Author Guidelines

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be formatted with double spacing, 2.5 cm margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, and numbered pages. Text must follow the style and language guidelines of the journal, including the use of American English, minimal acronyms, and adherence to proper grammar and punctuation. Titles and headings must use sentence case rather than all capitals.

Organization of Sections in an Article

Cover Page

The cover page must include the following:

  • The complete manuscript title.
  • Full names of all authors, along with their highest academic degrees, professional titles, affiliations, and the locations of these affiliations.
  • Contact details for the corresponding author, including name, address, telephone number, and email address.
  • Acknowledgment of any sources of support.
  • A short title (maximum 45 characters, including spaces) to be used as a running title.

Abstract

An abstract is required for all manuscript categories except Editorials, Commentaries, Letters to the Editor, and Replies. It must not exceed 500 words and should be presented without subheadings.

For Original Research articles, the abstract must be structured into the following sections: Objective, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusions, with a word limit of 500. Figures, tables, references, trade names, or manufacturer details should not appear in the abstract.

Keywords

Provide up to five keywords at the end of the abstract for all manuscript types except Editorials, Commentaries, Letters to the Editor, and Replies.

Introduction

The introduction must clearly articulate the purpose or objective of the study in no more than 500 words. It should outline the hypothesis being tested, the problem being addressed, or the gap being filled, and explain the study’s significance.

Materials and Methods

This section should comprehensively describe the research plan, materials (or subjects), and methods. Include details on how diseases were confirmed, controls were established, and data were obtained and analyzed. Key elements include:

Ethics and Patient Consent

Ethics approval from an appropriate committee must be stated, along with protocol numbers and approval dates. Patient confidentiality must be preserved. Any identifiable data included in figures or text requires explicit written consent from the patient or their guardian.

Study Design

Detail the selection and description of participants, eligibility criteria, and the source population. Include technical information, such as methods, apparatus, and procedures, to ensure reproducibility. Specify all drugs and chemicals used, along with their generic names, doses, and administration routes.

For randomized clinical trials, include details about the protocol, randomization methods, allocation concealment, and blinding, per the CONSORT guidelines (http://www.consort-statement.org).

Statistics

Clearly state statistical methods, quantify findings with confidence intervals, and provide exact p-values. Avoid non-technical uses of statistical terms. Specify the software used for analysis and provide details for all statistical terms, symbols, and abbreviations.

Results

Present results logically and in alignment with the study’s objectives. Avoid duplicating data between text, tables, and figures. Use graphs when appropriate to replace detailed tables. Highlight significant trends and provide both absolute numbers and derived statistics.

Discussion

This section should interpret the results in the context of the study’s objectives, limitations, and previous research. Address how findings contribute to existing knowledge, their implications for patient care and health policy, and the study’s strengths and weaknesses. Avoid reiterating data from the Introduction or Results sections.

References

References must only include published works, in-press articles, or items with a DOI. Use a reference management tool to ensure compliance with American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition)) Style. Arrange references alphabetically in the order they appear in the text. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all citations.

In-Text Citation

In APA (7th edition), in-text citations use the author-date format in either parenthetical or narrative style. Parenthetical citations place the author and year in parentheses at the end of a sentence, e.g., (Smith & Doe, 2023), while narrative citations integrate the author into the sentence, followed by the year in parentheses, e.g., Smith and Doe (2023) found that…. For multiple authors, one author is cited as (Brown, 2021), two authors as (Smith & Doe, 2023), and three or more as (Johnson et al., 2020).

Manuscript Submission

All manuscripts must be submitted online at Global Journal of Health Ethics. You will see step-by-step instructions when you are submitting your manuscript. You will need to submit the following documents as separate files.

  1. Cover Page:Cover page includes (a) complete manuscript title; (b) List all authors’ full names, highest academic degrees, professional titles, affiliations, and locations of affiliations; (c) name and address of the corresponding author, including, telephone number, and e-mail address and (d) sources of support that require acknowledgment, and a short title of no more than 45 characters (including spaces) for use as a running title.
  2. Manuscript:This document should include the title, abstract, keywords, manuscript body, and references. This must be in the document format. Acknowledgment Section should be included at the end of the main manuscript. Acknowledgment should not contain the name of the city or the institution.
  3. Figures:Figures must be submitted in .tiff or jpeg format. Color images should be of good quality. Each image should be less than 1 MB in size. The size of the image can be reduced by decreasing the actual height and width of the images (1240 x 800 pixels or 5-6 inches).

