Instructions for Authors

Instructions for Authors

1. Manuscript Submission Overview

Authors are encouraged to prepare manuscripts in accordance with the corresponding guidelines listed below:

Randomized research studies and clinical trials: CONSORT guidelines (for protocols, please see the GUIDANCE FOR CLINICAL TRIAL PROTOCOLS)
Observational original research studies: STROBE guidelines
Studies on diagnostic accuracy: STARD guidelines
Case report: CARE guidelines
Qualitative research: SRQR guidelines
Systematic reviews and meta-analysis: PRISMA guidelines (for protocols, please see the PRISMA-P guidelines)/MOOSE
Quality improvement studies: SQuIRE guidelines
Clinical practice guidelines: AGREE Reporting Checklist

1.1 Types of Publications

Article: All original research manuscripts will be considered, provided that the work reports scientific research and provides new information with innovation and high academic value.

Abstract: Structured
Word limit: Maximum of 6000 words recommended
Figures/Tables: No limit, but 10 figures are deemed sufficient
Key points: 3–6
References: 25–50 suggested

Review: Reviews are comprehensive overviews of a specific topic, which address one or several specific question(s) or issue(s), relevant to clinical practice. These reviews are typically drafted by scholars in a specific field, widely read and highly cited.

Abstract: Unstructured recommended
Word limit: Maximum of 8000 words recommended
Figures/Tables: No limit, but 10 figures are deemed sufficient
Key points: 3–6
References: 75–90 suggested

Systematic Review: To provide an evidence-based, balanced, patient-oriented review on a focused topic, systematic reviews present results by combining and analyzing data from different studies conducted on similar research topics. Systematic reviews with meta-analysis are also included. For a systematic review or meta-analysis of mixed study designs (e.g., randomized controlled trials, observational studies, etc.), PRISMA is recommended. MOOSE is recommended for meta-analyses of observational studies.

Abstract: Structured
Word limit: Maximum of 8000 words recommended
Figures/Tables: No limit, but 10 figures are deemed sufficient
Key points: 3–6
References: 50–75 suggested
Supplementary material: A PRISMA/Moose checklist should be included as an online supplement

Education and Training Update: The Education and Training Update section contains manuscripts that relate specifically to education or training issues regarding hospital doctors. The manuscripts can be reviews or articles (see details above).

Doctors in Training: Articles cover the specific needs of doctors in training, both clinically and professionally. Please note that manuscripts submitted to the Doctors in Training section must adhere to the specific instructions for authors for Doctors in Training.

Case Report: Case reports are short reports of particularly rare or important presentations. Case reports should present observations of diseases, clinical findings, or novel/unique treatment outcomes that are relevant to practitioners in related fields.

Abstract: Structured
Word limit: Maximum of 2500 words recommended
Figures/Tables: Generally ≤6 recommended
Learning points: 3–6
References: No more than 15 suggested
Supplementary material: A CARE checklist should be adhered to and included as an online supplement

Quality Improvement: A study using data defines, measures, and evaluates a healthcare practice or service to maintain or improve the appropriateness, quality, safety, or value of that practice or service. Articles must report a sustainable completed loop audit or project. The reporting of 3-6 key components is emphasized: the use of formal and informal theory in planning, implementing, and evaluating improvement work; the context in which the work is done; and the study of the intervention(s).

Abstract: Structured
Word limit: Maximum of 2500 words recommended
Figures/Tables: No more than 6
Key points: 3–6
References: No more than 15 suggested

Editorial: Editorials are opinion manuscripts from editors or invited authors. Invited contributors may introduce a theme on topics such as medicine, public health, ethics or policy in a brief, sharply focused editorial. BJHM welcomes Editorials on topics of current interest.

Abstract: Not required
Word limit: Maximum of 1500 words recommended
Figures/Tables: Maximum of 1
Key points: 3–6
References: No more than 15 suggested

Letter: Letters should address issues of interest to the journal’s readers and may consist of short articles containing original data or concise opinion pieces. Letters that present research data undergo rigorous peer review.

