From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Health Affairs

Field	Value
title	Health Affairs
cover	Health Affairs (cover).gif
language	English
discipline	Medicine, health care
abbreviation	Health Aff. (Millwood)
publisher	Project HOPE
country	United States
history	1981–present
impact	8.1
impact-year	2024
website	https://www.healthaffairs.org/journal/hlthaff
link1	https://www.healthaffairs.org/topics
link1-name	Topics homepage
link2	https://www.healthaffairs.org/forefront
link2-name	Forefront homepage
OCLC	07760874
LCCN	82643664
ISSN	0278-2715
eISSN	1544-5208

| impact-year = 2024 | link1-name = Topics homepage | link2-name = Forefront homepage

The journal was established in 1981 as a quarterly by its founding editor, John K. Iglehart, who served as editor until 2007 (then again on an interim basis from 2013 to 2014). Donald E. Metz was appointed interim editor-in-chief in 2025 after Alan R. Weil departed in 2024. Other past editors include James C. Robinson and Susan Dentzer.

The journal’s current impact factor (2024) is 8.1.

Through its publications and other activities, Health Affairs explores health policy issues of current concern in both domestic and international spheres. Its mission is to serve as a high-level, nonpartisan forum to promote analysis and discussion on improving health and health care, addressing such issues as cost, quality, access, and nonmedical determinants of health. Iglehart described the journal's aim as "provoking a constructive domestic U.S. dialogue between the warring political parties and countless private stakeholders."

The journal’s audience includes government and health industry leaders; health care advocates; scholars of health, health care, and health policy; and others concerned with health and health care issues in the United States and worldwide.

The journal has been described in The Washington Post as “the bible of health policy” and a “must-read for anyone with a serious interest in medicine, health care and health care policy.” Health Affairs’ articles are regularly covered in major news media and read and cited by leaders around the globe, including members of Congress, ministry of health officials, and members of the judicial branch.

Other types of content

Since its founding, Health Affairs has added a variety of content types and platforms in addition to the monthly journal.

Journal

Health Affairs, the flagship journal, is a subscription-based product that is published monthly.

Health Affairs Scholar

Launched in 2023, Health Affairs Scholar is an open access journal that publishes peer-reviewed research focused on emerging and global health policy issues. The editor-in-chief is Kathryn A. Phillips, PhD., Professor of Health Economics and Health Services Research at the University of California, San Francisco. Health Affairs Scholar is published in partnership with Oxford University Press. It is indexed in the Web of Science, PubMed Central, and Google Scholar. Its current impact factor (2024) is 2.7.

Health Affairs Forefront

Forefront was established in 2006 as Health Affairs Blog, then renamed Forefront in 2021. It is a free access, daily, digital-only publication that provides readers with analysis, commentary, and proposals on current and enduring health policy issues. Forefront features work from researchers, clinicians, health policy experts, policy makers, and industry leaders. For timeliness, Forefront is not peer-reviewed. Forefront articles have been cited by members of Congress and major news outlets.

Narrative Matters

Narrative Matters is a personal-essay section of Health Affairs journal. It was established in 1999 with Fitzhugh Mullan (George Washington University) as its original editor.

During its history, Narrative Matters has published nearly 350 policy narratives and poems on a wide range of topics by well-known writers including Julia Alvarez, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Alexander McCall Smith, and Abraham Verghese; by distinguished medical professionals and academics; and by patients and their families. In 2006, the Johns Hopkins University Press published a selection of essays from Narrative Matters: Narrative Matters: The Power of the Personal Essay in Health Policy (editors: Fitzhugh Mullan, Ellen Ficklen, and Kyna Rubin).

Health Policy Briefs

Published since 2009, Health Policy Briefs provide readers with overviews and reviews of evidence on timely topics that are currently being debated in health policy. These briefs are free to access online and are aimed at a broad readership.

Podcasts

Health Affairs began producing podcasts in 2007 to present audio of nonpartisan analysis and discussions on important health and health care topics. Podcasts feature discussions between Health Affairs editors as well as discussions with outside experts.

Events

Health Affairs hosts a variety of events and briefings that feature presentations from authors of content published in Health Affairs; moderated panel discussions; and one-on-one conversations with researchers, experts, and other leaders in the field. Some events are open to the public, while others are limited to Health Affairs Insider members.