Figure legends are uploaded as a document format.

  • Graphs:Do not embed them in the main manuscript. They should be uploaded separately at the time of uploading the figures in the “jpeg” or “tiff” format.
  • Tables:Tables should be included in the main manuscript file after the references.
  • Copyright and disclosure forms are available for download from the author’s panel and should be uploaded as PDF files.
  • Author’s passport size photo is required and can be uploaded at the time of uploading figures etc.
  • Instruction on supplemental digital multimedia/video content: In addition to the video content, authors must provide a still image from each video file. Supply TIFF or JPEG files. These are also uploaded at the time of figure upload.

Abbreviations 

Abbreviations should be spelled out in full the first time they are used, followed by the abbreviated form in parentheses, unless the abbreviation is widely recognized. For example: Mount Kigali University (MKU).

Specific Details for Each Manuscript Type

Original Article

  1. Original Research Articles
    Original research articles encompass various fields such as biomedical, clinical, behavioral, health management, and educational research within medicine and health sciences. These comprehensive articles should present novel and well-validated discoveries, with sufficient details on experimental methods to allow replication of the work. They must be double-spaced, ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 words, excluding tables, figures, and references. The article should include the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.

Title (max. 150 characters)
The title should follow title case, with the first letter of every word capitalized except for prepositions and conjunctions. It should be concise and clearly reflect the content of the article, making it easy to retrieve electronically. Avoid using abbreviations unless they refer to measurement units. The title page must include the full names of the authors, with their affiliations listed beneath. A superscript number after each author’s name links them to their respective affiliation. Include the full postal address for each affiliation, including the country. The corresponding author must be indicated with an asterisk (*) and their contact details, including email and phone number, in a footnote.

Abstract
The abstract should be between 200-500 words and include the following sections: Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. It must not cite references, and abbreviations should be avoided. After the abstract, list 3-10 keywords that will assist with indexing. It is recommended to use keywords from the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) Medical Subject List (MeSH) where possible. You can check the suitability of keywords using the NLM MeSH Browser:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/.

Introduction
The introduction should be brief, providing the necessary scientific background to the study, highlighting the significance of the issue, and identifying knowledge gaps. It should clearly state the study’s objectives, ideally framed as research questions. Cite a few relevant, recent references. Conclude with a brief overview of what is reported in the article.

Methods
Provide a detailed explanation of the study methods and statistical techniques, allowing others to replicate the research. New techniques should be described in depth, while previously published methods should be referenced, along with any significant modifications. Instruments like questionnaires should be adequately described. Ethical considerations, including the protection of human subjects and informed consent, should be addressed (see: WMA Ethical Guidelines).

Results
Present the key findings clearly and logically without including interpretations or references. Percentages should be supported by raw data, and measurements should be in the International System of Units (SI), with exceptions for certain units like ‘ml’ and ‘mmHg’. Use words for numbers under 10, except when followed by units (e.g., 3 kg, 5 months). Tables and figures should illustrate the results, avoiding repetition in the text. Tables should not exceed one page and should not contain internal vertical lines. Figures should be numbered in Arabic numerals (e.g., Table 1, Figure 2) and submitted separately. Limit the total number of tables and figures to 3 or 4. Authors must obtain permission to reproduce images, and statistical analyses should be included both in the text and in tables/figures.

Discussion
The discussion should focus on the novel and significant aspects of the study, comparing them with existing standards and published findings, without restating the results. It should explain the meaning of the findings, their implications for future research and policy, and acknowledge the study’s limitations. The conclusion should directly address the research objectives and the study’s results, and include recommendations based on the findings.

Review Article

A review article is a balanced, in-depth scholarly study of the latest trends or present status of a specific timely topic, but is not an original article. No new data or personal experiences are presented. It is an analysis of the advances in the field based on a literature review of the topic. A review article includes a concise abstract limited to 300 words. The main article with a detailed description of each disease process with appropriate images and a valid conclusion can be a maximum of 6000 words. The author can include up to a maximum of 100 references, 30 figures including subparts, and up to 4 tables.