Abstract: Not required
Word limit: 2500 words maximum
Figures/Tables: No more than 3
Key points: 3–6
References: No more than 15 suggested

Correspondence: Correspondences is supposed to comment on the manuscripts published in BJHM. They should not duplicate content that has been published or submitted elsewhere and must not include unpublished data. Correspondences that do not meet these criteria are generally not considered. Additionally, the journal does not accept Correspondences on articles published in other journals. Authors of the original research may provide a reply, and the journal will publish the letter and the reply together whenever possible.

Abstract: Not required
Word limit: Maximum of 1000 words recommended
Figures/Tables: No more than 1
Key points: Not required
References: Specified as needed

1.2 Accepted File Formats

Authors may use the Microsoft Word template available on our website to prepare their manuscript. If this requirement presents a problem, please contact the Editorial Office (BJHM@imrpress.com). Accepted file formats are:

Microsoft Word: Manuscripts must be converted into a single file before submission. When preparing manuscripts in Microsoft Word, please ensure the use of the BJHM Microsoft Word template in the following formats: Original Article Manuscript Template, Review Manuscript Template, and Editorial Manuscript Template.
LaTeX: Manuscripts prepared in LaTeX must be collated into one ZIP folder (including all source files and images, so that the Editorial Office can recompile the submitted PDF).
Figures: Please save and submit figures as jpg. or tif. files (see below Link to 2.2.5 for further details).
Supplementary Materials: These materials may be in any format, but it is recommended that authors use common, non-proprietary formats where possible (see below Link to 3 for further details).

1.3 Submission Process

Manuscripts that are ready for submission should be scientifically sound and without significant errors in the formatting and language usage (including spelling, grammar, proper sentence flow, etc.).
Properly-formatted manuscripts should be submitted using the online submission & editorial system. Figures and tables should be inserted in the main text close to their first citation and numbered sequentially according to their order of appearance.
Manuscripts for BJHM should be submitted online at online submission & editorial system. The submitting author, who is generally the corresponding author, is responsible for the manuscript during the submission and peer-review process. The submitting author must ensure that all eligible co-authors have been included in the author list and that they have all read and approved the submitted version of the manuscript. To submit your manuscript, register and log in to the submission website.
ORCID is an optional field which the submitting author can fill in. BJHM uses ORCID to clearly link authors and reviewers—and all their name variants—with their research work, by embedding ORCID IDs into their publication metadata and displaying them on finished publications. Therefore, we recommend that the author complete this optional field.
When a manuscript is submitted, the corresponding author will receive a response within a few days regarding the suitability of the manuscript for publication in BJHM. All manuscripts that passed desk check will be sent to peer review, and the final acceptance/rejection depends on both reviewers’ and academic editors’ decisions.

2. Manuscript Preparation

2.1 General Guidelines

Read the submission review Guidelines to Authors, and view a properly formatted sample document ready for submission.

2.1.1 Title Page

General information about an article and its authors is presented on a title page and usually includes the article title, author information, sources of support, word count, and sometimes the number of tables and figures.

Title. The title of a manuscript should be concise, specific and relevant. It should identify if the study reports (human or animal) trial data, or is a systematic review, meta-analysis or replication study. When gene or protein names are included, the abbreviation rather than the full name should be used.

Author information. Authors’ full first and last names must be provided. The initials of any middle names can be added. The PubMed/MEDLINE standard format is used for affiliations: complete address information, including city, zip code, state/province, and country. Affiliations of the authors are indicated by numbers (not symbols); equal contribution indicated by †. At least one author should be designated as the corresponding author, and his or her email address and other details should be included at the end of the affiliation section. BJHM encourages the listing of authors’ ORCID and keeping their Contributor Identification information updated, ensuring that their identity is uniquely linked to their research work.

Please note that the corresponding author should respond promptly to the editor's inquiries and any feedback during the submission and peer review process. They must also fulfill the journal's requirements to provide any necessary data or other relevant information, thereby mitigating potential post-published issues.

The journal typically allows a maximum of two co-first authors or co-corresponding authors. If there is a special reason to list more than two corresponding authors, please submit a cover letter providing a reasonable justification.

