Author Guidelines
Contributions are acceptable for publication on the condition that they are submitted exclusively to the Puerto Rico Health Sciences Journal. All authors must give signed consent to publication in a letter sent with the manuscript.
General requirements: All papers should comply with International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, http://www.icmje.org/. There are no fees or charges for submitting, processing or publishing articles in this journal even if articles are rejected. Manuscripts will be reviewed by the Editorial Office to make sure that the submission contains all required parts. Manuscripts that do not adhere to the following instructions will be returned to the corresponding author for technical revision before undergoing peer review. Plagiarism and self-plagiarism is considered author misconduct. Manuscript received in which plagiarism is detected will be rejected immediately. Papers with doi number won’t be accepted for publication.
Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors: If authors request removal or addition of an author after manuscript submission or publication, journal editors should seek an explanation and signed statement of agreement for the requested change from all listed authors and from the author to be removed or added.
Language: The language of the PRHSJ is English. Authors for whom English is not the first language are strongly advised to obtain English-language editing services before submitting papers to the Journal.
Format: Use double-spacing throughout the manuscript, including the references and tables. Number the pages in the upper right corner, beginning with the title page. Do not use footnotes or endnotes. All manuscripts should include an abstract in Spanish; this should be provided immediately after the abstract in English.
Cover letter: The corresponding author must send a cover letter with the manuscript. Note in the cover letter what type of manuscript (e.g., full-length article, brief report, case report, clinical image, letter to the editor) is being submitted. Confirm that all authors meet the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals criteria for authorship (http://www.icmje.org/). Include a statement declaring that contents of the manuscript have not been previously published and are not currently submitted elsewhere with the exception of abstracts published on scientific meetings. The author(s) must also disclose any affiliation or significant financial involvement in any organizations or entity with a direct financial interest in the materials or subject matter discussed in the manuscript; this includes employment, honoraria, consultancies, or relevant stock ownership. Finally, the author(s) must suggest at least three reviewers for the manuscript including contact information and e-mail address.
Title page: Title page is page one of the manuscript. Organize this page as follows:
-Title of article
-Short title for a running head (no more than five words)
-Author's full names, academic degrees (MD, PhD, MS, BS, MPh, DMD...) and institutional affiliations
-Indexing terms (three to five)
-Corresponding author's name, institutional name and address, business telephone, and e-mail address. Do not designate trainees or students for this purpose.
-Statement of all funding sources of support for this work (if none, please state)
-Publishable disclosure statement of potential conflicts of interest for each author. If none, please state: The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.
-Word count (from introduction through discussion for full-length articles, brief reports and case reports)
-Number of references
-Number of tables
-Number of figures
Types of manuscript:
Full-length articles are descriptions of original research that contributes to the body of knowledge in medical, dental, public health, pharmaceutical or biosocial sciences research. Organize the manuscript as follows: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods (or Patients and Methods), Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, References, Tables, Figure Legends, and Figures. A structured abstract of no more than 250 words must be included and divided into the following sections: Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Full-length articles should not exceed 3,000 words from introduction through discussion. The total number of tables and figures combined may not exceed 6, and the number of references may not exceed 50. Institutional Review Board approval must be acknowledged in the Methods section of the manuscript.
Brief reports are short papers of investigations (e.g., descriptive studies) in health sciences organized in the same manner as full-length articles, but which contain 1500 words or less (from introduction through discussion), with no more than 3 figures or tables combined, and up to 20 references. Institutional Review Board approval must be acknowledged in the Methods section of the manuscript.
Case reports are abbreviated case descriptions of exceptional clinical findings, clinical course, and unreported or unusual drug adverse events. Organize the manuscript as follows: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, Figure Legends, and Figures. Case reports should be limited to 1000 words (from introduction through discussion), 15 references, with no more than 3 figures or tables combined. Include an unstructured abstract of no more than 150 words. Case reports must be accompanied by a statement of consent signed by the patient.
Clinical images are photographic descriptions of interesting or unusual clinical, radiologic, or pathologic phenomena. Organize the manuscript as follows: Title Page, Description, References, and Figure(s). The main manuscript should be written in the format of a clinical vignette. Start with a short introduction followed by the case description including pertinent history, physical examination, clinical work-up, and outcome, as applicable. Finally, write a brief discussion including the teaching points and clinical relevance. Clinical images should be limited to 300 words description, 5 references, with no more than 2 figures. A maximum of 3 authors will be allowed. Clinical images must be accompanied by a statement of consent signed by the patient. The number of clinical images published will be strictly limited.
Special Articles on Health Sciences Research in Puerto Rico are descriptions of research projects, programs or centers that have made substantial contributions to advance health sciences in Puerto Rico. The main manuscript is organized as follows: Introduction, Aims, Scientific Accomplishments, Present Studies and Preliminary Results, Significance, Plans, and Conclusion. Special articles are limited to 5000 words (from introduction to conclusion), with a maximum of 6 tables or figures combined, and up to 50 references. An unstructured abstract of no more than 250 words must be included.
Review articles are usually solicited by the editor. Unsolicited material may be considered but before submitting a review, a brief summary must be sent to the PRHSJ office to determine its suitability. Major didactic articles that clarify and summarize the existing knowledge in a particular field are encouraged. Review articles are limited to 5000 words, with a maximum of 6 tables or figures combined, and up to 50 references. An unstructured abstract of no more than 250 words should be included.
