Journal rankings · indicator year 2021
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Field ranking · 2021
Health Professions journal rankings 2021
612 ranked journals · Field in Health Sciences
Health Professions has 612 ranked journals in 2021. The median OJR fell 0.07 on 2020 to 0.75, below the world average of 1.00; Q1 starts at OJR 1.24. The top three are The Lancet, Journal of Aging & Social Policy, and Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2021. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields in Health Professions (11)
Up to Health Sciences- General Health Professions483
- Occupational Therapy27
- Emergency Medical Services26
- Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation25
- Health Information Management17
- Radiological and Ultrasound Technology15
- Speech and Hearing10
- Complementary and Manual Therapy4
- Pharmacy3
- Medical Laboratory Technology2
- Medical Terminology0
612 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2020. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2018–2020, the window the 2021 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2018–2020 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2012 to 2021. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1The LancetElsevier BV · Netherlands | 15.01Q1 | 57.61 32.61 up from 2020 | 3,001 | 65% | $7,890 | ||
2Journal of Aging & Social PolicyTaylor & Francis · United States | 5.07Q1 | 10.57 8.14 up from 2020 | 129 | 28% | — | ||
3Physical Education and Sport PedagogyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 4.02Q1 | 5.48 0.80 down from 2020 | 157 | 56% | — | ||
4Journal of Occupational Health PsychologyAmerican Psychological Association · United States | 3.86Q1 | 6.57 0.54 down from 2020 | 76 | 28% | — | ||
5Implementation ScienceOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 3.69Q1 | 10.31 1.09 up from 2020 | 359 | 100% | $3,390 | ||
6Noise MappingOADe Gruyter Open · Poland | 3.62Q1 | 6.65 3.90 up from 2020 | 35 | 100% | $1,187 | ||
7Bulletin of the World Health OrganizationOAWorld Health Organization | 3.32Q1 | 10.50 2.88 up from 2020 | 405 | 100% | — | ||
8Journal of Medical Internet ResearchOAJMIR Publications · Germany | 3.28Q1 | 11.33 2.81 up from 2020 | 2,504 | 100% | $2,950 | ||
9BMJPublisher not listed | 3.26Q1 | 10.60 5.83 up from 2020 | 5,306 | 40% | — | ||
10Annual Review of Public HealthAnnual Reviews · United States | 3.20Q1 | 23.54 1.86 down from 2020 | 94 | 100% | — | ||
11Journal of the American Medical Informatics AssociationOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 3.04Q1 | 9.50 2.74 up from 2020 | 715 | 100% | $4,332 | ||
12Safety ScienceElsevier BV · Netherlands | 2.93Q1 | 7.24 1.47 up from 2020 | 1,212 | 43% | $4,360 | ||
13Human Resources for HealthOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 2.91Q1 | 6.68 2.17 up from 2020 | 269 | 100% | $3,290 | ||
14JMIR mhealth and uhealthOAJMIR Publications · Canada | 2.86Q1 | 7.70 0.14 down from 2020 | 1,333 | 100% | $2,850 | ||
15Sport Education and SocietyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 2.85Q1 | 3.85 0.85 up from 2020 | 206 | 47% | — | ||
16Health Research Policy and SystemsOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 2.84Q1 | 5.35 0.52 up from 2020 | 361 | 100% | $3,590 | ||
17Journal of Medical SystemsSpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 2.73Q1 | 7.49 1.41 up from 2020 | 765 | 61% | $4,990 | ||
18European Physical Education ReviewSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 2.69Q1 | 4.41 1.24 up from 2020 | 138 | 46% | $3,650 | ||
19International Journal of Medical InformaticsElsevier BV · Netherlands | 2.69Q1 | 7.12 1.19 up from 2020 | 605 | 52% | $3,150 | ||
20QuestTaylor & Francis · United States | 2.58Q1 | 4.06 1.58 up from 2020 | 81 | 23% | — | ||
21Milbank QuarterlyWiley · United States | 2.57Q1 | 5.36 1.71 up from 2020 | 151 | 93% | $4,430 | ||
22American Journal of Community PsychologyWiley · Netherlands | 2.56Q1 | 4.75 1.19 up from 2020 | 258 | 33% | $3,620 | ||
23Work and OccupationsSAGE Publishing · United States | 2.50Q1 | 2.86 1.69 down from 2020 | 55 | 18% | $3,900 | ||
24BMJ Quality & SafetyBMJ · United Kingdom | 2.50Q1 | 5.07 0.58 down from 2020 | 449 | 77% | — | ||
25Public health reviewsOASpringer Science+Business Media · France | 2.49Q1 | 6.58 1.39 down from 2020 | 69 | 100% | $2,389 | ||
26Digital HealthOASAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 2.40Q1 | 6.90 0.96 up from 2020 | 177 | 100% | $2,000 | ||
27Journal of Nursing ManagementWiley · United Kingdom | 2.39Q1 | 5.73 2.05 up from 2020 | 643 | 78% | $2,700 | ||
28Health Information & Libraries JournalWiley · United Kingdom | 2.38Q1 | 5.83 3.55 up from 2020 | 121 | 30% | $3,240 | ||
29Journal of Mixed Methods ResearchSAGE Publishing · United States | 2.38Q1 | 3.90 0.65 up from 2020 | 68 | 28% | $3,900 | ||
30International Journal for Equity in HealthOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 2.36Q1 | 6.20 1.75 up from 2020 | 604 | 100% | $3,690 | ||