Availability of data and materials. Authors are strongly encouraged to make all datasets on which the conclusions of a manuscript depend available to readers, unless they are already provided as part of the submitted article. Those who cannot share their data must state this and also provide a reason for their unavailability. More information about Availability of Data and Materials Policy.

Author contributions. The individual contributions of authors to the manuscript should be specified, and initials should be used to refer to each author, e.g., GF, LH, and PG designed the research study, LH and PG performed the research, GF and MM provided help and advice on the ELISA experiments, MM analyzed the data. All authors contributed to editorial changes in the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. All authors have participated sufficiently in the work and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

IMR Press encourages the use of the roles defined in the Contributor Roles Taxonomy from CRediT (CRediT in no way changes the journal’s criteria to qualify for authorship). See more details about the criteria to qualify for authorship.

Ethics approval and consent to participate. In this section, please add the Institutional Review Board Statement, date of approval, and approval number for studies involving humans or animals. Please note that the Editorial Office might ask you for further information.

Acknowledgment. In this section, you can acknowledge any support given that is not covered by the author contribution or funding sections. This may include administrative and technical support, or donations in kind (e.g., materials used for experiments).

Funding. List all funding sources. As this section contains important information and many funding bodies require inclusion of grant numbers here, please check carefully that manuscript details are accurate and use standard spelling of funding agency names at https://search.crossref.org/funding, as errors may affect your future funding.

Conflict of interest. This section is required for all papers. If there are no conflicts of interest (COIs) to declare, please use the following wording: “The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest” or “The author declares that there are no conflicts of interest”. The text in this section should match the text provided in the Declaration of Interests form in the publishing agreement. In addition, the ICMJE has also developed a uniform Disclosure Form (https://www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf) that BJHM has adopted. See more about the Conflict of Interest policies.

Declaration of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process. In accordance with COPE’s stated position on AI tools and ICMJE’s authorship criteria, artificial intelligence chatbots, such as ChatGPT and similar AI tools based on large language models (LLMs), cannot be listed as an author of a paper. Any utilization of AI tools in the research or preparation of this work, including manuscript drafting, production of graphical elements, or data collection and analysis, must be explicitly disclosed in this section. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those portions produced by an AI tool, and are thus liable for any breach of publication ethics. The journal's editors reserve the right to make final decisions concerning the appropriateness and permissibility of an AI tool. Specifically, the Editor-in-Chief is responsible for this judgment, which shall be delegated to another Editorial Board member whenever a conflict of interest or other circumstances arise.

Word count. A word count for the paper’s text, excluding its abstract, acknowledgments, tables, figure legends, and references, allows editors and reviewers to assess whether the information contained in the paper warrants the paper’s length, and whether the submitted manuscript fits within the journal’s formats and word limits. A separate word count for the abstract is useful for the same reason.

Specification of the number of figures and tables. It allows editorial staff and reviewers to confirm that all figures and tables were actually included with the manuscript.

Abstract

The Abstract should not exceed 350 words (with Aims/Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions sections). Abbreviations that appear only once should be defined in full, unless they correspond to a gene name. If abbreviations appear more than once, the definition should be provided once, and then the abbreviation should be subsequently used throughout the abstract. Please do not cite references, figures, tables, or websites, and equations or other graphical elements must not be included.

Articles, systematic reviews, case reports, quality improvements require structured abstract. The abstract must include the following separate sections:

Aims/Background: The context and purpose of the study.
Methods: How the study was performed, including the study design, setting and population (if applicable), main methodological approaches, and any statistical tests used.
Results: Succinct presentation of key results, including all pre-specified primary outcomes; please include effect sizes, exact p-values, and sample sizes throughout the section.
Conclusions: Brief summary and potential implications.
Clinical Trial Registration: When applicable, include a fifth heading—"Clinical Trial Registration". Please provide the Unique Identifier and the URL of the publicly accessible website on which the trial is registered. If the data have been deposited in a public repository and/or are being used in a secondary analysis, authors should state at the end of the abstract the unique, persistent data set identifier, repository name, and number.

IMR Press encourages authors to provide a Graphical Abstract to visually present the core content and key findings of the manuscript. The Graphical Abstract should clearly convey the main message of the paper, attract readers' attention, and be suitable for display in the journal's table of contents. For detailed requirements, please refer to the “Preparing Graphical Abstracts”.

