AUTHOR GUIDELINES

1. Identity, Focus, and Scope

Jambura Journal of Health Sciences and Research (JJHSR) is a scientific journal in the field of public health published by the Department of Public Health, Universitas Negeri Gorontalo. The journal welcomes original manuscripts relevant to the following areas: epidemiology; health education and promotion; environmental health; occupational health and safety; health administration and policy; biostatistics; reproductive health; hospital management; nutrition; and health information systems, provided that the submissions fall within the journal’s scope as stated on its official website.

All manuscripts must be written in English before submission.

Manuscripts are evaluated based on their relevance to the journal’s scope, originality and scientific contribution, appropriateness of the research design and methodology, transparency of reporting, research ethics, quality of analysis and synthesis, currency and relevance of references, and clarity of academic writing. These guidelines are intended to promote good scholarly publishing practices and do not guarantee any particular indexing status or quartile ranking.

2. Types of Manuscripts

JJHSR primarily accepts original research articles and systematic reviews, including meta-analyses, provided that the manuscripts demonstrate originality, methodological rigor, scientific relevance, and a clear contribution to public health knowledge and practice.

Critical narrative reviews, methodological articles, short reports, and case reports are not prioritized for publication. The journal focuses on manuscripts that provide robust scientific evidence and meaningful contributions to the advancement of public health research and practice.

All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial editorial screening. The Editor-in-Chief or designated handling editor reserves the right to reject manuscripts that fall outside the journal’s scope, lack sufficient originality or scientific merit, have significant methodological weaknesses, fail to meet the journal’s submission requirements, or do not meet the required standards of academic English. Submission does not guarantee acceptance or publication.

3. Language and General Formatting

Manuscript language: All manuscripts must be written in English. Authors are responsible for ensuring that the manuscript uses clear, accurate, and appropriate academic English. Grammar, spelling, and terminology should be carefully checked before submission.
Main document file: Manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word format (.docx) using the official journal template available on the journal’s website. If any requirements in these guidelines differ from those in the official template, the editor-approved template shall take precedence.
Formatting requirements: Authors must follow the font type and size, margins, line spacing, heading styles, and layout specified in the official journal template. The template’s headers, footers, logos, and journal metadata must not be altered.
Title: The title must be specific, informative, and reflective of the study’s main focus or findings. Uncommon abbreviations and overly broad titles should be avoided. The study location should be included when relevant to understanding the research context or the generalizability of the findings.
Abstract: The recommended abstract length is 200–350 words, written in a single paragraph or in a structured format, as specified in the journal template. For original research articles, the abstract should include a brief background, the study’s novelty, objective, methods, main results supported by key data, and conclusion.
Keywords: Provide 3–6 specific keywords. MeSH terms or other controlled vocabularies should be used when available and relevant.
Originality and exclusive submission: Manuscripts must not have been previously published and must not be under consideration by another journal. Simultaneous submission to multiple journals is not permitted.
Author approval and responsibility: All authors must approve the final version of the manuscript, the order of authorship, and the submission. The corresponding author is responsible for handling all editorial communications on behalf of the authors

4. Structure of Original Research Articles

The recommended order of sections is as follows: Title; Authors and Affiliations (on the title page); Abstract; Keywords; Introduction; Methods; Results; Discussion; Conclusion; Limitations; Declarations; Acknowledgments (if applicable); References; and Supplementary Material (if applicable). Use clear and consistent headings throughout the manuscript. For journals using anonymous peer review, authors must upload the title page as a separate file and remove identifying information from the main manuscript and file metadata.

4.1. Introduction

The Introduction should establish a clear scientific rationale and follow a logical progression: problem → evidence → state of the art → research gap → novelty/contribution → objective. It should not consist merely of definitions or a study-by-study summary of the literature.

