Article Processing Charges (APC)

The Innovative Horizons in Care and Community Journal (IHCCJ) is a fully open-access, peer-reviewed journal. All published articles are made freely and permanently available online immediately upon publication, without subscription fees or access restrictions.

To support the costs associated with editorial management, peer review administration, professional copyediting, typesetting, DOI registration, online hosting, digital archiving, and long-term preservation of published content, IHCCJ applies an Article Processing Charge (APC) for manuscripts accepted for publication.

APC Rates

The following APC applies to all accepted manuscript types:

No submission fee or peer review fee is charged.

The APC is payable only after the manuscript has successfully completed the peer-review process and has been formally accepted for publication. Authors will never be asked to pay any fee before an editorial decision has been made.

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APC Waiver and Discount Policy

IHCCJ is committed to promoting equitable access to scholarly publishing and supporting researchers worldwide.

The journal may grant full or partial APC waivers or discounts under the following circumstances:

• Authors from Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs): Authors affiliated with institutions located in countries classified by the World Bank as low-income or lower-middle-income may apply for a full or partial APC waiver, subject to editorial approval.
• IHCCJ Reviewers: Active reviewers who have made significant contributions to the journal may be eligible for an APC discount in recognition of their service.
• Invited Articles and Special Issues: Invited manuscripts and selected articles published in special issues may be eligible for a full APC waiver at the discretion of the Editorial Board.

Requests for APC waivers or discounts should be submitted at the time of manuscript submission. All requests are evaluated independently of the editorial and peer-review process and have no influence on editorial decisions.

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Payment Policy

Following editorial acceptance, the corresponding author will receive an official invoice containing payment instructions.

The APC must be paid before the accepted article proceeds to the production stage and is scheduled for publication.

Accepted payment methods include:

• Bank Transfer
• PayPal

Detailed payment instructions will be provided in the invoice issued by the Editorial Office.

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Transparency Statement

IHCCJ is committed to maintaining full transparency regarding the use of APC revenue.

All APC income is used exclusively to support the journal's publishing operations, including but not limited to:

• Editorial management and manuscript administration.
• Coordination of the peer-review process.
• Professional copyediting and language editing.
• Typesetting and article layout.
• Digital Object Identifier (DOI) registration.
• Website hosting and maintenance.
• Long-term digital preservation and open-access archiving.
• Metadata management and indexing support.
• Continuous improvement of the journal's publishing infrastructure.

IHCCJ operates as a not-for-profit scholarly journal. APC revenue is used solely to sustain the journal's editorial and publishing services and to ensure the long-term accessibility, quality, and integrity of the published scholarly record.