Author Guidelines
The Journal accepts only articles that have neither been published nor are being considered for publication by any other journal.
WAJM publishes reports of experimental and clinical work on all aspects of research in medicine, dentistry and related subjects and disciplines. Manu scripts must be written in the form
suggested in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication by the International
Committee of Medical Journal Editors. http://www.icmjc.org/urm_full
A detailed general write‑up on “Information for Authors” is given in the ICMJE. This article should be consulted by all potential medical authors. WAJM will publish contributions dealing with all aspects of medicine and dentistry and related disorders particularly relating to Africans and black peoples. Articles submitted to WAJM should fall into one of the following types:
(a) Original research article,
(b) Brief communications and case reports,
(c) Medical education matters and issues
(d) Reviews and meta‑analysis
(e) Conference and Workshop reports
(f) Supplements
(g) Editorials and commentaries
(h) Correspondence (Letters)
(i) Patient vignettes
(j) Book Reviews
(k) Association News
(l) Medical and Health News
(m) Miscellaneous (Prose, poetry, socio-political issues, etc.).
The full manuscript, which should be in French or UK English (with abstract in both French and English and of not more than 250 words), is to be submitted by email including full set of tables and figures. Authors should submit an electronic version of the manuscript
(using point size 12 of Times New Roman) and illustrations to wajmeditorinchief@gmail.com
Manuscripts should be typed double‑spaced throughout (including references and tables) and sent to the Editor-in-Chief at the above address.
The manuscript should be organised under the following sections:
(1) Title page
(2) Abstract; Keywords (using MeSH of Index Medicus)
(3) Abbreviations
(4) Introduction
(5) Subjects, Materials and Methods
(6) Results
(7) Discussion
(8) Acknowledgements
(9) Duality of Interest (if applicable)
(10) References
(11) Tables
(12) Figures
(13) Legends to Tables and Figures.
Appropriate variations from this outline apply to such contributions as editorials, commentaries, prose and poetry etc. Abstracts of original contributions including case reports should be structured into Background; Objectives; Methods; Results, and Conclusions.
The title page should contain the title of the article, the names, highest degree, appointments and affiliations of the authors as well as a suggested running title and the details of the corresponding author. References in journal titles spelt as in Index Medicus, Pubmed/Medline, Tables and legends should be provided in line with the “Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals” (1).
MANUSCRIPTS STYLE
WAJM publishes reports of experimental and clinical work on all aspects of research in medicine, dentistry and related subjects and disciplines. Manuscripts must be written in the form suggested in the Uniform Requirements for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals” and as modified by the Journal. A word count must be provided both for abstracts (a maximum of 250 words) and the main text (exclusive of references, tables and figure legends).
Data should not be sliced to the size of the smallest publishable unit but must be a complete documentation of a study. Contributors are requested to disclose any conflicts of interest that might bias their work. They should acknowledge in the manuscript all financial support for the work and other personal connections.
SUBMISSION CHECKLIST FOR AUTHORS
Corresponding authors should ensure that
1. The article is typed in Microsoft Word.
2. All parts of the manuscript are typed double-spaced using Times New Roman with point size 12.
3. Each of the sections is begun on a new page
4. The following sequence is followed: (1) Title page, (2) Abstract, Keywords, (3) Abbreviations, (4) Introduction, (5) Subjects, Materials and Methods, (6) Results, (7) Discussion, (8) Acknowledgements, (9) Duality of Interest, (10) References, (11) Tables, (12) Figures, and (13) Legends to Tables and Figures.
5. Abstract is structured in no more than 250 words, (include a word count) and if unstructured (vide supra) a maximum of 150 words.
6. Four to ten keywords (from Index Medicus MeSH) are provided.
7. References, figures, and tables are cited consecutively in text.
8. A set of illustrations clearly numbered and labelled for orientation is provided.
9. They have included permission to reproduce previously published materials or permission to use illustration that may identify human subjects.
