General Submission Information For Authors

We are pleased that you have selected our journal for your manuscript. While we cannot guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication, the following information is supposed to make your submission process easier.

Please submit your paper only if it is in line with the aims and scope of the journal, both from a professional and geographical point of view.

Once all of your submission materials have been prepared in accordance with these Author Guidelines, manuscripts should be submitted online and will be asked to review a submission preparation checklist just before you submit your manuscript.

You are asked to use templates to prepare the manuscript, i.e., the title page template and the main text file template.

Also, you will be asked to submit your manuscript together with a cover letter, which you can download here.

For help with submissions, contact: kristyna.ferjencikova@upce.cz

The journal does not charge submission fees.

AUTHORSHIP

All listed authors must have made a substantial contribution to the manuscript, agreed on the order in which their names appear, and approved the final version submitted for publication.

Authorship is based on the criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which require that each author must meet all four of the following conditions:

1. Significant contribution to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
2. Involvement in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content;
3. Final approval of the version to be published;
4. Accountability for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

In addition to being responsible for their own contributions, authors should be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for specific parts of the work and should have confidence in the integrity of their co-authors’ contributions.

Only individuals who meet all four criteria should be listed as authors. Those who contributed to the work but do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

ORCID
The journal requires ORCID, freely available at https://orcid.org.

ARTICLE TYPE

Editorial - scope: up to 1000 words*

Authors who have an idea for an editorial should contact the journal's editorial office. Alternatively, potential authors will be invited by the editors. Authors should provide an informative title and clearly state the purpose of the editorial. It could be to provide insight, provoke thought, or advocate for a particular viewpoint. Ensure the topic is relevant to current issues in healthcare and aligns with the journal's scope. Authors should use a conversational tone to engage readers. At the same time, a professional tone should be maintained. The editorial should reflect the author's expertise and credibility in the field. All information needs to be accurate and up to date. Sources should be cited where necessary, and a reference list added, while following the journal's reference style. Personal bias must be avoided. Authors should present a balanced view and acknowledge different perspectives. Your editorial may be submitted as a single file (without a cover letter, title page, and EQUATOR Network Checklist) here: Submissions | Health & Caring.

The editorial will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors. If necessary, you will be asked to revise your editorial before it is accepted for publication.

Primary research (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) - scope: 7000 words max.*

The journal publishes primary and original research that is consistent with the journal´s aims and focus. The manuscript shall be written in accordance with the accepted standards for publication and with the Author Guidelines.

Review articles - scope: 7000 words max.*

The journal publishes scoping review/narrative review articles based on a specific research question. The article shall address the research literature and include the related critical analysis. The paper shall be written in accordance with accepted standards for publication and with the Author Guidelines.

Letter to the editors: 1000 words max.*

The aim of the letter is to stimulate an academic debate. Readers may submit letters that comment on the recently published articles, that present a new discussion topic with a clear link to the journal's aim and focus, or that provide an abbreviated discussion of research findings for which full text submission is inappropriate. For a letter, there is a limit of no more than ten sources in the reference list.

*Note: the above scope is inclusive of an abstract, tables, and a reference list.

REPORTING METHOD

The editors of the journal require authors of primary research and review articles (systematic reviews) to use the recommended practices and relevant checklists available on The EQUATOR Network | Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of Health Research in accordance with the research strategy and methodology.

Examples include:

STROBE (The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) Statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies | EQUATOR Network) for observational studies;

CARE (The CARE Guidelines: Consensus-based Clinical Case Reporting Guideline Development | EQUATOR Network) for case report;

CROSS (A Consensus-Based Checklist for Reporting of Survey Studies (CROSS) | EQUATOR Network) for reporting of survey studies.

Alternatively, another relevant checklist may be used, e.g. checklists/tools available from JBI (https://jbi.global/critical-appraisal-tools).

State in the abstract that you have adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines (or another relevant guideline) and specify its name. Include this information in the Methods section of the manuscript and cite the source. The source should be included on your reference list. Submit the completed relevant checklist/tool together with your manuscript.

PARTS OF THE SUBMISSION

Title page:

Please use the title page template.

The title page is to be submitted separately from all other files and must include the following as applicable:

1. A brief informative title. Do not use abbreviations.
2. Include the study design in the title. Example: Cardiovascular Risk in Patients Admitted to the Internal Department: a Cross-Sectional Study
3. The full names of the authors (first name, last name) and all the authors’ addresses.
4. ORCID ID of all authors.
5. Detail the contributions each author has made to the manuscript. See the ICMJE authorship guidelines mentioned at ICMJE | Recommendations | Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors
6. Complete a declaration regarding conflicts of interest from all authors. Provide a declaration even if there are no conflicts of interest for each author (that there is no conflict of interest).
7. Corresponding author’s contact email address and telephone number.
8. Acknowledgments:Acknowledgments, including all funding sources. The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining in writing permission for individual acknowledgements for those persons and their names to be included and for including any sources of funding for all authors. 

 

Main text file

This journal follows a double-blind peer review process. To maintain the integrity of this process, all identifying information—including author names, institutional affiliations, acknowledgments, and any explicit references to the authors’ institutions—must be included only on the title page. No identifying details should appear in the main manuscript file.

 Please use the main text file template.

The main text file should contain the following parts: Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Aim(s), Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion. References.

