Author Guidelines Peer Review Reviewers Focus and Scope Publication Ethics Copyright Notice Author(s) Fee About misconduct
Author Guidelines
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Preparation of Manuscripts |
Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with "The Requirements" developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/). The uniform requirements and specific requirement of Health Decision (HD) are summarized below. Before submitting a manuscript, contributors are requested to check for the latest instructions available.
HD accepts manuscripts written in American English.
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Copies of any permission(s) |
It is the responsibility of authors/ contributors to obtain permissions for reproducing any copyrighted material. A copy of the permission obtained must accompany the manuscript. Copies of any and all published articles or other manuscripts in preparation or submitted elsewhere that are related to the manuscript must also accompany the manuscript. The material should be sent to any of the two addresses given above.
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Types of Manuscripts |
At Health Decision, we offer authors the opportunity to submit a range of article types. You can find out more about preparing and submitting a particular style of article below. Please take the time to explore these instructions before proceeding with a submission.
Original Article
Including but not limited to Clinical trial, Intervention study, Cohort study, Case-control study, Epidemiologic assessment, Survey with high response rate, Cost-effectiveness analysis, Decision analysis and Other observational study.
• No more than 4000 words (For some articles targeted on policy analysis and health service research, 4000 words may not be sufficient to provide all necessary information. Therefore, the abstract length can be increased to 8000 words for these special topics. This should be mentioned in the Cover Letter.)
• ≤8 tables and/or figures
• Structured abstract (No more than 300 words)
• At least 25 references
• Follow the recommended Outcomes reporting guidelines
Review
Including but not limited to reviews, systematic review and meta-analysis. Note that systematic review and meta-analysis should be submitted as the article type of review.
• No more than 4000 words (For systematic review and meta-analysis, the word count is limited to 4000 normally. But for some reviews, the manuscript length can be increased from the 4000 words to up to 10000 words if the topic dictates.)
• ≤8 tables and/or figures
• Structured abstract (No more than 300 words)
• At least 25 references
• Follow the recommended Outcomes reporting guidelines
Authors who submitted a meta-analysis are recommended to answer the following question in their Cover Letters to increase the probability of their manuscripts being accepted:
(1) Why does the topic require a new meta-analysis or network meta-analysis?
(2) What problems have been solved by this meta-analysis?
(3) Whether the published literature has been systematically reviewed?
(4) What added in the current study when compared with published literature?
Letter
Concise, focused reports of original articles. Specific article types include any of the article types listed under original articles. Usually, supplementary materials were not allowed for a letter.
• No more than 1400 words
• ≤4 tables and/or figures
• No more than 15 references
• No more than 5 authors
• Follow the recommended Outcomes reporting guidelines
Perspective and Insight
These brief papers present a particular perspective on a timely or controversial topic. Authors can describe an important or interesting perspective in clinical medicine, public health, health policy, or health management in a scholarly, thorough, well-referenced, systematic, and evidence-based manner.
• No more than 1400 words
• No more than 15 references
• No more than 5 authors
Comment
Customarily, comments refer to content published in the journal within the past year. Authors of the article to which the comments refers will be given the opportunity to reply, and if a response is issued, both the comment and the reply will be published in the same issue of the journal.
• No more than 1400 words
• No more than 5 authors
Manuscript Style
Manuscripts should be submitted in editable files (preferably as Word). Some detailed manuscript styles for submitted manuscript are listed below:
• Use a normal, plain font (e.g., 10-point Times Roman) and single-spaced for text.
• Use italics for emphasis.
• Use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages.
• Include the line number.
• Do not use field functions.
• Use tab stops or other commands for indents, not the space bar.
• Do not use spreadsheets to make tables.
• Use the equation editor or MathType for equations.
Authors should consult the AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors (11th ed) or the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations) for specific style issues not addressed here.
Submission Components
Each submission should contain the following components：
Cover letter
The cover letter should be addressed to the editors-in-chief and include a brief description of the article, indicating why the paper would be of particular interest to the readers of Health Decision and how it contributes to the field. The cover letter should include at least the following components: (1) the full title and subtitle of the article (No more than 30 words); (2) A brief description of the article; (3) Statement of data and conflict of interests; (4) Acknowledgement and Funding; (5) Additional information; (6) Contact Information for the corresponding author.
Title pages
Generally, the title pages should contain at least the following elements: (1) Manuscript title and subtitle (No more than 30 words); (2) Full names, degrees, and affiliation for each author ; (3) Contact information for corresponding author; (4) Word count, Number of tables and Number of figures; (5) Author contributions; (6) Conflict of interest disclosures; (7) Funding information; (8) Acknowledgement.
Manuscript components
Usually, a submitted manuscript should contain at least the following elements: (1) A structured abstract; (2) Body of article which include “Introduction”, “Methods”, “Results”, “Conclusions” and “Discussion”; (3) Reference; (4) Figures and Tables. Some mentioned elements may not be included in some article types (e.g., letters and editorials may not contain a structured abstract). Detailed information of the submission requirements for specific manuscript types can be found in the section “Article Types”.
Title
Titles should be concise, specific, and informative. Title should be no more than 30 words. Subtitles can be used to provide more information (e.g., A Cost-effectiveness analysis, A Meta-analysis can be used to indicate the type of study).
Author information
(1) The name(s) of the author(s); (2) The affiliation(s) of the author(s), i.e. institution, (department), city, (state), country; (3) A clear indication, an active e-mail address and the address information of the corresponding author; (4) If available, the 16-digit ORCID of the author(s)
Abstracts
Usually, a structured abstract which contained four key sections including “Introduction”, “Methods”, “Results”, “Conclusions” are recommended. References should not be included in the abstract. Avoid using abbreviations unless it has been defined. If trial registration number is available, please provide it at the end of the abstract. Abstract should not exceed 300 words.