10. A cover letter stating the following is included:
i). Originality of work
ii) Type of article (vide supra)
iii) Approval of final copy of manuscript by all authors. If possible all authors should sign.
iv) Name, postal and e-mail addresses, telephone and fax numbers of corresponding author.
11. They acknowledge potential conflict of interest and financial support.
12. They keep for their own use a copy of everything being submitted.
13. When finally accepted, they enclose signed transfer of copyright and other forms.
14. They have submitted an electronic copy by email to the wajmeditorinchief@gmail.com
REFERENCE
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors uniform requirements for manuscript submitted to Biomedical Journal. http://www.icmjc.org/urm_full
INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Mission and Scope
The West African Journal of Medicine (WAJM) publishes contributions of professional, scientific and educational interest to medical and dental practitioners and researchers and those in related disciplines, with special focus on medical practice and research in Africa and its people. The aim of the Journal is to provide a medium for international dissemination of research findings in West Africa and elsewhere and to promote co-operation amongst and between medical researchers in Africa and elsewhere. The Journal is published in English and French. Supplements are published upon arrangement with the Editor-in-Chief.
Information about previous publication
Manuscripts are considered on the understanding that they have not been published or are not under consideration for publication by another journal. However, publication of the abstract of the paper elsewhere does not disqualify the paper from consideration. When there is doubt about possible duplicative publication, authors should attach a copy of the published paper to the manuscript on submission.
Submission of Manuscripts
The Journal welcomes papers in the form of original research articles, commentaries, editorials, reviews and educational materials as well as scientific, socio‑ political and economic contributions in matters that impact on medical care, education and research. An electronic copy of the manuscript should also be sent to the email address of the Editor-in-Chief.
Professor Gregory E. Erhabor
Department of Medicine,
College of Health Sciences,
Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital,
Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
Email: wajmeditorinchief@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wajmedic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wajmedic
Blog: https://wajmeditor.blogspot.com
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/111507556876991931770
E-mail: wajmeditorinechief@gmail.com; wajmeditorinchief@wajmed.org
Revised manuscript: When revising a manuscript at the request of the Editor-in-Chief, authors should provide a covering letter detailing the response to each of the points raised by the assessors or the editors. A copy should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief by email. Information about electronic submissions is available from the Editor-in-Chief.
An electronic proof of the edited manuscript may be sent to the corresponding author for corrections on request. Such proofs must be returned to the Editor within three days of dispatch by the Editorial office. Typographical corrections only should be effected when correcting galley proofs.
Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the “Uniform Requirements Submitted to Biomedical Journals” (1). The paper should be typed with 3 cm margins and double spaced throughout, including illustrations and references. Pages should be numbered and word-count provided for the abstract and the complete paper excluding references, tables and legends. Point size 12 using Times New Roman should be used throughout the manuscript, using Microsoft Word application.
All contributions are peer reviewed by assessors. Accepted manuscripts may be copy‑edited according to the Journal style. The authors are responsible for all statements and claims made in their work and such claims and statements are not necessarily shared by the Editors or the Publishers or Owners of the Journal. Similarly, neither the Editors nor the Publishers guarantee any claims made concerning advertised products or services.
The manuscript should be accompanied by a covering letter, which identifies the corresponding author and signed by all co‑authors. Only those who have contributed significantly should be included as authors (vide infra). All authors should also sign the declaration and copyright when the contribution is finally accepted. The senior author should provide an explanation for any of the authors unable to sign.
Offprints
Offprints are obtainable from the Editor-in-Chief at advertised rates. These should be paid for at the time of final acceptance of contributions.
TYPES OF CONTRIBUTIONS
Indicate the type of contribution in the covering letter as follows:
Section A: Original Research Articles
An original research should concern itself with a etiology, pathogenesis, pathology, diagnosis, management and prevention of medical disorders. Animal research contributions which impact on human health care are equally welcome in this section. This type of manuscript should have a maximum of 4,000 words and a maximum total of eight tables and/ or illustrations and no more than thirty references.
