Instructions for Authors
Aims and Scopes
The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine®, a peer reviewed journal, considers articles in the related fields of hospice and palliative medicine which are scientifically sound and clinically relevant. The aim of the Journal is the dissemination of medical science to broaden education and advance understanding of the complex issues encountered in these areas. Articles related to multidisciplinary care, end of life issues, pain and symptom management, psychosocial aspects, quality of care, and the like are appropriate for the Journal. As always, emphasis is on information directly applicable to the care of the patient/family at the bedside.
General Instructions
The journal accepts ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS ONLY. Manuscripts should be submitted online at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ajhpm. The editor (or associate editor) will review all manuscripts within 1 month and then inform the lead author whether or not the paper has met the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE MEDICINE criteria. The manuscript then will be sent out for peer review.
Title Page
The title should be brief and meaningful. The authors’ first and last names, highest pertinent academic or medical degrees, and affiliations should follow the title. The corresponding author should list his or her institutional affiliation, current address, contact information including telephone number, fax number, and if the manuscript was orally presented at a meeting, the name of the organization, place, and date it was read. Each additional author should supply email or phone number.
Abstract
An abstract of approximately 125 words should be provided on a separate sheet of paper. This abstract should be factual and should present the reason for the study, the main findings, and the principal conclusions. The abstract should be followed by 6 to 8 key words relating to the article.
Text
This should follow the usual format for scientific articles. Pages should be numbered consecutively. All abbreviations should be spelled out at first mention. With the exception of forum articles, book reviews, or letters to the editor, manuscripts should include the following five sections: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Subheads should be inserted at suitable levels. Style should conform to that adopted by the American Medical Association.
Artwork Submissions
Artwork includes charts and graphs, maps, photographs, line art, and tables with 17 or more columns. For electronic art acceptable file formats include the following: TIFF, EPS, JPEG, and PDF. Microsoft application files are acceptable for vector art (line art). For all scanned images line art (black and white) images should be scanned as a bitmap at 900ppi and photos should be scanned as grayscale or CMYK at 300ppi.
Permissions
Submit with the manuscript written permissions to use nonoriginal materials (quotations of over 100 words in length, or any table or figure), from both the author and publisher of the original. Credit the source in the text or as a footnote in a figure legend. Any photographs of identifiable persons should be accompanied by signed releases that show informed consent.
References
Authors are responsible for correctness and completeness of references. References should be typed double-spaced on a separate sheet of paper. They must be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text by superscript Arabic numerals. References should not include any unpublished observations or personal communications. References should be typed in the style adopted by the American Medical Association, listing up to 6 authors. For example, a standard journal article:
Schoni, MH, Casaulta-Aebischer C. Nutrition and lung function in cystic fibrosis patients: review. Clin Nutr. 2000;19:79-85.
Copyright
A transfer of copyright agreement will be sent to the corresponding author. A completed transfer of copyright agreement signed by all authors must be returned prior to article publication.
Conflict of Interest
Authors are requested to disclose any commercial or financial association that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with their submitted article. All funding sources supporting the work should be acknowledged on the title page. Questions regarding conflict of interest should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine®, 128 Ridgetop Drive, Johnson City, TN 37615-4471.
Publish Ahead of Print With Onlinefirst
Onlinefirst is a feature in which completed articles are published online prior to their inclusion in a print issue, offering authors the advantage of making their research accessible to the public in a more timely manner. Only online subscribers can view these PDFs, but abstracts are available to the public to view for free. Onlinefirst articles are fed to search engines and citation and content repositories, such as PubMed, MEDLINE, CrossRef, and Google Scholar, and therefore are available to be accessed and cited. Each Onlinefirst manuscript is citable by the publication date of the manuscript’s first online posting and the Digital Object Identifier (DOI), providing a persistent, permanent way to identify manuscripts published in the online environment. You can cite Onlinefirst articles as follows:
Author’s last name, first initials. Article title. Journal title. Prepublished month day, year; DOI: 10.1177/0123456789123456
Once your article has completed the production process and before it is published in a print issue, it will be posted online. You can access NNR Onlinefirst articles on the Web at http://nnr.sagepub.com/pap.dtl. Once posted online, articles may not be retracted or edited. If your article is not completed prior to its publication date, it will not go on Onlinefirst but will be posted online with the issue in which it is published.
