Annual Report 2024 of Exploration of Digital Health Technologies

Exploration of Digital Health Technologies (EDHT, eISSN: 2996-9409) is a strictly peer-reviewed, open-access journal launched in December 2023, advocating changes in the delivery of traditional healthcare services, the integration of digital technology-enabled healthcare with traditional offline healthcare, and the use of digital technology and data to enhance the accessibility and efficiency of healthcare services. This includes both areas related to digital healthcare, as well as digital applications involving the broader field of biomedical research, among others.

As a new journal, we focus on capturing the cutting-edge theoretical dynamics of the discipline, bringing together high-quality academic resources, and crafting high-quality academic content for our readers with a rigorous, impartial, and rational perspective. In the past year, the journal has made great progress in manuscript quality control, academic influence enhancement, and international dissemination. This report highlights the major achievements and provides an outlook for 2025.

Key Achievements in 2024

Submissions and Publications

Submissions

In 2024, EDHT received a total of 64 manuscripts, which is a significant increase from the 26 manuscripts received in 2023. This data demonstrates the growing recognition and interest of the journal among researchers in the same field under the leadership of the Editor-in-Chief Prof. Atanas Atanasov and the rigorous and conscientious cooperation of the Editorial Team. This includes 24 Original Articles (37.5%), and 20 Reviews (31.25%). The high number of Original Articles and Reviews demonstrates that EDHT journal has established a good reputation in the academic community and is able to attract more high-quality research submissions, thus promoting academic exchanges and co-operation. It helps to improve the overall quality of the journal and ensure that the published content has high academic value and practical significance.

Figure 1. Annual Submission Volume                                      Figure 2. Types of Submissions in 2024

Publications

In 2024, EDHT published 30 articles, including 11 Original Articles (36.67%) and 7 Reviews (23.33%). This data shows that the journal's impact and the quality of publications are meeting the needs of the academic community. In the first full year of publication, EDHT is committed to bringing together high-quality resources in an effort to create a high-quality academic platform and content for scholars.

Figure 3. Types of Publications in 2024

Average Impact of Authors

The average H-index is 13.95 for corresponding authors and 12.8 for first authors. Publications include 30 corresponding authors from 18 different countries and regions. We are honored to have attracted outstanding scholars from around the world to contribute to EDHT. The diversity of authorship also reflects the growing global appeal and internationalization of the journal, indicating that our publications have gained widespread international attention and recognition. Looking ahead, EDHT will continue to build bridges between cultures and regions, bringing together the latest scientific advances from around the world, enriching the diversity of the journal's publication content, and working harder to collaborate with researchers from different countries and regions in order to bring diverse academic perspectives and cutting-edge knowledge to our global readership.

Figure 4. Country Distribution of Publications in 2024

Publicity and Citation

The average number of views of articles published in the journal in 2024 was 2940.03 and the average number of downloads was 184.67. Dimensions added 50 new citations, bringing the total number of citations to 53. These data further demonstrate the high level of exposure and attention that articles published in our journal have received and the initial recognition, further reinforcing the journal's commitment to maintaining high publication standards and academic excellence. This high level of exposure and impact is a clear advantage that we hope to maintain.

Hot Articles

The article "Digital health and mobile health: a bibliometric analysis of the 100 most cited papers and their contributing authors", co-authored by the Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Atanas Atanasov, and 35 members of the editorial board and 34 scholars, has attracted much attention since its publication. It has received more than 10,000 views, 500 downloads and 2 citations. It has also been widely forwarded and followed on platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter. This data demonstrates the potential citation value of this article and the high level of recognition from scholars in the same field, which will advance the academic development in the field of digital health.

The article "Use of responsible artificial intelligence to predict health insurance claims in the USA using machine learning algorithms" was co-authored by Prof. Victor R. Prybutok and Dr. Ashrafe Alam has attracted a lot of attention since its publication. It has received more than 10,000 views, 400 downloads and 4 citations. This article vividly demonstrates that the topic of this article is novel and can resonate with scholars in the same field.

Manuscript Processing

Rejection Rate

The rejection rate for 2024 has increased slightly to 44.19% from 23% in 2023. This indicates that the journal is becoming more selective in the number and direction of submissions, reflecting the fact that the journal is screening for higher quality articles for publication and helping to maintain high academic standards.