Section B: Brief Communications and Case Reports
Examples of these include unique case reports, clinical experiences, reports of adverse drug effects, and short reports of original research. The text should not exceed 1,500 words, a total of three figures and/or tables and no more than fifteen references. The format should be as for a standard paper.
Section C: Medical Education
Important innovations in medical education for clinicians as well as continuing professional improvement. Text length and other requirements are as for original research publications.
Section D: Reviews and Meta-Analyses
Detailed systematic and critical evaluation and meta-analysis of the literature on clinical practice topics, drug therapy, mechanisms of disease, current concepts on clinical topics, or other topics of scientific or clinical interest. These will normally be submitted on request but the EIC will also entertain unsolicited contributions. Maximum length should be 5,000 words and should contain sub‑headings (maximum three sub-sub heads). Maximum number of 60 references and 10 Tables/illustrations.
Section E: Conference and Workshop Reports and Supplements
Conference and workshop reports should not exceed 5,000 words, and should be edited before submission. Proceedings of grand rounds are also welcome in this section. The Journal will also publish special issues as supplements upon a proposal having been accepted by the Journal.
Section F: Editorials and Commentaries
Editorials and commentaries are normally commissioned. However, unsolicited ones are welcome and subject to routine assessment. The theme should be topical or on papers published in the Journal. The maximum length should be 1,000 words with no more than 20 references.
Section G: Correspondence
Letters to the Editor should contain a maximum of 600 words, five references and no more than two illustrations and/or tables. Letters may be on matters concerning clinical observations, other matters of clinical relevance or reactions to articles published in the Journal. Correspondence should be typed double-spaced and submitted in duplicate by
e-mail. Accepted letters may be edited before publishing.
SECTION H: Miscellaneous
These include book reviews, prose (100 words) and poetry (60 lines), socio‑political issues related to medical care and personal opinion or issues for debate (maximum 2,000 words).
MANUSCRIPT FORMAT AND PRE-PARATION
Type manuscript in English or French with double spacing all throughout (and for hard copies, white bond paper with 3 cm margins. The paper should be set out as follows: (a) Title page, (b) Abstract, (c) Keywords, (d) Abbreviations (d) Text [Introduction; Subjects, Materials and Methods; Results and Discussion], (e) Acknowledgement, (f) Duality of Interest, (g) References, (h) Tables, (i) Figures, and (j) Legends to figures and Tables.
Number the manuscript pages consecutively starting from the title page through the tables. Each of these subsections should be started on a new page in the sequence given above.
Title Page
This should contain (i) title of the manuscript, (ii) initial(s) and surname of each author, and his affiliation; (iv) name, postal and e-mail addresses of corresponding author, (v) a running title of not more than 40 characters , (vi) financial support information (e.g. agency, grant number). Avoid use of abbreviations in the title. Provide a word count of both the abstract and the main text at the bottom of the title page.
Abstract Page
The abstract should either be structured (maximum 250 words) or unstructured (150 words or less) depending on the type of article. Articles that need structured abstracts include original research papers, case reports, reviews and meta‑analyses and brief reports. Other contributions may be provided only with a 150-word summary in the conventional manner. In any event the abstract should include the purpose, methods, results and conclusions. Editorials, correspondence, commentaries, prose and poetry and similar contributions need not carry abstracts.
Structured abstracts should be provided as follows:
(i) abstract for original contributions, case reports and brief reports should consist of the following sections: (a) Background and objectives, (b) Methods which should include design, subjects, materials, setting and measurements (c) Results and (d), Conclusions.
(ii) A review article abstract (including meta-analysis) should be organised into the following sections: (a) Background/Purpose, (b) Data source (c) Study selection, (d) Data extraction, (e) Results, and
(f) Conclusions.
Keywords: Provide four – ten keywords or short phrases that can be used for indexing, immediately following the abstract. Use terms from Index Medicus Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).
