Author Guidelines

Types of Manuscripts

• Original research articles
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
• Scoping and narrative reviews
• Brief reports
• Case reports and case series
• Research protocols
• Medical and health-professions education research
• Perspectives and commentaries
• Letters to the editor

Recommended Manuscript Limits

Submission Files

Authors should submit a single Microsoft Word file containing:

1. Title page
2. Blinded main manuscript
3. Tables and figures
4. Supplementary material, where applicable

Manuscripts must be submitted through the journal’s OJS submission system.

Manuscript Formatting

• Microsoft Word format
• A4 page size
• Times New Roman, 12-point font
• 1.5-line spacing
• 1.5 cm margins
• Consecutive page numbers
• Clear and consistent English

Title Page

• Full article title and running title
• Author names and affiliations
• Corresponding-author details
• ORCID iDs, where available
• Word count and number of tables and figures
• Funding and competing-interest statements
• Author-contribution statement
• Data-availability statement
• Ethics and consent declarations

Blinded Manuscript

The main manuscript should not contain author names, affiliations or other identifying information when the journal uses double-anonymous peer review.

Abstract and Keywords

Original research articles should use the headings Background, Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusion. Provide three to six keywords, preferably based on Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).

Structure of Original Research Articles

Introduction

State the background, research gap, rationale and objective.

Materials and Methods

Include the study design and setting, study period, participants, eligibility criteria, sampling method, sample-size calculation, data-collection methods, outcome measures, statistical analysis, ethics approval and consent.

Results

Present findings clearly and in the same order as the study objectives. Include effect estimates, confidence intervals and exact P values where appropriate.

Discussion

Discuss the principal findings, comparison with previous evidence, implications, strengths and limitations.

Conclusion

Provide a concise conclusion supported by the study findings.

Reporting Guidelines

Completed reporting checklists should be submitted where applicable.

Ethics and Consent

Research involving human participants, identifiable data or human biological material must have approval from an appropriate ethics committee. The manuscript must state the ethics committee name, approval number and informed-consent process. Written consent for publication is required when a patient may be identifiable. Animal studies should follow ARRIVE guidance.

Clinical-Trial Registration

Clinical trials must be registered in a recognised public trial registry before or at the time of enrolment of the first participant. The registration number must appear in the abstract and manuscript.

Authorship

1. Make a substantial contribution to the study
2. Participate in drafting or critically revising the manuscript
3. Approve the final version
4. Accept responsibility for the integrity of the work

Contributors who do not meet these criteria should be acknowledged. Changes in authorship after submission require written agreement from all authors and approval from the Editor.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors must disclose substantive use of AI for writing, editing, translation, data analysis, coding, figure generation or literature summarisation. Authors remain fully responsible for accuracy, originality, confidentiality, citations and final content.

Funding and Competing Interests

All funding sources and financial or non-financial competing interests must be disclosed.

Funding: This research received no specific external funding.

Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Data Availability

Authors should state whether data are publicly available, available on reasonable request, restricted for ethical or privacy reasons, or not applicable because no new data were generated.

Publication Ethics

Manuscripts must be original and must not be under consideration by another journal. The journal does not permit plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, inappropriate image manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, authorship manipulation, peer-review manipulation or citation manipulation.

Tables and Figures

• Number tables and figures consecutively.
• Cite them in numerical order.
• Provide clear titles or legends.
• Define all abbreviations.
• Avoid duplicating information in the text.

Figures must be of publication quality. Patient-identifying information must be removed unless written publication consent has been obtained.

References

VJHRI uses the numbered NLM/Vancouver style.

• Number references according to first appearance.
• Cite references in square brackets, for example [1] or [2–5].
• List references numerically, not alphabetically.
• Check every reference against the original source.
• Include a DOI where available.

Journal article

Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002;347(4):284–287. doi:10.1056/NEJMsb020632.

Book

Author AA. Title of Book. Edition. Place: Publisher; Year.

Website

Organisation. Title of webpage. Website name. Updated date. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.

Submission Checklist

• The manuscript is within the journal’s scope.
• The work is original and not under review elsewhere.
• All authors approved the manuscript.
• Ethics and consent statements are included.
• Funding and competing interests are disclosed.
• AI use is declared where applicable.
• References follow Vancouver style.
• Tables and figures are cited correctly.
• The appropriate reporting checklist is included.
• Copyright permissions have been obtained where required.