Submissions

Login or Register to make a submission.

Author Guidelines

Download the instructions for authors

GENERAL MANUSCRIPT FORMAT

The following documents must be submitted separately in the designated Word template format.

  1. Cover Letter

All manuscripts must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes:

  • The title of the article in Spanish and English.
  • The names of all authors, including their affiliations, ORCID iDs, and the corresponding author's information. The email addresses of all authors must be included.
  • A statement on conflicts of interest and financial support.
  • A description of each author's contributions.
  • A statement on data availability.
  • A statement regarding the use of artificial intelligence.

Failure to include any of these elements or to submit the cover letter will result in automatic rejection of the article.

Example of Author Contributions:

JV-A and JT participated in the conception and design of the study, data collection and acquisition of results, data analysis and interpretation, manuscript drafting, critical manuscript review, and final approval of the manuscript. JA-S participated in data analysis and interpretation, manuscript drafting, critical manuscript review, and final approval of the manuscript.

  1. Manuscript File

The manuscript must be submitted as a Word file in A4 size, with 2.5 cm margins, single line spacing, simple spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and justified alignment. All pages must be numbered in the lower right corner, starting from the title page. Do not include the authors' names in this file.

Tables and figures, along with their respective titles and legends, must be inserted in their corresponding place within the text. The use of terms such as image or graph is not correct; only Table or Figure should be used as appropriate.

The manuscript file must include the following sections, depending on the article type:

Title Page:

  • Title in English: Clear, concise, and specific, without abbreviations.
  • Title in Spanish: A faithful translation of the Spanish title.
  • Word count (excluding the title page, abstract, references, tables, and figures), counted using the text editor.
  • Number of tables and figures included in the document.
  • Do not include author information in the manuscript file, as these details will be entered in the OJS metadata database and the cover letter..

 Abstract:

  • Structured abstract (Introduction, Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion) for original articles.
  • Unstructured abstract for narrative reviews and case reports.
  • Abstracts must be provided in English and Spanish and written in past tense.
  • Each abstract must not exceed 250 words.
  • References, abbreviations, and acronyms are not allowed.
  • Letters to the Editor and bibliographic commentaries do not require an abstract.

Keywords:

  • 3 to 5 keywords must be provided in both Spanish and English.
  • Refer to the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) from the Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature Index (LILACS) at http://decs.bvs.br.
  • For English terms, consult the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) from the Index Medicus at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/.

References

  • References must be numbered consecutively in the order they appear in the text, using Arabic numerals in parentheses.
  • References should be as recent and relevant as possible and must follow the Vancouver citation format (nlm.nih.gov/citingmedicine).
  • The use of reference management software such as Zotero, Mendeley, etc. is recommended.
  • All original articles must include the DOI at the end of the reference. If a DOI is not available, the URL of the article should be provided.
  • Avoid citing books, theses, monographs, or websites, even if they are official sources, whenever possible.

Example of Vancouver-Style Citations

A citation is a paragraph or idea extracted from a work to support, corroborate, or contrast what is stated. Citations can be direct or indirect.

  1. Direct Citation

A direct citation is a verbatim transcription of the text. It must be brief (less than five lines), inserted within the text in quotation marks, with the corresponding reference number placed at the end, after the quotation marks and before the punctuation mark.

Example:
"The gluten-free diet should only be introduced after the diagnosis is confirmed, as it can alter serological and histological results" (2).

  1. Indirect Citation

An indirect citation refers to the author's ideas, but rewritten in the writer's own words. It is included in the text without quotation marks, and the reference number is placed after the author's name and before stating the idea.

Example:
As stated by Vitoria (2), the gluten-free diet can alter serological and histological results.

If a work has more than two authors, cite only the first author followed by the abbreviation "et al." and the corresponding reference number.

If the author's name is not mentioned, the reference number appears at the end of the sentence.

Example:
The gluten-free diet can alter serological and histological results, so it should only be introduced after the diagnosis is confirmed (2).

Examples of References in Vancouver Style

  1. Complete Book

Author(s). Title of the book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year.

