and with the goals/aims of the Association and if felt appropriate for our journal, forwarded for outside peer review by expert reviewers in the specific topic area. Original research will be reviewed by experts in the field for sound scientific methods.  We welcome your suggestions for potential reviewers in the topic area of your paper who were not involved in any way in your project, study or program. Reviewer comments will be forwarded to the corresponding author.  It is the responsibility of the authors as relayed in editorial or reviewer comments to make all suggested revisions prior to re-submission.  Failure to do so in a timely manner may result in delays in acceptance or complete rejection. Failure to resubmit within 60 days will result in removal of your manuscript from further consideration.  If you choose to resubmit the revised manuscript after 60 days, your manuscript will be treated as a new submission.

The operations of our volunteer journal team are monitored by our TPHA executive director and overseen by our TPHA Editorial Board.

Since our journal is basically a volunteer endeavor, our resources are extremely limited.  Please help us maintain our journal's integrity and quality by ensuring your manuscript is thoroughly checked for grammar and spelling prior to submission.   Major errors may be cause for immediate rejection. The Journal Editor and Editorial Board reserve the right to make appropriate minor grammar and spelling changes to noticeable errors, but the responsibility for correct grammar, spelling and punctuation is the author's. Please note that the version accepted for publication will be sent for typesetting as is so please check final versions carefully.  We will send the corresponding author the version that has been typeset, to allow very minor corrections.  We require a return email stating "no further revision" or detailed instructions on what needs revision.  All correspondence must adhere to the timelines indicated to allow us to stay on our publication schedule.

If exceptions to any of these guidelines is necessary (i.e. length is longer or shorter than requested or photograph/figure cannot be electronically reproduced for submission) please contact the TPHA office.

at txpha@aol.org.

Copyright ownership of articles accepted for publication belongs to the Texas Public Health Association.

There are no charges to authors associated with submission of any article.  If the lead author is not a member or subscriber and wishes to receive a complimentary copy of the issue the article will appear in, please request a copy at txpha@aol.com (include full mailing address).  The entire issue will be sent to the address you specify.  Additional copies of the issue may also be purchased for $7.00 plus shipping and handling per copy.  Request for copies MUST be made in advance of printing.  Additional charges may apply if requesting AFTER publication.

 Email manuscripts to: TPHA Journal Editor at txpha@aol.com and tphajournal@gmail.com insert "TPH Journal Submission: type of article" in the SUBJECT line.

If you are interested in submitting items for consideration for the newsletter please contact Terri Pali, TPHA Executive Director at txpha@aol.com and include "Newsletter Item" in the subject line 

Our Editorial Board

Advertise with TPHA

TPHA Publication Resources