Keywords

In this section, authors need to submit a short list (3–10) of keywords with the manuscripts, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, ‘and’, ‘of’).

2.1.2 Main Text

Introduction

State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background to clarify why the study was undertaken and what hypotheses were tested, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results. The information in this section must be referenced and involve a discussion of the literature.

Materials and Methods

The materials used and procedures conducted should be described with sufficient detail to allow others to replicate and build on published results. The materials used should specify the sources upon the first mention. All instruments, pharmaceuticals, reagents, and other items should include the supplier and manufacturer's location [city, state (if applicable), and country], along with the availability of special equipment, reagents, kits, etc. New methods and protocols should be described in detail, while well-established methods can be briefly described and appropriately cited. Methods that have been published in detail elsewhere should not be described in detail, and avoid unnecessary detailed descriptions of widely used techniques. SI units should be used throughout the text. Reports of experiments involving patients and healthy volunteers must describe the steps taken to obtain consent and to maintain confidentiality.

Statistical analyses should provide the name of the statistical test used, the number for each analysis, the comparisons of interest, the alpha level and the actual p-value for each test. It should be clear which statistical test was used to generate every p-value. Error bars on graphs should be clearly labeled, and it should be stated whether the number following the ± sign is a standard deviation or a standard error. The word ‘significant’ should only be used when referring to statistically significant results and should be accompanied by the relevant p-value. Significance indicators should be used on graphs and tables, and described in the figure or table legend, clearly indicating which groups are being compared. Describe the specific statistical software used to perform analyses.

Results

Include a concise summary of the data presented in all display items (figures and tables). Excessive elaboration of data shown in display items should be avoided. Numerical data should be analyzed using appropriate statistical tests described in the Experimental Design and Statistical Analysis section. Authors must provide detailed information for each statistical test applied. If some references are needed to support the results, they can be inserted in the Discussion section.

Reproducibility of Results and Statistical Analysis:

Submission of data for publication is an indication that the authors are confident of data reproducibility. Appropriate statistical analysis should be used to determine that the findings are significant. The term "significant" should be used only if such a determination has been made. The probability of significance should be stated. It is worth emphasizing that scatter plots can depict individual data points as well as measures of central tendency and variability. Therefore, when dealing with small sample sizes, BJHM now encourages authors to prioritize the use of visualizations that display the entire data distribution to describe continuous data. When reporting a new assay, the following data should be listed:

- Within-assay variability
- Between-assay variability
- Slope of the dose-response curve
- Mid-range of assay
- Least detectable concentration
- Specificity
- Parallelism of the standard and the unknown on recovery
- Comparison with another method for the detection of the compound

Discussion

This section should interpret the significance of the results, avoiding simply repeating them. Authors are encouraged to integrate the presentation of key results with their discussion. Avoid excessive citations and an overly detailed discussion of published literature.

Conclusions

This section is mandatory for all submissions.

Key Points

Please provide 3–6 full sentences that adequately summarize the major themes of your article.

2.1.3 Cover Letter

Summarize the important points of the submitted work including a brief description of the study to be submitted, state that it is an original study presenting novel work, reveal that it has not been previously submitted to or accepted by any other journal, disclose that is has been approved by all authors and ethics approval as well as written informed consent have been obtained, and explain whether any author has a conflict of interest.