Figures
• Figures should each be submitted as a separate image file.
• Upload the images in TIFF, JPEG, PNG, EPS, and PDF format. The file size should be within 5 Mb in size while uploading.
• Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text (eg, Figure 1, Figure 2A, Figure 2B, etc).
• Labels, numbers, and symbols should be clear and of uniform size. The lettering for figures should be large enough to be legible after reduction to fit the width of a printed column.
• Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background and should be marked neatly with transfer type or by tissue overlay and not by pen.
• Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends for illustrations not on the illustrations themselves.
• When graphs, scatter-grams or histograms are submitted the numerical data on which they are based should also be supplied.
• The photographs and figures should be trimmed to remove all the unwanted areas.
• If photographs of individuals are used, their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph.
• If a figure has been published elsewhere, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. A credit line should appear in the legend for such figures.
• Legends for illustrations: Type or print out legends for illustrations using double spacing, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one in the legend. Explain the internal scale (magnification) and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs.
• Final figures for print production: Send sharp, glossy, un-mounted, color photographic prints, with height of 4 inches and width of 6 inches at the time of submitting the revised manuscript. Print outs of digital photographs are not acceptable. If digital images are the only source of images, ensure that the image has minimum resolution of 300 dpi or 1800 x 1600 pixels in TIFF format. The Journal reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce, or enlarge the photographs to an acceptable size.
Tables
• Tables must be submitted in an editable format. Do not submit tables in the format of EXCEL file or figures.
• Tables should be self-explanatory and should not duplicate textual material.
• Number tables, in Arabic numerals, consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each.
• Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading.
• Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations that are used in each table.
• Obtain permission for all fully borrowed, adapted, and modified tables and provide a credit line in the footnote.
• For footnotes use the following symbols, in this sequence: *, †, ‡, §, ||,¶ , **, ††, ‡‡
• Tables with their legends should be provided at the end of the text after the references. The tables along with their number should be cited at the relevant place in the text.
• Statistical estimates should indicate parameter estimates, statistical significance, sample size, and other relevant information.
• Tables can be submitted in two ways: (1) upload tables as separate files after the figures;(2) include tables in the main document after the reference section.
Supplementary materials
Data that are not of primary importance to the text, or which cannot be included in the article because they are too large or the current format does not permit it, can be uploaded as supplementary materials during the submission procedure and will be displayed along with the published article. Supplementary materials are not typeset, so please ensure that all information is clearly presented. Please do not add the title, author list, affiliations or correspondence in the supplementary materials.
• The supplementary material can be uploaded as:
• data sheet (Word, Excel, CSV, PDF, or Zip files)
• presentation (PowerPoint, PDF, or Zip files)
• image (TIFF, JPG, PNG, EPS, or PDF),
• table (Word, Excel, CSV, or PDF)
Author Contributions
HD highly recommends authors to include contribution statements in the work that specifies the contribution of every author in order to promote transparency. These contributions should be listed at the separate title page. We highly recommended to reported according to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Detailed information can be found in Publication Ethics.
Two examples of “Author Contributions” can be found below:
(1) All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [full name], [full name] and [full name]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [full name] and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
(2) Conceptualization: [full name], …; Methodology: [full name], …; Formal analysis and investigation: [full name], …; Writing - original draft preparation: [full name, …]; Writing - review and editing: [full name], …; Funding acquisition: [full name], …; Resources: [full name], …; Supervision: [full name],….
Conflict of Interest
Authors must disclose all relationships or interests that could influence or bias the work. Authors can either submit a separate file of conflict of interest form, or state in a separate section named “Conflict of Interest” in the title page. A template of Disclosure of Interest form from International Committee of Medical Journal Editors can be found at: https://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/. If authors have no conflict of interest to declare, they should note this as ”All authors have no conflict of interest to declare.” Detailed information can be found in Publication Ethics.
Funding information
Include a brief statement indicating all sources of financial support received for the manuscript on the title page. Authors should provide the complete names of the funding organization(s) and grant numbers. If a funder/sponsor participate the submitted work, the authors should include a statement to describe the funder's role. If no funding was received, authors should note this as “The authors received no financial support for this research.”
Acknowledgment
Authors should include a statement on the title page to acknowledge the assistance of anyone who contributed to the paper but does not meet the criteria for authorship. “Acknowledgement” may include editorial or writing assistance, language editing, statistical review. Detailed information can be found in Publication Ethics.
Reference
Manuscripts submitted to HD should follow the AMA style to list their references. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct text citation. Number references in the order they appear in the text. In text, tables, and legends, identify references with superscript arabic numerals. List all authors and/or editors up to 6; if more than 6, list the first 3 followed by "et al." Journal references should include the issue number in parentheses after the volume number. Detailed information of the AMA style can be found at: https://academic.oup.com/amamanualofstyle. A easy to get the AMA reference style of an article is to use the “Cite” function of PubMed.
Some examples of references in AMA reference style can be found here:
1. Sherman SK, Lange JJ, Dahdaleh FS, et al. Cost-effectiveness of Maintenance Capecitabine and Bevacizumab for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer. JAMA Oncol. 2019;5(2):236-242. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2018.5070
2. Walter K. What Is Pulmonary Embolism? [published online ahead of print, 2022 Oct 4]. JAMA. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.17782
3. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS proposals to implement certain disclosure provisions of the Affordable Care Act. http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press/factsheet.asp?Counter=4221. Accessed January 30, 2012.
4. McPhee SJ, Winker MA, Rabow MW, Pantilat SZ, Markowitz AJ, eds. Care at the Close of Life: Evidence and Experience. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Medical; 2011.