 The abstract of the paper should be in the form of a single paragraph, not exceeding 250 words, and it should briefly summarize the essential information on the presented study. Also, the reporting method used should be specified. The abstract should not include detailed descriptions, citations, or mathematical equations. It should be structured and should include the following: Aim(s), Design, Methods, Results, Conclusion.

 Keywords: You can use up to 10 keywords.

Reference list

The reference list shall contain only actual sources, i.e. publications referred to in the text. In the list, the references shall be listed alphabetically. References in the text, tables, and figure captions shall be given in round brackets after the text referring to the publication.

REFERENCE STYLE

The APA citation standard 7th ed. shall be used.

Examples of references on the reference list:

Monograph

Slezáková, Z. (2014). Ošetřovatelství v neurologii. Grada.

Koivisto, V. A. (1976). Metabolic and hormonal effects of exercise in diabetes mellitus: an experimental and clinical study. Veikko A. Koivisto.

 Chapter in a monograph

Najvar, P., Slavík, J., Vlčková, K., Kubiatko, M., Pavlas, T., & Janko, T. (2011). Kurikulární reforma na gymnáziích: dotazníkové šetření. In T. Janík, P. Knecht, & S. Šebestová (Eds.), Smíšený design v pedagogickém výzkumu: Sborník příspěvků z 19. výroční konference České asociace pedagogického výzkumu (s. 17–23). Masarykova univerzita. https://doi.org/10.5817/PdF210-CAPV-2012-0

Savickas, M. L. (2005). The theory and practice of career construction. In S. D. Brown & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 42–70). Wiley.

Journal article - 1 author

Sandelowski, M. (1991). Telling Stories: Narrative Approaches in Qualitative Research. Image: the Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 23(3), 161-166. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1547-5069.1991.tb00662.x

 Journal article - 2 authors

Whittemore, R., & Roy, S. C. (2002). Adapting to Diabetes Mellitus: A Theory Synthesis. Nursing Science Quarterly, 15(4), 311-317. https://doi.org/10.1177/089431802236796

Journal article - more authors

Wilkinson, A., Whitehead, L., & Ritchie, L. (2014). Factors influencing the ability to self-manage diabetes for adults living with type 1 or 2 diabetes. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 51(1), 111-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2013.01.006

 

Units of measurement and names of medicinal products

The results of chemical, physical and clinical tests are reported in SI units (Système international d´unités). Pulse, temperature and blood pressure values may be given in conventional units. For medicinal products, the generic name should be given.

 

Abbreviations

If an abbreviation is used, the full name should be given in the text when it is first used. Do not use abbreviations in the title and summary. Abbreviations of standard units may be given without subsequent explanation.

 

Tables

The table should always be included in the manuscript with a key (legend) and serial number, explanatory notes, and symbols of the statistical evaluation. The number of the table should be indicated in the appropriate place in the text in round brackets - (Table 1), (Table 2), etc. All abbreviations used in the table should be explained under the table.

Figures

The figure (graph) should always be included in the manuscript with a key (legend) and serial number. The number of the figure should be indicated in the appropriate place in the text in round brackets - (Figure 1), (Figure 2), etc. All abbreviations used in the figure should be explained under the table.

Figure Attachments

If figures cannot be part of the manuscript as they are in a different format, they can be submitted as a separate file. Figure attachments should be included in the article, preferably in TIFF, JPG, or PNG formats. High-resolution images saved in MS Office format (DOC(X), PPT(X), XLS(X)) or as a PDF file will also be accepted. Photographs should be at least 600 dpi resolution. Figure attachments should be identified by the serial numbers under which the author refers to them in the text and should be accompanied by a caption.

 

Examples of links to a table, a figure, and accompanying captions.

Reference to a figure (graph) in a text: (Figure 1)

Below the image (graph):

Figure 1 The best book

 

Reference to a table in a text: (Table 1)

Above the table:

Table 1 Item and order errors by list similarity for native and non-native groups.

 

INFORMED CONSENT AND ETHICS IN RESEARCH

When conducting research with patients, the editors of the journal require submission of the details regarding the approval of the research by the relevant ethics committee, including the registration number, and/or whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (1964, as amended in 2013). The author shall be responsible to maintain the full anonymity of the patients. Images shall not contain a name, date of birth, ID number or any other personal data and the patient's eyes must be covered (in accordance with GDPR requirements).

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:

Upon submission, authors must disclose whether they used AI-assisted technologies (e.g., LLMs, chatbots, image creators) in the production of the submitted work.

Authors who used such technology will describe, in both the cover letter and the submitted work in the methods section, if applicable, how they used it.

If AI is used for writing assistance, this must be described in the acknowledgment section.

If AI was used for data collection, analysis, or figure generation, the authors will describe this use in the methods section. The description in the methods section should be detailed enough to enable replication of the approach, including the tool used, version, and prompts where applicable.

Chatbots (such as ChatGPT) will not be listed as authors because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, and these responsibilities are required for authorship.

The authors are responsible for all submitted material that includes the use of AI-assisted technologies.

Authors need to carefully review and edit the output generated by AI, as AI can produce output that sounds authoritative but may be incorrect, incomplete, or biased.

Authors need to be able to assert that there is no plagiarism in their paper, including text and images produced by the AI, and need to ensure appropriate attribution of all quoted material, including full citations.

Referencing AI-generated material as the primary source is not acceptable.