2.2 Format of Manuscript

2.2.1 General Formatting Guidelines

Format, revise, and correct the manuscript and save it as a MS Word document (not as a text or any other type of file). It is important that manuscripts should be written in clear, concise English and should be submitted free of grammar, spelling or scientific errors. After submission of the manuscript, please do not send any other revised form of the same document, because such documents will not be used.
If you need to include or refer to previously published text, tables, or figures, please obtain permission from the publisher by contacting them and add the comment "Reproduced with permission from (ref #)" to the text, figure, or table legend.
All terms such as et al., in situ, in vitro, in vivo should be italicized.
Please do not use automatic numbering in sections, sub-sections, titles, subtitles or references. The numbering used by Word is proprietary and does not allow conversion to HTML documents. Please remove automatic numbering and manually number the listed items in text.
All supplementary materials (where applicable) should be submitted through the online submission & editorial system as separate files. All supplementary figures and tables must be referred to by sequential numbers in the text.
Do not include footnotes directly within the main text. If footnotes are present, handle them as follows: reference-related footnotes should be replaced with standard in-text citations consistent with the reference list. Explanatory footnotes should retain the superscript number, and the explanatory note should appear immediately after the superscript within the main text.
All files must be scanned for viruses prior to submission.
Page Layout: General.
Times New Roman. Font size 10.5. 1.2 line spacing. Alignment Justified.
The first line indents 2 characters of a new paragraph.
Sub-headings and general headings should be presented in upper case letters (capitalize the initials of all substantives).
Use either British English or American English spelling throughout your manuscript, but not both.
Do not use page breaks in your manuscript.
Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc. Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to 'the text'. Any subsection may be given a brief heading.
Figure Legends (do not place the reference to figure legends in sections and sub-sections).
Tables (do not place the references to tables in sections and sub-sections).

Notes:

Place a hard return after each paragraph.
Please cite references throughout the text in sequential numbers and place references inside square brackets at the end of sentences throughout the text.

2.2.2 References

The reference list should be sorted numerically.
The reference list should be limited to only those citations essential to the presentation.
Please verify the accuracy of all references and check that all references have been cited in the text.
Please list all authors’ names in the reference if the authors are fewer than six. For more than six authors, please list the first six authors’ names, then use “et al.”.
Please list the standard journal title; do not omit or abbreviate the page number.
Use [number] for references in the text.
The use of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) is recommended, as they provide a permanent link to the referenced electronic article.

Sample reference citation (Download EndNote style).

(1) Journal:

① Less than 6 authors

[1] Boyden EA. A critique of the international nomenclature on bronchopulmonary segments. Diseases of the Chest. 1953; 23: 266–269. https://doi.org/10.1378/chest.23.3.266

② More than 6 authors

[2] Truong M, Dreier T, Wassélius J, Sundius L, Persson A, Lovric G, et al. Sub-micrometer morphology of human atherosclerotic plaque revealed by synchrotron radiation-based μCT-A comparison with histology. PLoS One. 2022; 17: e0265598. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265598

(2) Book:

[1] Su QY, Lu J, Huang XY, Yao JG, Wu XM, Huang BC, et al. CBX4 expression and AFBl-related liver cancer prognosis. In Lemamy GJ (ed.) Cancer Prognosis (pp. 51-67). Ist edn. InTech: London. 2018.

(3) Patent:

[1] Cho ST, inventor; Hospira, Inc., assignee. Microneedles for minimally invasive drug delivery. USA: United States patent US 6,980,855. 27 December 2005.

(4) If there are non-English journals in the reference, please insert the journal language as the ending:

[1] Zhou Y, Liu M, Liang WN. Progress on the epidemiological study of epilepsy. Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi. 2007; 28: 92–94. (In Chinese)

(5) Website:

[1] Miech RA, Johnston LD, Patrick ME, O'Malley PM, Bachman JH, Schulenberg JE. Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2022: Secondary school students. 2022. Available at: https://monitoringthefuture.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/mtf2022.pdf (Accessed: 29 September 2023).

2.2.3 Abbreviations

Naming of chemicals should follow the guidelines outlined in Chemical Abstracts Service.
Use standard abbreviations where possible. Use the generic name of any drug unless making claims about a specific brand or formulation.
New abbreviations must be defined at first usage within the manuscript, and the abstract, text, and figures/tables should each spell them out fully the first time they appear.
Standard abbreviations (see list) do not need to be expanded at the first mention, which includes all metric and SI unit abbreviations used with a value (units without a value should be spelled out). You may refer to the following list for guidance, though it is not exhaustive. You may also choose to define these abbreviations for clarity.