GUIDELINES ON STYLE
Headings in Text: Use a maximum of three levels of sub-headings.
Abbreviations should be sparingly used and only to save space and avoid repeating long names or regimens used more than once. In a figure or table, define the abbreviation in a foot note. List in an alphabetical order all non-standard abbreviations (with definitions) contained in the text after the keywords. Accepted abbreviations can be used without definition. Avoid abbreviations in the title, running title, titles of illustrations, and at the start of a sentence.
Drugs should be indicated by their generic names but not trade names except for drugs showing adverse reaction or those used in comparison of different preparations of the same agent. In the latter case give the generic name followed by the proprietary name and the manufacturer in brackets.
Tables should be submitted one each on a separate page, typed doubled line-spaced, and numbered and referred to in the text by Arabic numerals. Their approximate positions in the text should be indicated. A brief title describing the content in the table should be supplied at the top. Tables should be created using the tables function of the word processing software Microsoft Word, not a spreadsheet.
Give each column of the table a short heading. The units in which results are expressed should be given in brackets at the head of each column. Place explanations in the footnotes but not in the heading. For footnotes, use the following symbols in the given sequence in order from left to right or from top to bottom in the body of the Table *, †, ‡, §, ¶, **, ††, ‡‡, §§ etc. No internal horizontal or vertical rules should be used in the table. If a table must extend beyond a page, repeat the title followed by “contd” and repeat the column headings.
Illustrations or photographs should be submitted in triplicates, and should be black and white glossy prints of very high quality. However, professionally made line drawings are acceptable as photographic prints. Original drawings, X‑ray films etc. are not acceptable. Illustrations should not be larger than an A4 size. Letters, numbers and symbols should be even and clear throughout and of sufficient size that when reduced for publication each item will still be legible. Illustration title and explanatory notes should be in the respective legend and not in the figures themselves.
Provide photomicrographs with staining techniques, internal scale markers and/or a statement of magnification. Symbols, arrows, or letters used in the photographs should contrast with the background.
Figures should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals according to the order in which they have been cited in the text. Patients shown in photo-graphs should have their identity concealed or should have given their written consent for publication. Materials taken from other sources must be accompanied by a written permission for reproduction by the publishers or copyright holder.
Colour figures will only be published at the expense of the authors. Authors should write to inquire from the Editor-in-Chief.
On the back of each printed figure or below the electronic figure, authors should write the figure number, the name of the senior author, the running title and an arrow to indicate the top edge.
Footnotes are only allowed on the title page and in tables, but not within the text. Footnote symbols should be used in the following order, horizontally and/or vertically: *, †, ‡, §, ¶,**, ††, ‡‡, §§ etc. Use of numbers or letters is not acceptable.
Legends for Figures. Type each legend for an illustration double-spaced, starting on a separate sheet, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the figure. This should start with a short title, followed by a short, cryptic description of the legend. All abbreviations and symbols should be explained in the legend. Magnification and stain for any microphotograph should be given at the end of the legend for the figure, where appropriate.
UNITS FOR SCIENTIFIC MEASUREMENTS
Present units of scientific measurements in the units in which the research was conducted (with the conventional or SI equivalents in parentheses) in the text. In a table or figure, a conversion factor should be provided as a footnote
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Acknowledgement of general, financial and material support or technical and secretarial help etc. should be indicated at the end of the main text. It is the responsibility of the authors to obtain consent of those being acknowledged.
REFERENCES
The references should be numbered in parentheses in the order in which they appear in the text, tables, or legends. References should be in the Vancouver style, as laid down in the “Uniform Requirements for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals (1)”.
At the end of the article the full list of references should give the surname and initials of all authors unless there are more than six, when only the first six should be given, followed by et al. The author’s name should be followed by the title of the article, the title of the Journal abbreviated as in Index Medicus, the year of publication, the volume number and the first and last pages. For books, the references should follow the following format: the author, title of book, place of publication, the publisher, the year and the relevant pages. Journals not listed in Index Medicus should be spelt out in full.
