In 2024, JHMHP reviewers continue to make outstanding contributions to the peer review process. They demonstrated professional effort and enthusiasm in their reviews and provided comments that genuinely help the authors to enhance their work.
Hereby, we would like to highlight some of our outstanding reviewers, with a brief interview of their thoughts and insights as a reviewer. Allow us to express our heartfelt gratitude for their tremendous effort and valuable contributions to the scientific process.
January, 2024
Devendra Kumar Jain, FLAME University, India
February, 2024
Padam Kanta Dahal, Central Queensland University, Australia
March, 2024
Mary Crea-Arsenio, McMaster University, Canada
January, 2024
Devendra Kumar Jain
Devendra Kumar Jain currently works at FLAME School of Business, FLAME University, Pune, India. His research areas include macro financial risks, financial markets, climate risk mitigation, and recently focus on sustainable finance, forecasting models, and macroeconomic impact of digital currency. Learn more about him here.
Dr. Jain thinks that the qualities a reviewer should possess are reviewing the manuscript in time and understanding the core issue of the paper. Being a constructive reviewer to improve the manuscript is also required. Moreover, he indicates that it is crucial for authors to share their research data, because it helps the reviewer to authenticate the data set and methodology.
(by Lareina Lim, Brad Li)
February, 2024
Padam Kanta Dahal
Padam Kanta Dahal is a dedicated researcher affiliated with Central Queensland University in Australia. With a background in Health Economics, Public Health, and Health Promotion, Padam specializes in conducting health economic assessments to address complex health challenges. His research interests span various areas, including workforce planning, economic evaluations of healthcare interventions, the economic impact of health policies and reforms of health insurance and payment systems, healthcare disparities and access, and pharmaceutical pricing. Padam is committed to promoting equitable and evidence-based solutions to improve health outcomes. Further, his recent projects and focuses include investigating the economic impact of health behavior change intervention to manage diabetes among vulnerable populations. Through his interdisciplinary approach and collaborative efforts, Padam strives to contribute to the advancement of public health knowledge and practice.
Padam believes that peer review serves as a quality-control mechanism in science, ensuring the validity and reliability of scientific research prior to sharing publicly. In his opinion, a reviewer should consider the scientific merit, rigorous methods and materials, and clear and concise presentation of the manuscript, ensuring the research is relevant and rigorous.
As a researcher, Padam tries to allocate time for reviewing by incorporating it into his busy schedule, balancing it with other professional duties.
(by Lareina Lim, Brad Li)
March, 2024
Mary Crea-Arsenio
Dr. Mary Crea-Arsenio is an Assistant Professor of Global Health at the McMaster University, Canada. She is a health geographer and health system analyst. She holds a PhD in Health Geography from McMaster University and an MSc in Family Relations and Applied Nutrition from the University of Guelph. Dr. Crea-Arsenio has expertise in immigration and health policy, health of migrant workers, health systems and health human resources. She employs mixed methodological approaches, including systems mapping, geospatial analysis, appreciative inquiry and stakeholder analysis. Her current research focusing on the impact of immigration on small and mid-sized cities and how local systems create barriers to newcomer integration provides a critical understanding of key issues. Her most recent publication, a co-edited book with Dr. Bruce Newbold entitled “A research agenda for immigration settlement and adjustment”, is forthcoming from Edward Elgar Publishing. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
Dr. Crea-Arsenio thinks that reviewers should be able to clearly articulate feedback and provide constructive suggestions for the authors. This includes explaining their rationale for comments, and offering specific recommendations for improvement. Providing constructive feedback can ultimately contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field. Reviewers should also meet the deadlines set by the journal and provide their feedback in a timely manner. Prompt reviews help expedite the publication process and maintain the integrity of the peer-review system.
“While I recognize the importance of peer review, I also acknowledge the need to balance it with other responsibilities,” says Dr. Crea-Arsenio. As the burden of being a health system analyst is heavy, the way she manages competing demands is by setting realistic limits on the number of manuscripts she can review within a given time frame. She also plans her peer-review commitments in advance, taking into account deadlines set by journal editors and any upcoming professional obligations. This allows her to maintain a consistent workflow. However, if she anticipates any challenges in meeting a review deadline, she communicates with the journal editor to discuss potential extensions or alternative arrangements.
From a reviewer’s perspective, in the field of global health, Dr. Crea-Arsenio reckons that timely access to data is critical for understanding and addressing pressing health challenges. Sharing data enables researchers to collaborate more effectively, accelerate research progress, and develop evidence-based interventions to improve health outcomes worldwide. It also allows other researchers to replicate findings of a study which enhance the transparency and reproducibility of scientific research. She thinks that by sharing data, researchers can leverage existing data sets to address new research questions, explore alternative hypotheses, or conduct meta-analyses that provide insights beyond individual studies. By pooling resources and expertise, researchers can tackle complex problems more effectively and generate new insights that would be difficult to achieve in isolation. However, it is important to recognize that data sharing should be done in a responsible manner, taking into account issues such as patient privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual property rights. Researchers should adhere to relevant ethical guidelines and legal regulations when sharing data, and consider appropriate mechanisms for data management, storage, and access.
(by Lareina Lim, Brad Li)