31Journal of the American Geriatrics SocietyWiley · United States | 2.34Q1 | 6.75 1.59 up from 2020 | 1,351 | 52% | $4,760 | ||
32Research Involvement and EngagementOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 2.28Q1 | 5.23 0.52 up from 2020 | 156 | 100% | $2,590 | ||
33American Journal of Public HealthAmerican Public Health Association · United States | 2.24Q1 | 5.27 0.82 up from 2020 | 1,459 | 98% | — | ||
34Family Medicine and Community HealthOABMJ · United Kingdom | 2.18Q1 | 6.85 4.85 up from 2020 | 108 | 100% | — | ||
35Journal of Teaching in Physical EducationHuman Kinetics · United States | 2.18Q1 | 2.93 0.91 down from 2020 | 182 | 21% | — | ||
36Frontiers in Public HealthOAFrontiers Media · Switzerland | 2.17Q1 | 8.88 3.83 up from 2020 | 1,665 | 100% | $3,801 | ||
37Curriculum Studies in Health and Physical EducationTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 2.17Q1 | 2.72 0.59 up from 2020 | 56 | 44% | — | ||
38International Journal of Nursing StudiesElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 2.14Q1 | 7.45 1.40 up from 2020 | 605 | 34% | $5,840 | ||
39Health Education & BehaviorSAGE Publishing · United States | 2.13Q1 | 5.60 2.54 up from 2020 | 296 | 46% | $4,400 | ||
40Augmentative and Alternative CommunicationTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 2.13Q1 | 4.74 1.73 up from 2020 | 77 | 30% | — | ||
41The Interpreter and Translator TrainerTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 2.13Q1 | 2.22 0.06 down from 2020 | 73 | 60% | — | ||
42The GerontologistOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 2.11Q1 | 5.26 1.01 up from 2020 | 549 | 54% | $4,408 | ||
43Health Care Management ScienceSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 2.11Q1 | 4.95 1.50 up from 2020 | 87 | 61% | $2,090 | ||
44Nursing EthicsSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 2.02Q1 | 4.21 1.58 up from 2020 | 289 | 55% | $3,900 | ||
45BioethicsWiley · United Kingdom | 2.01Q1 | 4.22 2.00 up from 2020 | 79 | 49% | $4,550 | ||
46Journal of Nursing ScholarshipWiley · United States | 2.01Q1 | 5.00 0.86 up from 2020 | 222 | 26% | $3,640 | ||
47HLRP Health Literacy Research and PracticeOAUnited States | 1.94Q1 | 3.68 1.41 up from 2020 | 100 | 100% | $2,000 | ||
48Safety and Health at WorkOAElsevier BV · South Korea | 1.91Q1 | 4.62 1.32 up from 2020 | 193 | 100% | $1,750 | ||
49Innovation in AgingOAUniversity of Oxford · United Kingdom | 1.91Q1 | 4.01 0.07 up from 2020 | 151 | 100% | $3,977 | ||
50Journal of Community HealthSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 1.89Q1 | 6.82 4.70 up from 2020 | 471 | 69% | $4,990 |
Subfields of Health Professions, compared.
- General Health Professions483
- Occupational Therapy27
- Emergency Medical Services26
- Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation25
- Health Information Management17
- Radiological and Ultrasound Technology15
- Speech and Hearing10
- Complementary and Manual Therapy4
- Pharmacy3
- Medical Laboratory Technology2
- Medical Terminology0
Journals
Citations made in 2021. Corpus-wide, 87.7% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
121 additional Health Professions journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2018–2020, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2021. Publication window: 2018–2020. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 612
- Window papers (baseline)
- 324,777 +17.5% from indicator year 2018
- Median OJR
- 0.75 -5.9% from indicator year 2018
- Rising journals (2025)
- 38Comparison-group list (38)
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2018–2020 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 253 | 271 | 295 | 302 | 318 | 330 | 346 | 367 | 390 | 401 | 415 | 428 | 449 | 473 | 492 | 507 | 527 | 551 | 566 | 585 | 601 | 612 | 616 | 609 | 600 | 586 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 66,020 | 72,769 | 79,195 | 86,335 | 92,515 | 102,597 | 113,331 | 125,469 | 137,977 | 152,092 | 168,072 | 183,124 | 195,764 | 208,179 | 223,186 | 242,061 | 257,124 | 268,029 | 276,391 | 287,165 | 300,893 | 324,777 | 346,759 | 357,796 | 362,286 | 380,673 | |
| Median OJR | 0.53 | 0.54 | 0.55 | 0.58 | 0.60 | 0.62 | 0.63 | 0.67 | 0.74 | 0.81 | 0.85 | 0.89 | 0.8428 | 0.8435 | 0.838 | 0.90 | 0.834 | 0.816 | 0.80 | 0.8210 | 0.8207 | 0.75 | 0.73 | 0.77 | 0.79 | 0.830 |
| Measure | Category statistic | Eligible population |
|---|---|---|
| Journal self-citation share | Median: 3.6% | 405 journals |
| Retracted papers per 1,000 | Pooled rate: 0.694 per 1,000 | 396 journals |
| Output growth | Median: -3.1% | 554 journals |
| Open access share | Median: 74.5% | 586 journals |
| Listed APC (USD) | Median including $0 listed prices: $3,290 | 259 ranked journals with a known listed price, including $0 listed prices |
| International collaboration share | Median: 19.6% | 558 journals |
| Review share | Median: 1.8% | 586 journals |
| Articles-only OJR | Median: 0.86 | 581 journals |
| Uncited share | Median: 41.6% | 586 journals |
| Citation concentration | Median: 47.9% | 585 journals |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.