2.2.4 Tables

All tables should be inserted into the main text close to their first citation and must be numbered following their order of appearance (Table 1, Table 2, etc.).
Do not submit tables in any other format, such as an image, Excel file, PDF file, etc.
Tables must be built using the designated table tool. Do not use tabs or spaces to create layouts.
Each piece of information should reside in its own cell.
Tables must be numbered sequentially in the text and in the table title.
Tables must be numbered using standard Arabic numerals (e.g., 1, 2, 3).
Each table should have a short title. Any other text should be included at the bottom of the table and not in the table title.
Please refer to any notation within the table with sequential superscripted numbers and not by any other attribute, such as a, #, etc.
Please cite references in the right column by numbers referenced in the reference section. Do not follow the name of the author with et al.
If possible, please do not use abbreviations in tables.
If abbreviations not in the terminology list are used, please list them below the table.

2.2.5 Figures

Figure File Requirements

File type: .tif, .jpg.
Image resolution: Figures should be submitted at a high resolution ① Line Art 800 dpi, ② Combo (Line Art + Halftone) 600 dpi, ③ Halftone 300 dpi. We do not accept 72 dpi web-quality graphics (usually jpg or gif format) in which the colors are not realistic, the text is illegible, or where the images are pixelated. It is important to stress that the objective is to obtain the highest quality images available.
Color space: RGB (not CMYK).
Alpha channels: None.
Letters, numbers, and symbols on figures should be clear and consistent throughout, and large enough. Font used within the figure should be between 8 and 10 points for legibility. Label units of measure consistently with the text and legend, following AMA Style for unit abbreviations.
Solid lines should not be broken up. Any lines in the graphic should be no smaller than 2 points wide.
Do not include trial logos in figures.
Figures should be prepared with the PDF layout in mind. Individual figures should not be longer than one page and with a width that corresponds to 1 column (85 mm) or 2 columns (180 mm).
All figures should be inserted into the main text close to their first citation and must be numbered following their order of appearance (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc.). In addition, file for figures can be provided during submission in a separate file.
Encourage to follow the guideline of WCAG: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/#comparison-with-wcag-2-0
Photomicrographs and clinical and diagnostic images requirements:

Photomicrographs should have internal scale markers. Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background. Explain the internal scale and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs.

For radiological and other clinical and diagnostic images, as well as pictures of pathology specimens or photomicrographs, send high-resolution photographic image files. Before-and-after images should be taken with the same intensity, direction, and color of light.

Figure Label & Panel Label

Use the figure label with the format: Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, etc.
Use the panel label with the format: (A), (B–D), (a), (a,b), etc.
Figure legends begin with the term Fig. in bold type, followed by the figure number, also in bold type.
Figure parts should be clearly labeled. Letters and labels must be uniform in size and style within each figure and, when possible, between figures.
Limit white space between figure panels and within each panel.
Authors are strongly encouraged to limit the number of panels per figure to 6.

Figure Legends

Provide a short title (in the legend, not on the figure itself) and an explanation in brief but sufficient detail to make the figure intelligible without reference to the text (unless a similar explanation has been given in another figure).
Statistical tests used should be described in each figure legend.
All symbols used (arrows, circles, etc.) must be explained.
Abbreviations not in the terminology list but used in the figure should be identified at the end of each legend.
If previously published figures are used, written permission from the original publisher (or copyright holder, if not the publisher) is required, and the figure source must be cited in the legend.
For multi-panel figures, each panel should be described in the legend individually.

In-text Citations

Cite figures with the format: Fig. 1A, Fig. 1B, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, etc.
Cite figures in ascending numeric order upon first appearance in the manuscript file. In the published article, figures are inserted according to the placement of their first citation and caption in the article.
Lettered subparts of whole figures may be cited in any order in the text if the first mention of each whole figure is in numerical order. For example, you can cite any subpart of Fig. 3 in any order (e.g., Fig. 3C before Fig. 3A), as long as Figs. 1 and 2 have already been cited.
If an appendix appears in your article and it contains one or more figures, continue the consecutive numbering of the main text. Appendix materials should be cited as “Appendix Fig. 1, Appendix Table 1, etc.” Do not number the appendix figures, “A1, A2, A3, etc.”
Supplementary materials should be cited as “Supplementary Fig. 1, Supplementary Table 1, etc.”

