Focus and Scope & Journal Mission

Focus and Scope

Our focus is on fostering interdisciplinary research that intersects medicine, humanities, and media studies. We aim to highlight research that explores the impact of media on health perceptions, patient experiences, healthcare policy, medical ethics, and the public understanding of medicine.

Journal Mission

In 2016, the School of Journalism and Communication and the Health Science Center of Peking University jointly established China's first health communication program, designed to innovate talent cultivation models in response to the Healthy China Initiative.
In 2018, Peking University hosted the inaugural "Medicine, Humanity and Media" (MHM) International Symposium on Health Communication, with the aim of fostering interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars in medical studies and media research who share an interest in health communication.
In 2023, to support the continued growth of the annual MHM International Symposium, we launched the Journal of Medicine, Humanity and Media as its official peer-reviewed publication. Regarding its title, the journal does not purport to cover the full spectrum of medical, humanities and media studies. Rather, it focuses on human-centered health communication research and is committed to serving as an interdisciplinary, international scholarly platform that nurtures emerging scholars and facilitates intellectual exchange.
This mission is embodied in three core commitments:
1. Advancing human-centered health communication research
Health is a fundamental human right, and the attainment of the highest possible standard of  health is a core social goal for all peoples. With the goal of enhancing public health literacy and media literacy for social health promotion, the journal explores theoretical advances and societal value in health communication through multidisciplinary approaches drawn from medicine, media studies and related fields.
2. Nurturing the growth of early-career scholars
Human beings are ends, not means. Building on the well-established Mentor-Mentee System of the MHM Symposium, the journal operates a two-way academic training platform that connects graduate students (master's and doctoral candidates), early-career researchers and mentor reviewers. We prioritize cultivating and sustaining a cohort of specialized mentor teams that solicit submissions aligned with their areas of expertise. Through equal, candid scholarly dialogue between authors and reviewers, manuscripts are refined and steadily elevated in quality, enabling rigorous research to meet publication standards. Every article published in this journal represents not only the author's independent scholarship but also the fruit of intergenerational academic transmission and mutual learning between mentors and mentees. The journal seeks to cultivate scholars through its pages and carry intellectual values through its writings, fostering a research culture of open exchange, mutual growth, and the pursuit of truth and substance.
3. Promoting intellectual exchange among international scholars
This journal does not seek to become an arena of academic Olympics rivalry; rather, it aspires to be a collegial "garden" where scholars from all nations exchange ideas and resources, seek collaborative partners, and embrace the Aristotelian contemplative life. The profound insights generated through the intellectual exchange of scholars will surely advance human health and well-being.