Author Guidelines
The Rwanda Journal of Health Sciences (RJHS.), a publication of Kigali Health Institute publishes original research, short communications, and review articles on current topics of special interest and relevance in various health related fields including public health, allied health sciences, nursing, environmental health, nutrition, health policy and planning for wider sharing of results. All manuscripts will be subject to rapid peer review. The language of the Journal is English. The RJHS is published twice a year (March and September).
SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPT
Submit electronically the manuscript in Arial font x12 with 1 inch margin on all sides as an email attachment, including text, tables, and figures as a single file in Microsoft Word (1997-2003; 2007) or rich text format (rtf) to the Editor rjhseditor@khi.ac.rw. The cover letter (i.e. letter of submission) signed by the corresponding author must state what the article is about and why you think it is appropriate for the RJHS. Also indicate that the manuscript has not been submitted elsewhere for publication, that all the other co-authors and the concerned institution have approved the manuscript, and that the paper can be edited for readability. The letter should include the corresponding author's name starting with surname, full address, and telephone/fax numbers. The author may also suggest three to five reviewers for the manuscript (RJHS may designate other reviewers). Only an acknowledgment from the editorial office officially establishes the date of receipt, and a manuscript number will be emailed to the corresponding author the same day or within 48 hours of its receipt. Copyright of the manuscript will formally be transferred to RJHS. Further correspondence and proofs will be sent to the corresponding author before publication unless otherwise indicated.
PREPARATION OF THE MANUSCRIPT
You are requested to prepare the manuscript according to the guidelines of the RJHS and the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals” established by the Vancouver Group (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, ICMJE) updated April 2010 which is available at http://www.icmje.org/index.html. Further guidelines on Good Publication Practice include the following:
i. CONSORT for reports of randomized trials available from (http://www.consort-statement.org)
ii. STROBE for reports from observational studies in epidemiology (http://www.strobe-statement.org)
iii. TREND for reports of non-randomized evaluations of intervention (http://www.cdc.gov/trendstatement)
iv. MOOSE for meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology (http://www.consort-statement.org/about-consort/impact-of-consort/influence-on-related-reporting-guidelines/)
v. PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (http://www.prisma-statement.org/statement.htm)
vi. STARD for studies of diagnostic accuracy (http://www.stard-statement.org/)
vii. GPP2 for Clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies (http://www.gpp-guidelines.org).
Clinical trial registration requirements can be found at: http://www.icmje.org/faq.pdf. A full list of such guidelines is available at: http://www.equator-network.org/resource-centre/library-of-health-research-reporting.
Types of Articles
1. Original Research Articles: These full-length articles should describe new and carefully confirmed findings, and experimental procedures should be given in sufficient detail for others to verify the work. They should be double spaced, between 3000 and 6000 words, excluding tables, figures and references. The articles should follow the IMRAD” (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion) structure.
Title (150 characters) It should be in title case format whereby all words except prepositions and conjunctions start with capital letter. Title should be short describing the contents of the article for comprehension and easy electronic retrieval. There should be no abbreviations in the title unless they are units of measurements. The title page should include the authors' full names i.e. forename(s) or initial(s) and surname(s). The authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) should be listed below the names. A lowercase superscript letter just after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address should indicate the affiliation. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name. Indicate the Corresponding author with asterisk after the author's name and before 'Corresponding author' in the footnote along with phone, fax and e-mail information.
Abstract
The abstract should be between 150-200 words and must include the following subtitles: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. No references should be cited and abbreviations avoided. Following the abstract, about 3 to 10 key words that will provide indexing references should be listed. It is recommended, to use keywords from the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Medical Subject List, whenever possible. The suitability of keywords can be checked on the NLM MeSH Browser at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/ Introduction It should be short, providing the scientific background to the study to demonstrate the magnitude of the problem, its significance and what is not known (i.e. gaps in knowledge). It should contain a statement on the purpose of the present investigation with specific objectives presented preferably as questions. References cited should be few and relevant. The introduction should end with a very brief statement of what is being reported in the paper.