Example:
Bell J. Doing your research project. 5th ed. Maidenhead: Open University Press; 2005.

  1. Volumes with Their Own Titles but by the Same Authors/Editors

Author(s). Title of the book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Pages. Vol. No. Title of the volume.

Example:
Cicchetti D, Cohen DJ, editors. Developmental psychopathology. Vol. 1, Theory and methods. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; c1995. 787 p.

  1. Serial Monographs

Author(s). Title of the book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Pages. (Series Author(s). Series title. Vol. No.)

Example:
Stephens D, editor. Adult audiology. Oxford (UK): Butterworth-Heinemann; c1997. 657 p. (Kerr AG, editor. Scott-Brown's otolaryngology; vol. 2).

  1. Book Chapters

Author(s) of the chapter. Title of the chapter. In: Director/Coordinator/Editor of the book. Title of the book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Initial-final page of the chapter.

Example:
Franklin AW. Management of the problem. In: Smith SM, editor. The maltreatment of children. Lancaster: MTP; 2002. p. 83-95.

  1. Journal Articles

Author(s). Title of the article. International journal abbreviation. Year; Volume(Number): Initial-final page of the article.

Example:
Dawes J, Rowley J. Enhancing the customer experience: contributions from information technology. J Business Res. 2005; 36(5):350-7.

  1. Conference and Congress Proceedings (Cited as a Book)

Editor(s). Title of the proceedings. Proceedings of the Conference Name; Date; Location. Place of publication: Publisher; Year.

Example:
Harnden P, Joffe JK, Jones WG, editors. Germ cell tumours V. Proceedings of the 5th Germ Cell Tumour Conference; 2001 Sep 13-15; Leeds, UK. New York: Springer; 2002.

  1. Conference Papers and Presentations

Author(s) of the presentation. Title of the presentation. In: Official Title of the Congress. Place of publication: Publisher; Year. Initial-final page of the presentation.

Example:
Anderson JC. Current status of chorion villus biopsy. Paper presented at: APSB 1986. Proceedings of the 4th Congress of the Australian Perinatal Society, Mothers and Babies; 1986 Sep 8-10; Queensland, Australia. Berlin: Springer; 1986. p. 182-191.

Online Resources

  1. Books

Author(s). Title [Internet]. Place: Publisher; Year [revised; cited]. Available from: URL.

Example:
Richardson ML. Approaches to differential diagnosis in musculoskeletal imaging [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington School of Medicine; 2007-2008 [revised 2007-2008; cited 2009 Mar 29]. Available from: http://www.rad.washington.edu/mskbook/index.html

  1. Journal Articles

Author(s). Title. Abbreviated journal name [Internet]. Year [cited]; Volume(Number): Pages or extent indicator. Available from: URL.

Example:
Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes. Am J Nurs [Internet]. 2002 [cited 22 Nov 2012]; 102(6). Available from: http://www.nursingworld.org

  1. Websites

Author(s). Title [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher; Date of publication [revised; cited]. Available from: URL.

Example:
Europan Space Agency. ESA: Missions, Earth Observation: ENVISAT. [Internet]. [Cited 3 Jul 2012]. Available from: http://envisat.esa.int/

Submission Preparation Checklist

All submissions must meet the following requirements.

  • Submission has not been previously published and has not been submitted for consideration by any other journal.
  • The manuscript does not have the names of the authors, this information is provided in the Cover Letter
  • The writing of the research has not been generated by artificial intelligence
  • I understand that if one or more authors do not have ORCID information in the cover letter and metadata, the article will not be published.
  • All references are in Vancouver style, with their DOI or URL. I understand that my article will be automatically rejected if the references are not in accordance with the Guidelines for Authors.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines/a, which appear in About the journal. I understand that if the article does not follow these rules, it will be automatically rejected.