Historical Notes are descriptions, reports, or biographic sketches related to the history or evolution of health sciences, particularly in Puerto Rico. Historical notes are limited to 2,000 words, with a maximum of 3 tables or figures combined, and up to 15 references. An unstructured abstract of no more than 250 words should be included.
Editorials are by invitation only; these are limited to 1000 words, with up to 2 tables/figures and 10 references.
Letters to the Editor about articles published in the PRHSJ within the previous 6 months are welcomed. The letter will be sent to the author of the article for a reply and publish both manuscripts together. Contributions should not exceed 1000 words, 2 tables/figures and ten references.
Reports from scientific meetings, symposiums, forums, or conferences in Puerto Rico are welcomed; these are limited to 1500 words, with up to 2 tables/figures and 10 references. Organize the manuscript as follows: Introduction, Scientific Highlights, and Conclusions. No abstract is required.
Book reviews may be submitted for publication at the PRHSJ with previous authorization from the Editor-in Chief. Reviews must fulfill the mission and vision and follow the instructions to authors of the Journal. A length of 750 to 1000 words will be accepted.
Supplements: The PRHSJ welcomes the opportunity to publish abstracts of scientific meetings providing the material represent original work not previously published. Event organizers are advised to contact the PRHSJ office well in advance of the scientific forum. Abstracts submitted must conform to the style for supplements, which is available on request, before they are being considered for publication.
Acknowledgments: If applicable, this section should be added after the discussion of the paper and before the references.
References: References section should appear in the manuscript following the Acknowledgments section. The author is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all references; incomplete references may result in a delay in publication. References must be listed in the order in which they appear in the manuscript. Identify references in the text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals (in parentheses). References cited only in tables or in legends to figures should be numbered in accordance with a sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or figure. Also make sure that, on the references page, they are numbered according to the order in which they appear. Format references must be in the AMA style.
Journal article
References from journals should include: (1) name(s) followed by the initials of the author(s) up to six authors: if more than six authors, include the first three authors followed by et al.; (2) title of paper; (3) title of the journal as abbreviated in the Index Medicus; (4) year of publication; (5) volume and issue number; (6) first and final page numbers of the article; and (7) doi number: include if applicable. For example: 1. Gibson LE, Daoud MS, Mulller SA, Perry HO. Malignant pyodermas revisited. Mayo Clin Proc 1997;72(8):734-736. doi: 10.1016/S0025-6196(11)63593-3.
Book
References to books should include: (1) author(s) or editor(s); (2) chapter (if any) book titles; (3) edition, volume, etc.; (4) place of publication; (5) publisher; (6) year; (7) page(s); (8) doi number: include if applicable. For example: Baran & Dawber's Diseases of the Nails and their Management, 3rd Ed; Oxford; Blackwell Science, 2001: 38-41.
Online article
For example: Friedman SA. Preeclampsia: a review of the role of prostaglandins. Obstet Gynecol [serial online]. January 1988; 71:22-37. Available from: BRS Information Technologies, McLean, VA. Accessed December 15, 1990 [Date (i.e. date reference item accessed on website)]. doi number: include if applicable.
Website
For example: Gostin LO. Drug use and HIV/AIDS [JAMA HIV/AIDS Web site]. June 1, 1996. Available at: http://www.ama-assn.org/special/hiv/ethics. Accessed June 26, 1997 [Date (i.e. date reference item accessed on website)]. doi number: include if applicable.
Tables: Create tables using the table creating and editing feature of your word processing software (eg, Word). Cite tables consecutively in the text, and number them in that order. All tables should be included in the manuscript following the References section. Provide each table with an explanatory title, appropriate column heads, and legends (including definitions of any abbreviations used).
Figure legends: The legend to each figure should be inserted in the manuscript following the tables section. When symbols, arrows, numbers or letters are used to identify parts of a figure, each should be explained clearly in the legend or as a footnote. The legend should be brief and permit the figure to be understood without reference to the text.
Figures: Send illustrations (graphs, drawings or formulas) in their original formats and photographs or figures as .tiff or .jpeg files. All figures must be included in the manuscript following figure legends. Illustrations that have previously appeared elsewhere must be submitted with a legal release from the holder of their copyrights, usually the original publisher. Each figure must contain no more than 4 panels. A multiple-panel figure should be printed on one page, i.e., Figures 1A, 1B, and 1C must be submitted already combined on one page, not three separate pages. Lettering and symbols on figures should be large enough to remain readable after the figure is reduced. For publication, figures are printed in black and white unless color is necessary for proper interpretation. Authors must bear all the costs of color printing.
Electronic page proofs and corrections: After acceptance, the corresponding author will be provided with page proofs and asked to check for errors and editorial queries. It is the author's responsibility to ensure that there are no errors in the proofs. The editors reserve the right to make literary corrections. Changes that have been made to conform to journal style will stand if they do not alter the authors' meaning. Although the correction of editorial and typographical errors will be made without charge, the cost of excessive additional alterations may be charged to the author. Electronic proofs must be checked carefully and corrections sent within seven days of receipt.
