JAMA Health Forum Template
Get your JAMA Health Forum 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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How to Use the JAMA Health Forum Template | A Step-by-Step Guide
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 17 August, 2026
Submitting to JAMA Health Forum goes smoothly when your draft already matches the journal's own rules. Editors screen new manuscripts against the JAMA Health Forum 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.
What is the JAMA Health Forum Template?
It is a manuscript shell aligned to JAMA Health Forum. 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 JAMA Health Forum journal page before you draft.
What's actually in a JAMA Health Forum submission:
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 JAMA Health Forum guide for authors lists, and cite figures and tables in order.
What separates a clean submission from one that gets kicked back:
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 JAMA Health Forum guide for authors before you submit.
What does this JAMA Health Forum Template include?
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.
Steps to Use This Template with SciSpace Agent
- Click Start Writing on this page. The SciSpace Agent prompt screen opens with the template loaded.
- Use the loaded template, or upload a version your group already uses for JAMA Health Forum.
- Edit the prompt with your topic and article type, and note any requirement from the JAMA Health Forum guide for authors.
- Run the prompt. The agent drafts into the correct structure and reference style.
- Use View Outputs to verify required statements and formatting are present.
- Export and submit through the journal's submission system.
JAMA Health Forum Template Structure at a Glance
| Element | JAMA Health Forum requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | For Original Investigations, Brief Reports, and other reports of original data: Structured abstract with maximum 350 words using headings: Importance, Objective, Design, Setting, Participants, Intervention(s)/Exposure(s), Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s), Results, Conclusions and Relevance, and Trial Registration (for clinical trials only). For Special Communications and Systematic Reviews: Structured abstract of maximum 350 words. Special Communication can use either: (1) Importance, Objective, Evidence Review, Findings, Conclusions and Relevance; OR (2) Importance, Observations, Conclusions and Relevance. For Viewpoints: No abstract is required (word limit is 1200 words for main text and the article type is opinion-based). For Research Letters: No abstract specified in the guidelines (800 word limit for entire text) |
| Main text | Original Investigation: 3000 words (not including abstract, tables, figures, acknowledgments, references, and online-only material) with maximum 5 tables and/or figures combined. Brief Report: 1200 words (not including abstract, tables, figures, acknowledgments, references, and online-only material) with maximum 3 tables and/or figures and 15 references. Research Letter: 800 words maximum (entire text) with 10 references and up to 2 small tables or figures. Special Communication: 3000 words (not including tables, figures, or references) with maximum 4 tables and/or figures and 50 references. Requires presubmission inquiry. Viewpoint: 1200 words maximum, or 1000 words with 1 small table or figure, and maximum 7 references. Maximum 4 authors. Requires sufficient expertise |
| Declarations | Ethics approval/consent as applicable; competing interests; funding; data availability |
| Figures/tables | Publication-ready; cited in order |
| Supplemental | Upload separately when used |
| Keywords | JAMA Health Forum uses "Key Points" instead of traditional keywords. For research and review manuscripts, a separate section called "Key Points" is required before the Abstract, limited to 75-100 words or less, following 3 structured points: Question (1 sentence focused on study hypothesis/goal), Findings (1-2 sentences with design and primary outcomes, stating if statistically significant or not), and Meaning (1 sentence with key conclusion and implication). Viewpoints and Research Letters do not require Key Points. Traditional keywords are not requested |
| References | AMA style (American Medical Association Manual of Style). References numbered in order of appearance in text (not alphabetized). Journal names abbreviated according to PubMed journals list. all authors up to 6; if more than 6, list first 3 followed by "et al." Journal references must include issue number in parentheses after volume number |
| Peer review | Single-anonymized (single-blind) peer review. Peer reviewer identities are kept confidential unless reviewers choose to reveal their names in their formal reviews; author identities are made known to reviewers. Typically 2 peer reviewers per manuscript with additional review by a statistical editor for research manuscripts |
| Submission | manuscripts.jamahealthforum.com/submit |
Quick Tips for Using the JAMA Health Forum Template
Read the JAMA Health Forum 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 JAMA Health Forum in under a page.
Best Practices
Skim two or three recent JAMA Health Forum 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 JAMA Health Forum journal page requires it. Disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in the cover letter.
Before You Submit: Final Check
Do one focused pass against the JAMA Health Forum guide for authors: scope, length, reference style, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through the journal's submission system.