Original Articles

SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR ORIGINAL ARTICLES

 

Research articles on Medicine, Health Sciences, or Social Sciences applied to Health must follow the format: Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion (within the discussion, the following subsections must be included: Limitations and Strengths, Conclusions). The maximum length of the text will be 3,500 words, and up to 8 Figures and Tables (combined total) will be accepted. The highest word density should be in the methodology and discussion, rather than in the introduction. It is mandatory to include a structured abstract (Introduction, Objective, Methodology, Results, and Conclusion) with a maximum length of 250 words, in both English and Spanish. After the abstract, 3 to 5 keywords should be included in both languages. The maximum number of authors is 10. If a manuscript has more than 10 authors, the reason must be justified in the cover letter to the Editor. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses must follow the PRISMA methodology.

 

  • Introduction: Start by writing a brief reference to the research topic. Write the body of the introduction with a concise and relevant literature review. Include bibliographic citations corresponding to each article used to write this section. Do not include data or conclusions from your study. Include the study objectives and end by highlighting the relevance of the research. Write in present tense.
  • Methodology: Write in past tense, clearly describing the study design, selection of observation or experimental subjects, clinical-demographic characteristics, and study period, as well as the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Identify methods, equipment, and procedures in detail so that other researchers can replicate the results. Clearly identify medications and chemical products used, specifying generic name, dosage, and route of administration. Provide an exact description of the experiment, study groups, randomization process, sample size estimation, and statistical methods in sufficient detail to allow verification of the results. Quantify the results and present them with appropriate error or uncertainty indicators (confidence intervals, p-values, etc.). Specify the software used.
  • Ethical Considerations: Always adhere to the three basic principles of ethics: 1. Respect for subjects; 2. Beneficence, and 3. Justice. Names, initials, medical record numbers, descriptions, photographs, or any identifiable patient details must not be published, especially in illustrative material, unless strictly necessary. In such cases, the patient, parent, or legal guardian must provide written informed consent. If the study involves experiments with humans, authors must confirm compliance with the ethical standards of the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) and the Declaration of Helsinki (available at this link). For animal studies, authors must confirm compliance with the international principles applicable to biomedical research on animals, as established by CIOMS and the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS). All experimental studies must have approval from an accredited Ethics Committee.
  • Results: Present the results in a logical sequence using text, tables, or figures. Do not repeat numerical data from tables or figures in the text, but highlight or summarize the most important observations. Tables, figures, and photographs should be presented in the order they appear in the text, following the journal's formatting. The editorial team may modify them if there are technical issues. The maximum number of tables or figures is 8, and each must have a title and explanatory note. Write in past tense and do not use bibliographic citations in this section. Avoid gridlines or shading in tables that may hinder readability.
  • Discussion: Highlight the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions derived from it, comparing results with those of other authors and providing exact bibliographic references. Do not repeat results or information already covered in previous sections. Explain the significance of the findings, study limitations, and relevance of the results for future research. Compare your results with other studies and establish the connection between the conclusion and objectives. That is, conclude by answering the research question or objective stated in the introduction. Each objective must be linked to at least one conclusion, which should be presented in the final paragraphs of this section. When relevant, recommendations may be included. Write in present tense.
  • References: Original articles must contain up to 50 references.

Case Reports

SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR CASE REPORTS

These are examples of clinical cases of diseases that highlight a particular feature or indicate a special finding. The maximum text length is 2,000 words, and up to 3 Figures or Tables will be accepted. It is mandatory to include an unstructured abstract in Spanish and English, with a maximum of 250 words. After the abstract, 3 to 5 keywords must be included in both languages. The maximum number of authors is 5.

A case report follows the following structure:

  • Introduction: Background on the topic with a brief literature review.
  • Clinical Case Presentation: Provide a complete description of the case(s), one by one, without references, written in present tense.
  • Discussion: Follow the discussion methodology of an original article based on a literature review. Also, include differential diagnoses.
  • References: No more than 15 references.

Letter to the Editor

The Editorial Board encourages readers of Medicina Clínica y Social to submit comments, considerations or objections regarding articles recently published in the journal and, in some cases, on relevant articles published in other journals, or current issues. The maximum length will be 500 words, 5 bibliographic references and 1 table or figure. The number of authors will not exceed 3.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.