About the Journal

GPJ is an invaluable resource for healthcare professionals, academic researchers, and policymakers seeking to strengthen evidence-based decision-making and foster cross-sector collaboration. Reflecting the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of healthcare delivery, the journal embraces a multidisciplinary approach that connects pharmaceutical practice with broader public health and health systems research.

Through open access publishing and rigorous peer review, GPJ remains committed to advancing pharmacy practice, shaping health policy, and improving healthcare outcomes across diverse settings.

 

            Focus and Scope

GPJ is a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal dedicated to advancing pharmacy practice, pharmaceutical sciences, and healthcare through the dissemination of innovative, evidence-based research. The journal serves as a platform for global scholarship that informs policy, enhances practice, and fosters interprofessional collaboration across the health system.

GPJ publishes original research articles, reviews, methodological papers, commentaries, and case reports that contribute to the safe, effective, and equitable use of medicines and the optimization of healthcare delivery. The journal welcomes submissions from a wide range of disciplines, reflecting the evolving and interconnected nature of pharmacy and health sciences.

Key areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

1. Pharmacy Practice and Medicines Use

  • Clinical pharmacy, community and hospital pharmacy
  • Medication adherence and deprescribing
  • Polypharmacy, pharmacovigilance, pharmacoepidemiology
  • Antimicrobial stewardship and drug safety
  • Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs)

2. Public Health and Health Promotion

  • Chronic disease prevention and management (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health)
  • Reproductive and sexual health, HIV, and substance use
  • Health promotion strategies including smoking cessation, healthy eating, and exercise
  • Immunization and vaccine advocacy
  • Pharmacy roles in disaster preparedness and emergency response

3. Education and Workforce Development

  • Pharmacy education, curriculum innovation, and experiential training
  • Competency frameworks and continuing professional development
  • Health education interventions related to medicine use

4. Pharmaceutical Sciences and Innovation

  • Drug development, formulation science, and pharmacokinetics
  • Traditional and complementary medicine
  • Digital health, telepharmacy, big data, and artificial intelligence
  • Pharmacogenomics, stratified medicine, and personalized care
  • Automation, skill mix, and healthcare service redesign

5. Multidisciplinary and Methodological Research

  • Studies drawing on health economics, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and statistics
  • Quantitative and qualitative approaches, including:
    • Randomized controlled trials, observational studies, and feasibility studies
    • Surveys, case studies, simulated client studies
    • Interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic methods
    • Systematic, scoping, and narrative reviews

GPJ encourages comprehensive reporting to ensure the reproducibility of findings. There are no strict limits on article length, and authors are encouraged to include detailed methodology and supplementary material such as datasets or digital tools.

GPJ aims to serve as a leading resource for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and educators seeking to transform pharmacy and healthcare systems locally and globally.

 

         Peer Review Process

The Ghana Pharmaceutical Journal (GPJ) follows a rigorous, transparent, and fair double-blind peer review process to ensure the scientific integrity, quality, and relevance of all published content. This means that both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other throughout the review process.

1. Initial Editorial Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial screening by the Editorial Team to assess their scope, quality, adherence to submission guidelines, and overall suitability for the journal. Manuscripts that do not meet basic requirements may be desk rejected without external review, with feedback provided to the authors where appropriate.

2. Assignment to Reviewers

Manuscripts that pass initial screening are assigned to at least two independent expert reviewers based on subject matter relevance, methodological expertise, and absence of conflicts of interest. Reviewers may be drawn from GPJ’s reviewer pool or invited externally. Authors may suggest or oppose reviewers, but final decisions rest with the editors.

3. Reviewer Evaluation

Reviewers are asked to assess:

  • Scientific merit and originality
  • Methodological rigor and statistical validity
  • Clarity of presentation and structure
  • Ethical considerations, including informed consent and IRB approval
  • Contribution to the field and relevance to the journal’s scope

Reviewers provide detailed comments and a clear recommendation:

  • Accept without changes
  • Minor revisions required
  • Major revisions required
  • Reject

Structured review forms may be used to guide consistent evaluation, complemented by free-text comments for detailed feedback.