If you have any questions or difficulties in preparing figures, please contact: BJHM@imrpress.com

2.2.6 Label Styles, Units and Symbols

Labels must be prepared according to our in‐house style, be phrased in accordance with the manuscript, and be free of spelling and other language errors.

*: Correspondence.

†: These authors contributed equally.

§: The author's own special request.

The SI system of units is preferred. For detailed advice, please refer to the guidelines in Baron DN, Clark HM. Units, Symbols, and Abbreviations: A Guide for Authors and Editors in Medicine and Related Sciences, 6th edn (2008). CRC Press, ISBN 9781853156243.

Note:

Always use a leading zero (0) before decimal points: 0.5 NOT .5.
Decimal points must use a full stop/period (.) NOT a comma (,).
A space must be inserted before measurement units: 132 bp NOT 132bp, 5 mm NOT 5mm, 1 h NOT 1h.

3. Supplementary Materials

Authors of manuscripts may provide related supplemental data to be posted online along with the published manuscript. This may include figures, tables, or appendices but excludes large datasets, which should be deposited in a suitable subject-specific or general public repository. Results that are central to supporting the conclusions should be in the main body of the article, not in the supplementary materials. The supplementary files will also be available to the referees as part of the peer-review process. Any file format is acceptable; however, we recommend that common, non-proprietary formats be used where possible.

4. Multimedia Materials

The author may submit all relevant multimedia materials with the initial submission to enhance the manuscript's dynamism and readability. For more details, please refer to "Preparing Multimedia Materials".

5. Research and Publication Ethics

5.1 Research Ethics

If your research includes human, animal subjects or cell lines, you will need to include the appropriate ethics declarations in the Methods section of your manuscript. More details.

5.2 Publication Ethics Statement

BJHM follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals.

Publication of a scientific article represents the means through which the contribution of the scientists is recognized. Along with this recognition, the authors of a scientific article bear the responsibility to make certain that their contribution is original, reproducible, and clearly and honestly represented. It is not always possible to detect the erroneous nature of a set of data during the peer-review process. Therefore, it is vital that all authors carefully review the accuracy of the data that they present.

Authors of the manuscript are obligated to:

Refrain from plagiarism (total or partial submission of the work of others).
Refrain from fabricating (falsifying) data.
Refrain from dishonesty (altering or suppressing information).
Refrain from submitting information previously published or under consideration for publication in another journal.
Describe the work accurately.
Provide the details necessary for the duplication of the data by other investigators.
Include all the data, even if they do not support a given hypothesis.
Cite all the relevant contributions of other investigators and references that allow interpretation of the results.
Include the source of all materials used.
Make available all products that they generate, such as protein, DNA, clone, cell, or other types of material that they describe to other investigators. This should be done with the spirit that the data that are published can be duplicated and that other ideas can be tested.
Abide by the rules set in the Declaration of Helsinki and Recommendation for Conduct of Clinical Research.
Use recombinant DNA for the research according to the rules and regulations of NIH and the institution.
If errors and inaccuracies are found by the authors after publication of their paper, these issues need to be promptly communicated to the editors of this journal so that appropriate actions can be taken. Please refer to our policy regarding the publication of publishing addenda and corrections.

For more information, please see Publishing Ethics and Research Ethics and Informed Consent.

5.3 Neutrality

Potential disputes over borders and territories may have particular relevance for authors in describing their research or in an author or editor correspondence address, and such issues should be respected. Content decisions are an editorial matter, and where there is a potential or perceived dispute or complaint, the editorial team will attempt to come to a resolution that satisfies all parties involved.

BJHM stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

5.4 Citation

Research articles and non-research articles (e.g., Opinion, Review, and Commentary articles) must cite appropriate and relevant literature in support of the claims made. See more guidelines about Citation.

6. Authorship

According to the ICMJE guidelines, to qualify as an author a contributor should meet each of these four criteria: they have (i) made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; and (ii) been involved in drafting the manuscript or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; and (iii) given final approval of the version to be published. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content; and (iv) agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not usually warrant authorship.

