• All manuscripts submitted to ZHSWMCJ are reviewed by two independent reviewers (double blinded peer review process) selected from a pool of reviewers based on their expertise and the type of article.
• A time limit of 21 days is given to the reviewer to give his/her comments which are entered in the evaluation form which is sent to the reviewer along with the manuscript.
• Following this initial review, a preliminary decision is communicated to the author regarding major or minor revisions required, or if the manuscript is not acceptable for publication in the Journal.
• All submissions to ZHSWMCJ are assessed by an Editor, who will decide whether they are suitable for peer review. Where an Editor is on the author list or has any other competing interest regarding a specific manuscript, another member of the Editorial Board will be assigned to assume responsibility for overseeing peer review. Submissions felt to be suitable for consideration will be sent for peer review by appropriate independent experts. Editors will make a decision based on the reviewers’ reports and authors are sent these reports along with the editorial decision on their manuscript. Authors should note that even in light of one positive report, concerns raised by another reviewer may fundamentally undermine the study and result in the manuscript being rejected.
• Reviewers should have no conflict of interest. It is the policy of the ZHSWMCJ to require a conflict of interest declaration from all authors. When making a declaration, the disclosure of information must be specific and include any financial relationship that the authors of the article have with any sponsoring organization and the for-profit interests the organization represents. Any commercial or financial involvement that might represent a conflict of interest needs to be additionally disclosed in the covering letter accompanying manuscript to assist the Executive Editor in evaluating whether sufficient disclosure has been made within the Conflict of Interest Declaration provided in the manuscript.
• Reviewers should point out relevant published work which is not yet cited.
• Reviewed articles are treated confidentially.

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