Methods
Detailed description of the investigation process and statistical methods should be provided such that verification by other researchers can be feasible. However, only truly new procedures should be described in detail, previously published procedures should be cited, and important modifications of published procedures should be mentioned accordingly. Research instruments such as questionnaires should be described adequately. A statement of the ethical issues including protection of human subjects and informed consent should be included (see: http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm).
Results
Important findings should be described in logical sequence concisely and clearly without their interpretation or citation of references. Ppercentages should be accompanied by raw numbers. Measurements should be expressed in International System of Units (SI) but use of „ml‟ and „mmHg‟ is permitted. Numbers below 10 are written in words, unless they are followed by abbreviated measurements units e.g. 3 kg, 5 months. Tables and figures (i.e. graphs, drawings, and photographs) should be used to present different results which should not be repeated in the text. Tables without internal vertical lines and Figures should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals (e.g. Table 1, Figure 2), grouped together at the end of the manuscript, and their positions indicated in the text (e.g. “Table 1 insert here”). A table should not exceed one page. Legends of figures should be typed on separate page. Permission to reproduce images must be presented by the author.
Discussion
It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study in relation to available standards and evidence without repeating the results in detail. Explanation of the findings and their implications for future research and policy should be provided. Limitations of the study should be highlighted. Conclusions should be related to the objectives of the study.
Acknowledgements and Funding
All persons other than the authors that contributed to the work should be acknowledged. In this section the funding body should also be acknowledged as appropriate.
Conflict of interests
Any affiliation with organization(s) with financial interest, direct or indirect in the subject matter of materials discussed in the manuscript should be explicitly stated. If there is not, state that there are none. Authors‟ contributions These should have played a significant role in the conception, design, data analysis and interpretation, and writing of the manuscript. They should be indicated by the initials of their names and what they did.
References
In the reference list there should be included only published or accepted manuscripts cited in the text and vice versa. Unpublished results and personal communications should not be in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. They should be typed single-spaced and numbered consecutively in the order in which they were cited in the text. Superscript Arabic numerals enclosed in square brackets e.g. [1], [3-6], or [4, 7, 10] should be used in citing references in the text according to citation order. The US National Library of Medicine format for reference list should be followed as indicated in the following link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/jbrowser.html. Example:
1. Mutimura E, Anastos K, Zheng Lin, Cohen M, Binagwaho A, Kotler DP. Effect of HIV Infection on Body Composition and Fat Distribution in Rwandan Women. J Int Assoc Physicians AIDS Care (Chic III), 2010; 9(3): 173-178.
Online article citations should include DOI (digital object identifier) if available, otherwise provide the URL of the journal homepage and date accessed. Example:
8. Ntaganira J, Muula AS, Masaisa F, Dusabeyezu F, Siziya S, Rudatsikira E. Intimate partner violence among pregnant women in Rwanda. BMC Women's Health 2008, DOI:10.1186/1472-6874-8-17
It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure the accuracy of the references cited.
Abbreviations
Unless they are standard, when first used abbreviations should be written in full followed by their short form in brackets e.g. Institutional Review Board (IRB).
2. Short Communications
Short Communication of 500-1500 words presents a completed study that is limited in scope or preliminary findings about novel techniques, or special cases. It should contain an abstract (100 words) and one other section combining introduction, methods, results and discussion. It should contain a maximum of two figures and one table, and not more than 10 references.
3. Review Articles
Review articles on a topic covering recent major advances and discoveries, significant gaps in the research, current debates and ideas of where research might go next should be exhaustive. They shall also go through a peer review process.
4. Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor are concise comments from the readers about some aspect of a recently published paper or other current issue of concern. 5. Editorial Process Manuscripts received will initially be scrutinized for the format and content by the Editors. If suitable for further consideration the article will be sent to experts in the subject to carry out peer review and their comments shall be communicated to the authors accordingly. It is the responsibility of the authors to respect the deadlines given in the whole editorial process.
5. Editorial Process
Manuscripts received will initially be scrutinized for the format and content by the Editors. If suitable for further consideration the article will be sent to experts in the subject to carry out peer review and their comments shall be communicated to the authors accordingly. It is the responsibility of the authors to respect the deadlines given in the whole editorial process.