4. Editorial Decision

Based on the reviewers’ evaluations and their own reading of the manuscript, editors make an informed decision. In cases of conflicting reviews, an additional expert reviewer or editorial board member may be consulted. Final decisions include:

  • Acceptance
  • Revisions (minor or major) with clear instructions
  • Reject with the option to resubmit
  • Reject outright

Authors receive a decision letter summarizing reviewer feedback and editorial comments. For revised submissions, a point-by-point response addressing each reviewer comment is required.

5. Revision and Resubmission

Revised manuscripts may be re-evaluated by the original reviewers or new reviewers, depending on the extent of changes. The editorial team ensures that all critical issues have been addressed satisfactorily before a final acceptance decision is made.

6. Ethical and Confidential Review

All reviewers and editors adhere to strict confidentiality and ethical standards. Conflicts of interest must be declared. Reviewers are expected to provide unbiased, constructive, and timely feedback. Misconduct such as plagiarism, data fabrication, or improper authorship will lead to rejection and may be reported to relevant institutions.

7. Post-Acceptance

Once accepted, manuscripts undergo professional copyediting, typesetting, and proofreading before publication. Authors have the opportunity to review proofs before final publication.

 

-          Publication Frequency

The Ghana Pharmaceutical Journal (GPJ) is published biannually, with two formal issues released in June and December each year. However, to promote timely access to new research, accepted articles are published online on a rolling basis throughout the year as soon as they complete the peer review and production process.

 

-          Publication and Subscription Fee

The Ghana Pharmaceutical Journal (GPJ) is committed to promoting open and equitable access to scientific knowledge. As such, the Journal does not charge any Article Processing Charges (APCs) or subscription fees.

All publication costs are fully covered by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) as part of its strategic plan to strengthen pharmaceutical research, knowledge dissemination, and evidence-informed practice. This model ensures that both authors and readers can freely contribute to and benefit from the Journal without financial barriers.

GPJ remains freely accessible to all users worldwide under its open access policy.

 

-          Policies

o   Publication Ethics Policy

The Ghana Pharmaceutical Journal (GPJ) is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct in scholarly publishing. We adhere to internationally recognized guidelines and principles of publication ethics as outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and expect all authors, reviewers, and editors to act with integrity, transparency, and responsibility throughout the publishing process.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their submissions are original works and that any content derived from other sources is appropriately cited. All manuscripts are screened for plagiarism.
  • Authorship: Only individuals who have made substantial contributions to the work should be listed as authors. All co-authors must approve the final version of the manuscript before submission.
  • Data Integrity: Authors must accurately report their research findings and must not fabricate, manipulate, or falsify data. Raw data may be requested for review.
  • Ethical Approvals: Research involving human participants or animals must have received prior approval from an appropriate ethics committee and must comply with institutional and international ethical standards.
  • Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, that could influence the interpretation of their findings.

2. Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents and must not be shared or discussed with others without authorization.
  • Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted fairly, constructively, and objectively, avoiding personal criticism of the author.
  • Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from the review process if necessary.

3. Responsibilities of Editors

  • Editorial Independence: Editors make decisions based on the scientific merit of the manuscripts and ensure a fair and unbiased review process.
  • Confidentiality: Editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, or members of the editorial board as appropriate.
  • Handling Misconduct: Suspected cases of ethical misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate submission, or authorship disputes, will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines. Corrective actions such as retraction or correction may be taken when warranted.

4. Allegations of Misconduct

GPJ takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously. All allegations will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate actions—including correction, retraction, or notification to relevant institutions, will be taken in confirmed cases.

5. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

If significant errors or ethical issues are discovered after publication, GPJ will issue corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern as appropriate to maintain the integrity of the scientific record.