Manuscript Processing Time

With the increase of manuscript volume, the average Initial review time is 12.84 days, and the average first decision to accept time is 56.27 days. This reflects EDHT's strict screening and control of published articles, but we still need to improve the processing speed.

Reviewers

In 2024, 85 reviewers from 34 different countries participated in our review process. This large and diversified group of reviewers ensures the internationality and fairness of the review process, and the rich reviewing experience helps scholars to better understand the latest development trends of basic research in the world, and to have a more comprehensive and macroscopic understanding of the academic publication and evaluation system. To a certain extent, it also reflects that the international influence and popularity of the journal is getting stronger and stronger, which helps EDHT to publish high-quality research results related to global hotspots.

Figure 5. Country Distribution of Reviewers

Editorial Board

New Editorial Board Members in 2024

In 2024, EDHT added two new editorial board members, Prof. Imran Mahmood Khan and Prof. Slavko Kralj, from China and Slovenia.

Current Editorial Board

There are currently 57 editorial board members, 22 Associate Editors and 35 Editorial Board Members, with an average H-index of 43.18. This data reflects the fact that EDHT's editorial board team is tending to become more global and authoritative. In 2024, 13 members (22.8%) contributed by submitting manuscripts, editing special issues, or reviewing manuscripts. This is critical to the operation and growth of the journal.

Figure 6. Country Distribution of EDHT Editorial Board

Special Issues

EDHT currently has 10 special issues covering a wide range of emerging hot topics in digital health. These include the use of social media in biomedical research, digital health technologies for early detection of oral cancer, biosensors for bioactive molecules, and wearable technology and machine learning in healthcare. These special issues present cutting-edge research and innovative advances for the future of digital health.

More details can be found at: https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/edht/Special_Issues

Hot Special Issues

Under the leadership of Prof. Saman Warnakulasuriya, the special issue "Digital Health Technologies for the Early Detection of Oral Cancer" is flourishing. It has published 9 articles, with an average of 1587 views and 113 downloads, which indicates that the articles published in this special issue have received high visibility and attention, and highlights the journal's significant research value in this area.

Under the leadership of Prof. Devesh Tewari, the special issue "Social Media Applications in Biomedical Research" is flourishing. It has published 7 articles with an average view count of 4573.57, an average download count of 257.14 and a total of 18 citations. This data indicates that the articles published in this special issue have received high exposure and attention, reflecting the recognition of the content published in this special issue by scholars in the same field.

Highlighted Articles in the Special Issue

In 2024, the EDHT Special Issues published a wide range of topical and scholarly articles, each highlighting a novel topic and the unique insights of the authors. Below are some of the highlighted special issue articles published in 2024.

Table1. Highlighted Articles in the Special Issue

Social Media & Promotion

Our high level of activity and exposure on social media continued during the year with an average of over 1,000 views, 13 likes and 7 retweets per post on LinkedIn, Twitter and Bluesky.

Database indexing

EDHT is indexed in several databases, including Google Scholar, Dimensions, MyScienceWork, and Portico, which help extend our reach across diverse academic communities. Looking ahead, we are determined to further elevate EDHT’s profile by applying for inclusion in prestigious databases such as Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Scopus and Web of Science (WOS).

Goals and Expectation

Overall, in 2024, EDHT has achieved the initial success of the new journal at a steady pace; in 2025, we are committed to taking the journal to the next level. We are confident that under the leadership of our editor-in-chief Prof. Atanas Atanasov, EDHT will set the academic benchmark in digital health and contribute core wisdom to global innovation in digital health. 

In 2025, EDHT will continue to publish high-quality articles, create a platform for scholars to have professional and rigorous academic exchanges, and continue to maintain a high level of exposure and activity in the social media to further open up the journal's visibility and increase the average citation of the journal. Our goal is to achieve an average citation of 1.8, and to complete the inclusion of the DOAJ database, as well as apply for inclusion in the Scopus database.

We are excited about these initiatives and welcome collaborators to join us. Whether it is through co-organizing events, submitting articles, or sharing expertise, we believe that collaboration will expand our reach and advance knowledge in our field. May we continue to work together in the new year to carve the academic coordinates of our journal in the field of digital health!

Best Regards,

EDHT Editorial Office

Contact us: edhtjournal@explorationpub.com

EDHT website: https://www.explorationpub.com/Journals/edht

Submission Link: https://edht.aressystem.com/

Annual Report 2024 of Exploration of Digital Health Technologies.pdf