Examples of References
Journals: List all authors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list first six and add et al
1. Standard article: Musumuta G, Miakama T, Okoro P. Pneumonia in Lagos Children. West Afr J Med 1997;234:45 –49.
2. Special format: Letters or abstracts: As for articles with Letter or Abstract Oshare, EO. Tetanus in Lagos (letter) Niger Med J 1988; 1: 301.
3. Books: List all authors or editor when six or fewer: when seven or more, list the first six and add et al.
1. Author of a Book
Makamer EN. Diabetes mellitus for Medical Students. 6th ed. Nairobi. Princess Publisher; 1990.
2. Chapter in a Book
(Note: Previous Vancouver style had a colon rather than a p before pagination). Phillips SI, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH. Brenner BM, editors. Hyper-tension: pathophysiology, diagnosis and management. 2nd ed. New York. Raven Press; 1995. p. 465 – 78.
(4) Volume with supplement
Shen HM, Zhang QF. Risk assessment of nickel carcinogenicity and occupational lung cancer. Environ Health Perspect 1994:102 (Suppl ) 1275–82.
(5) Issue with supplement
Payne DK, Sullivan MD, Massie MJ. Women’s psychological reactions to breast cancer. Semin Oncol 1996; 23(1 Suppl 2):89–97.
(6) Volume with part
Ozben T, Nacitarhan S, Tuncer N, Plasma and urine sialic acid in non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Ann Clin Biochem 1995; 32(Pt.3):303–6.
(7) Type of article indicated as needed
Enzensberger W, Fischer PA. Metronome in Parkinson’s disease (letter). Lancet 1996; 347:1337.
(8) Personal author(s)
Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses, 2nd ed. Albany (NY). Delmar Publishers; 1996.
(9) Editor(s), compiler(s) as author
Norman IJ, Redfern SJ, editors. Mental health care for elderly people. New York. Churchill Livingstone; 1996.
(10) Conference proceedings
Kimura J, Shibasaki H, editors. Recent advances in clinical neurophysiology. Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of EMG and Clinical Neurophysiology. 1995 Oct 15-19, Kyoto, Japan. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1996.
(11) Conference paper
Bengtsson S, Solheim BG. Enforcement of data protection, privacy and security in medical informatics. In: Lun KC, Degoulet P. Piemme TE, Rienhoff O, editors. MEDINFO 92. Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Medical Informatics 1992 Sep 6-10: Geneva, Switzerland. Amsterdam: North Holland, 1992. p.1561 – 5.
(12) Dissertation
Chaplain SJ. Post-hospital home health care: the elderly’s access and utilization (dissertation). St Louis (MO): Washington Univ. 1995.
The Holy Bible. King James version. Grand Rapids (MI): Zondervan Publishing House; 1995. Ruth 3:1 – 18. 1973.
Electronic Material
(13) Journal article in electronic format Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Emerg Infect Dis (serial online) 1995 Jan-Mar (cited 1996 Jun 5); (1):(24 screens); Available from: URL: http/www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EOD/eid.htm.
(14) Monograph in electronic format
CDI, clinical dermatology illustrated (monograph on CD-ROM), Reeves JRT, Maibach H. CMEA Multimedia Group, producers. 2nd ed. version 2.0 San Diego. CMEA: 1995. Hemodynamics III the ups and downs of hemodynamics (computer program). Version 22. Orlando (FL). Computerized Educational Systems, 1993.
For full reference information see Reference 1 given below. It is the responsibility of authors to ensure the accuracy of cited references.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATION
1. Consent: All manuscripts reporting experiments in human beings must be accompanied by a statement in the method section that the authors have complied with the requirements of the local ethical committee. If investigators have no access to an ethics committee, the principles outlined in the Helsinki Declaration (2) should be followed. Avoid using patient’s names, initials or hospital numbers. If full-face photographs are to be used, such photographs must be accompanied by a signed or thumb printed informed consent of the person. Animal experimenters must also follow the institution’s guidelines on the use of laboratory animals in research.