The individual contributions of authors to the manuscript should be specified, and initials should be used to refer to each author. If any changes to the list of authors of a manuscript are necessary after the initial submission but before publication, the corresponding author must contact the journal staff and provide a clear reason for the change.

BJHM will individually inform anyone who is added or removed from the author list.

See more details about authorship.

7. Copyright/Open Access

During the period from 1999 (Volume 60) to March 2024 (Volume 85, Issue 3), the British Journal of Hospital Medicine operated under a Subscription (1999–2017) or Hybrid (2018–2024) publishing model. The full copyright (Copyright ©) for all articles published during this period, except for articles originally released under the CC BY-NC license, for which copyright remains with the original authors, has been formally transferred from the original publisher to IMR Press, which now holds the full copyright.

Effective April 2024 (Volume 85, Issue 4), the British Journal of Hospital Medicine has fully transitioned to an Open Access (OA) publishing model. Under this model, the Copyright (Copyright ©) for all articles remains with the original authors. All Open Access articles are published under the CC BY-NC license terms.

To further support Open Science, the British Journal of Hospital Medicine upgrades its licensing policy. Beginning with articles published in 2026 (Volume 87, Issue 1), the publishing license will be upgraded to the more permissive CC BY license terms, with the copyright retained by the authors.

IMR Press will insert the following note in the footer of the first page of the published text:

8. Reviewer Recommendation

Authors can recommend two peers who could potentially be called upon to review the submitted manuscript. Recommended reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Please be aware of any conflicts of interest when recommending reviewers. Examples of conflicts of interest include (but are not limited to):

The reviewer has prior knowledge of your submission.
The reviewer has recently collaborated with any of the authors.
Nominees from the same institution as any of the authors are not permitted.
Please nominate peers whom you do not wish to review your manuscript (i.e., opposed reviewers).

Please note that the Editors are not obliged to invite/reject any recommended/opposed reviewers to assess your manuscript.

Journal editors will make sure there are no conflicts of interest before contacting reviewers, and will not consider those with competing interests. Reviewers are asked to declare any conflicts of interest. The editorial team will respect opposed reviewer requests as long as this does not interfere with the objective and thorough assessment of the submission.

9. Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must declare whether there are any potential conflicts of interest (COIs) regarding the publication and handling of a study. Authors will declare their conflicts of interest in every published article, and the names of the Academic Editors who make the final decision will appear in published articles. The editors and peer reviewers should declare their COIs to the Editorial Office. See more Conflicts of Interest for further information.

10. Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

In accordance with the updated National Institutes of Health (NIH) policies, all manuscripts accepted for publication that report research funded, in whole or in part, by the NIH must be submitted to PubMed Central (PMC). If your research is funded by the NIH or other organizations, we would be happy to assist you in depositing the published version of your article into the relevant repository to ensure compliance with the applicable archiving requirements. For more details, please refer to Self Archive.

11. Editorial Process and Peer-Review

IMR Press operates a rigorous and transparent peer-review process and editorial process that aims to maximize quality. Peer review is handled by researchers and scholars. For more details, see our Editorial Process.

12. Editorial Independence

BJHM is consistent with the principles of editorial independence presented by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). For more details, see our Editorial Policies.

13. Process for in-House Submissions

BJHM requires that editorial staff or editors not be involved in processing their own academic work.

A conflict-of-interest section is required for all manuscripts. If there are no interests to declare for an Editorial Board member’s manuscript, please use the following wording: “Given their role as Editor [in Chief], <NAME of Editor> had no involvement in the peer-review of this article and has no access to information regarding its peer-review. Full responsibility for the editorial process for this article was delegated to <NAME of delegated editor>”. See more details about Process for in-House Submissions.

14. Promoting Equity, Diversity and Inclusiveness within BJHM

Our Managing Editors encourage the Editors-in-Chief and Associate Editors to appoint diverse and expert Editorial Boards. We are proud to create equal opportunities without regard to gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, or socio-economic status. There is no place for discrimination in our workplace, and editors of BJHM are to uphold these principles with high regard.

15. Refund Policy

Article Processing Charges are required after a manuscript has been accepted for publication. The journal will not issue refunds of any kind after the acceptance of the manuscript.

Updated on 5 January 2026