Get your Health Technology Assessment paper right the first time: a ready-made structure with the right abstract and citations, so editors see your science, not formatting slips.
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Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 13 August, 2026
Submitting to Health Technology Assessment goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the Health Technology Assessment guide for authors before peer review, so formatting, structure, and required statements should be right on the first draft rather than repaired during upload. This template sets that structure up for you.
It is a manuscript shell aligned to Health Technology Assessment. It covers front matter, the abstract the journal expects, a body organized to the journal's article types, and a reference list in the journal's required style. Confirm current scope and article types on the Health Technology Assessment journal page before you draft.
Prepare the title, authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs. Write the abstract to the journal's rule and word limit, organize the body to the article type, and apply the required reference style from the first citation. Complete every declaration (ethics, competing interests, funding, data availability) the Health Technology Assessment guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
The common failure modes are formatting or reference style that does not match the guide for authors, missing required statements, and an incomplete portal checklist. Clear all three against the Health Technology Assessment guide for authors before you submit.
The shell mirrors what editorial staff check first: article-type fit, the abstract rules, required declarations, and the journal's reference style. For more detail see the author resources. When your draft is ready, upload it through the journal's submission system.
| Element | Health Technology Assess requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | Structured abstract, maximum 500 words (for Research Articles, Extended Research Articles, Technology Assessment Reports, and Synopsis). For Extended Research Articles and Technology Assessment Reports, the 500-word limit excludes study registration details and funding details. Required headings: Background, Objective(s), Design and methods, Setting and participants, Interventions, Main outcome measures, Data sources (if applicable), Review methods (if applicable), Results, Limitations, Conclusions, Future work, Study registration, and Funding details |
| Main text | Varies by article type: Research Article: maximum 8,000 words (excluding abstract, plain language summary, table of contents, references, appendices, supplementary material, and additional information); Extended Research Article: maximum 50,000 words (including text in tables, figures, and boxes in main body, but excluding abstract, scientific summary, plain language summary, table of contents, references, appendices, supplementary material, and additional information); Technology Assessment Reports: scientific summary maximum 2,400 words including headings (no stated limit for main body); Synopsis: maximum 15,000 words (including text in tables, figures, and boxes in main body, but excluding abstract, plain language summary, table of contents, references, appendices, supplementary material, and additional information). All article types: maximum combined total of 50 tables and figures. Plain language summary required for all types: maximum 300 words |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | Required (manuscript must include a list of keywords). No specific count or range stated in the guidelines |
| References | Vancouver style. References numbered consecutively in order of first mention using superscript numbers, list up to six authors before et al., numbering starts in the main text rather than the abstract, and references appear in a single reference list at the end of the paper |
| Peer review | Single-blind peer review (also referred to as 'single anonymised peer review' - authors do not know who has reviewed or edited their manuscripts) |
| Submission | www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hta |
Read the Health Technology Assessment guide for authors once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after results are stable. Set the reference style before adding citations. Keep a cover letter that states your contribution and fit to Health Technology Assessment in under a page.
Skim two or three recent Health Technology Assess papers to calibrate depth and figure style. Make the novelty clear in the first two pages. Deposit data and code when the policy on the Health Technology Assessment journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Do one focused pass against the Health Technology Assessment guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.