Case Series

A series of cases (Two or more) with a common outcome or similar cases are included in this section. A maximum of 1500 words with sub-sections – Unstructured Abstract, Introduction, description of cases and discussion, 10 references and a maximum of 3 figures and/or tables is permissible. An abstract of up to 150 words followed by up to 5 key words must also be included.

Case Reports

Case reports should be new, unique, and clinically significant. The cases must have a diagnostic impact or describe a therapeutic challenge and must provide a learning opportunity for clinicians. Case reports must include an unstructured Abstract (up to a maximum of 150 words), Introduction, Case report, Discussion, and Conclusion. (up to a maximum of 2500 words), references up to a maximum of 15, figures up to a maximum of 4, and a maximum of 2 table. Case reports can have up to four authors.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor and Replies should be brief and succinct based on constructive criticism of articles published in the GJHE within the previous two months. The letter and reply should be solely based on the data published in the article. Letters should not duplicate prior published material or be under consideration for publication elsewhere. The Editor-in-Chief will use his discretion to publish or reject the letter. Letters, usually from authorities in the subject, should have a concise title, be short (up to 200 words. These letters and replies do not undergo peer review. Submitted letters are subject to the editing of content and style. No Abstract, Maximums text – 400 words; Total References allowed – 4; Figures – 2 or a total of 4 images; No Tables are allowed. The maximum Authors allowed is Two.

Short Communications 

A Short Communication of 1,500-2,000 words presents a completed study that is limited in scope about novel techniques, or special cases. It should contain an abstract (up to 200 words) and one other section combining introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusion. It should contain a maximum of two figures and two table, and not more than 15 references. 

 Lessons from the field

These articles document practical experiences and strategies utilized to address specific public health challenges within their actual operational contexts (e.g., leadership, resource management, and cultural dynamics). The focus is to contextualize the insights gained through these efforts. Such articles outline the process and typically include: an introduction or motivation explaining the initial perception of the issue, the contextual or environmental background, evidence-based actions, solution identification, engagement with partners, and the lessons derived. They feature an abstract of no more than 300 words and a total word count of up to 2,000 words, accompanied by two figures and two tables.

 Perspective articles

Perspective articles offer an individual viewpoint on healthcare issues, presented in a straightforward and engaging narrative format. These articles may focus on personal experiences, historical analyses, or scientific methodologies. They are limited to 1,500 words and can include a single figure, one table, and up to ten references. The structure of Perspective articles typically comprises four key sections: Abstract, Introduction, Main Topics (organized with headings and subheadings), and Conclusions with an Outlook.

Editorials

Editorials offer commentary and analysis on either a specific article within the same journal issue or a broader thematic topic. They do not include an abstract but may use subheadings for better reader navigation. The word count is restricted to 1,500-2,000 words, excluding the title and references, and they may feature one figure or table along with up to ten references.

Article Processing Charge

The Global Journal of Health Ethics charges a processing fee to cover the costs associated with the various tasks involved in evaluating, reviewing, editing, and preparing a submitted manuscript for potential publication. This fee supports the journal’s efforts throughout the entire manuscript processing cycle.

Processing Fee Structure:

  • Manuscripts up to 6,000 words: $150

Copyright and Open Access Statement

All of the content published in the Global Journal of Health Ethics is protected under the International copyright law, defined by Creative Commons and International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The author of an article retains the academic copyright of the content and can self-archive the article. The journal retains the commercial rights of the published content and publisher executes the commercial rights on behalf of the journal. The journal also grants to all readers and users a free, irrevocable, global, perpetual right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute and display the content publicly and to make and distribute derivative works in any digital medium for any reasonable and non-commercial purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship and ownership of the copyrights under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International Public License.

Click here to view sample copyright form
(Please note submission portal (Editorial Assist) will provide an option to generate the copyright form online while submitting the manuscript)

Open Access Publication and Creative Commons Licensing

Global Journal of Health Ethics is an open-access journal, and manuscripts published are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 License (CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0), which allows others to remix, transform, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.

Compliance with Funder-Mandated Open Access Policies

An author whose work is funded by an organization that mandates the use of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 License is able to meet that requirement through the available open-access license for approved funders.

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.  For any Questions or Difficulties please contact us at:info@gjhe.org

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