Fellowships

Through its Health Equity Fellowship for Trainees (HEFT) program (established in 2021), Health Affairs provides mentorship to early-career equity researchers. The program competitively selects applicants every 18 months, then pairs them with Health Affairs editors and academic researchers who provide guidance on the academic publishing process.

Abstracting and Indexing

Health Affairs is indexed across many databases:

Major Indexing Services

Crossref
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
Google Scholar
ISI (Institute for Scientific Information)
PubMed
Scopus
Web of Science

Medical and Health Databases

CINAHL (CINAHL Database, Plus, Complete)
EMBASE
MEDLINE (including Ovid MEDLINE)
NEJM Journal Watch: Emergency Medicine
Nursing & Allied Health Database
Health Policy Reference Center
Health & Medical Collection
Health Research Premium Collection
Hospital Premium Collection
Public Health Database
Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes News
International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (Online)

Social Sciences and Policy Databases

PAIS Index (Public Affairs Information Service)
Political Science Complete
Political Science Database
Politics Collection
Public Affairs Index
Social Services Abstracts
Social Science Database
Social Science Premium Collection
Sociological Abstracts
SocINDEX (including Full Text)

Business and Management Databases

ABI/INFORM (Collection, Global, Research, Professional)
Business Source (Premier, Complete, Elite, Corporate, Corporate Plus, Alumni Edition)
Business Premium Collection
Corporate ResourceNet
Management Contents
ProQuest (Central, 5000, 5000 International, Pharma Collection, SciTech Collection, Professional Central)
Cabells Journalytics

Agriculture, Environmental, and Life Sciences

CAB Abstracts (Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux)
Global Health
AgBiotechNet
Forest Science Database
Veterinary Science Database
TropAg & Rural
Tropical Diseases Bulletin
Rural Development Abstracts
Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews
Horticultural Science
Plant Protection Database
Soil Science Database
Environmental Science Collection
Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management
Environmental Impact
Agricultural & Environmental Science Database
Agricultural Economics Database
Agricultural Engineering Abstracts
Forestry Abstracts
Animal Science Database
Dairy Science Abstracts
Protozoological Abstracts
Parasitology Database
Helminthological Abstracts
Review of Medical and Veterinary Entomology
Botanical Pesticides Abstracts
Postharvest Abstracts
Potato Abstracts

Interdisciplinary and Other Databases

Academic Search (Premier, Complete, Elite, Alumni, Main Edition)
ArticleFirst
CCC (Copyright Clearance Center)
Current Abstracts
Current Contents
Research Library
Essential Science Indicators
Electronic Collections Online
Google, Google News
MainFile
Poetry & Short Story Reference Center
Leisure Tourism
Nutrition and Food Sciences Database
Human Resources Abstracts
Child Development & Adolescent Studies
Abstracts in Social Gerontology
Abstracts in Anthropology
Abstracts on Hygiene and Communicable Diseases
Personal Alert (E-mail)
TOC Premier (Table of Contents)

Interdisciplinary and Other Databases

HA corpus
HA corpus for Health Equity Project

Editors-in-Chief

John K. Iglehart, 1981–2007
James C. Robinson, 2007–2008
Susan Dentzer, 2008–2013
John K. Iglehart (interim), 2013–2014
Alan R. Weil, 2014–2024
Donald E. Metz (interim), 2025–present

References

(2024). "Health Affairs Editor-In-Chief Alan Weil To Step Down". Health Affairs Forefront.
"Health Affairs: Leading Publication Of Health Policy Research & Insight".
Iglehart, John K.. (September 2007). "Health Affairs Reaches 25: How It All Got Started". Health Affairs.
"About Health Affairs Publication & Team".
Hiebert-White, Jane. (2025). "Don Metz To Serve As Interim Editor-In-Chief". Health Affairs Forefront.
"Consolidation: Health Care's Empty Promise (washingtonpost.com)".
"Health Affairs Journal".
"Health Affairs Scholar".
"Why publish with Health Affairs Scholar?".
"About Health Affairs Publication & Team".
"Health Affairs Briefs".
"Health Affairs Podcasts".
"Events {{!}} Health Affairs".
"Health Affairs Insider".
"Health Affairs Fellowships {{!}} Health Affairs".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

health-policy-journals academic-journals-established-in-1981 english-language-journals bimonthly-journals

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Health Affairs — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report