2. Criteria for Authorship
The criteria for authorship are as expressed in the Uniform Requirements (1) which state that “authorship credit should be based only on substantial contribution to”:
(a) Conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data;
(b) Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
(c) Final revision of the version to be published.
Authors should meet conditions a, b, and c. Collecting and assembling data reported in a paper are not, by themselves, qualifications for authorship. The corollary also should not be over looked i.e. those who meet criteria for authorship should not be excluded.
3. Conflicts of Interest
Authors should list all financial support, including equipment and drugs on the title page. Details of financial interest that might influence the conduct or reporting of the study should be given in the covering letter. Referees (assessors of articles) should also inform the editor of any possible conflict of interest.
4. Previous and Redundant Publications
Manuscripts that overlap substantially with previous publications should not be submitted for consideration. Publication of the abstract arising from a conference does not disqualify the paper. Authors should submit a copy of potential duplicate papers to the editor.
5. Copyright
On acceptance, the copyright of the paper will be vested in the Journal/Publisher. All authors of the manuscript are required to sign the “Statement to be signed by all authors” and the transfer of the copyright.
DOCUMENTS CITED
1. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscript submitted to Biomedical Journals. http://www.icmjc.org/urm_full
2. 41st World Medical Assembly. Declaration of Helsinki’s recommendations guiding Physicians in Biomedical Research and involving human subjects. Bulletin Pan-American Health Organisation.1990; 24: 606–9.
WRITE/REVIEW NOTES
Submitting Manuscripts: In addition to the information for authors, contributors should note that all submissions should be electronic by email. All manuscripts submitted should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) as an email attachment processed in Microsoft Word and saved as Rich Text Format (RTF). For initial processing, figures may be scanned or taken by digital cameras and attached separately from the text. On acceptance we will arrange, if the need arises, to receive quality graphics from authors. On receipt of the electronic version of your manuscripts, it will be mailed unedited to reviewers. Therefore ensure that the submission follows the guidelines provided for authors. Authors should send two versions of the manuscripts: one with all the details prescribed and a second one without the names and affiliations of the authors.
Review by Electronic Means.
The Journal actively encourages reviewers to complete the peer review process electronically. To this end, the Journal is seeking for reviewers with knowledge of and access to internet procedures to join the team of our regular reviewers. If you would like to review for the journal using electronic means, please send me a mail to that effect and I would send you a formal invitation and the details of the review process.
Keywords for Indexing: Author and subject indexes are published for each issue and volume of the Journal. To facilitate this, it is important that standard accepted keywords be supplied as indicated in the section for information for authors. As stated therein, all keywords should follow those in the MeSH of Index Medicus and/or as in Medline.
Review Articles in Specialties
The Journal is increasingly taking on its role in postgraduate medical education. To this end we solicit review articles in specialized areas of medicine, surgery, dentistry, basic medical sciences and medical education including continuing medical education. If you need further information, please contact the EIC. Those wishing to write for us, should contact the EIC to intimate him about the chosen subject before submitting.
POLICY ON PROCESSING OF NEW MANUSCRIPTS
The Board of the Journal has decided that a token amount be charged for processing manuscript without prejudice to the publication fee on final acceptance.
To this end, a processing fee of fifty dollars (USD 50.00) is to be paid by authors along with the manuscript at submission. This policy took effect from 1st January 2010. Solicited contributions are exempted from the payment of processing fees. All payment should be made payable to “West African Journal of Medicine” and with bank commissions borne by drawers. Payments may also be made to the following Journal account by electronically transfer:
ACCOUNT NAME:
WEST AFRICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 0265229681
NAME OF BANK: GTBANK.
In case of any difficulty, please do not hesitate to contact us by email:
wajmeditorinchief @gmail.com
Professor Gregory E. Erhabor
Department of Medicine,
College of Health Sciences,
Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital,
Ile-Ife,
Nigeria.
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