Problem: Define the specific public health problem, the affected population, the scale of the problem, and the scientific rationale for its importance.
Evidence: Use relevant international, national, and local data, where available. Prioritize official statistics, primary studies, high-quality systematic reviews, and recent sources. Specify the year, population, and context of the data.
State of the art: Synthesize and compare previous research according to themes, populations, theories, methods, or contexts. Identify patterns in the findings, as well as consistencies and inconsistencies in the available evidence.
Research gap: Identify what remains unknown, inconsistencies in the evidence, methodological limitations, underrepresented populations, or mechanisms and contexts that have not been adequately investigated. The research gap must be supported by a review of the relevant literature.
Novelty and contribution: Explain the specific contribution of the study rather than merely stating that it was conducted in a different location. Contributions may include hypothesis testing, the application of a more appropriate method, evidence from an underrepresented population, investigation of a specific mechanism, or implications for policy and practice.
Objective: Conclude the Introduction with a clear and measurable research objective or question that is consistent with the identified gap and study design. Personal reasons should not serve as the primary justification for conducting the research.

All data, factual claims, theories, and ideas derived from other sources must be cited. Use numbered Vancouver-style citations in the order in which sources first appear. Place citation numbers before the period, for example: “... remains a public health challenge (1).” Repeated citations must use the same number. Use a range for consecutive references, such as (2–4), in accordance with the reference manager settings.

4.2. Methods

The Methods section must be written systematically and in sufficient detail to enable replication. Use paragraphs and subheadings where appropriate; do not simply name the study design or statistical tests without explaining the procedures.

The Methods section should include the following information, as applicable:

Study design, setting, and period: Describe the study design and justify its selection. Specify the research setting or location and the study period.
Population and study setting: Describe the target population, accessible population, unit of analysis, sampling frame, and relevant characteristics of the study setting.
Sample: Explain the sampling technique, inclusion and exclusion criteria, recruitment process, and sample size calculation. Report the assumptions and parameters used, including the significance level, statistical power and effect size, or expected prevalence, as appropriate. Explain how nonresponse was anticipated or addressed when relevant.
Variables and operational definitions: Identify exposure variables, outcome variables, covariates, and potential confounders. Provide operational definitions, sources of definitions, categories or cut-off values, measurement scales, and measurement time points.
Instruments and measurement tools: Describe the instruments or tools used, their sources, adaptation or translation procedures, validity, reliability, calibration, pilot testing, and data collector training, where applicable.
Data collection and management: Explain the data collection procedures, sequence of interventions or measurements, data sources, data management, confidentiality measures, and handling of missing data.
Bias and confounding: Identify potential sources of bias and confounding and describe the measures used to prevent or control them. Where applicable, explain blinding, standardization, matching, statistical adjustment, or sensitivity analyses.
Data analysis: Describe the descriptive statistics, assumption checks, statistical tests or models, rationale for their selection, statistical software and version, significance level (e.g., α = 0.05), effect estimates, and confidence intervals. Explain the handling of missing data and multiple comparisons or analyses, where relevant.
Ethical considerations: State the name of the ethics committee or approving institution, the ethics approval number and year, informed consent or assent procedures, data protection measures, and institutional permissions. Do not claim that ethical approval was obtained if it was not.

Use reporting guidelines appropriate to the study design: STROBE for observational studies; CONSORT for randomized trials; PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses; COREQ or SRQR for qualitative studies; and other relevant EQUATOR Network guidelines. Completed checklists may be requested during submission.

4.3. Results

Present findings in the order of the research objectives or questions, distinguishing descriptive results from inferential analyses.
Report the number of participants at each study stage, sample characteristics, missing data, and relevant denominators.
Report estimates, effect sizes, confidence intervals, p-values, and test statistics appropriate to the analysis. Do not report p = 0.000; use p < 0.001 when appropriate.
Use the narrative to highlight the principal findings rather than repeat every number presented in tables. Avoid extensive interpretation in the Results section.
Qualitative findings should present themes and subthemes, describe the analytical process transparently, and include anonymized participant quotations where appropriate.
Do not interpret a statistically nonsignificant result as proof that no association or effect exists.

4.4. Tables, Figures, and Graphs

Number tables and figures consecutively and refer to each one in the text. Place table titles above the tables and figure or graph captions below the figures.
Tables and figures must be legible, informative, nonredundant, and placed close to their first mention in the text.
Use open tables without vertical lines, applying horizontal lines only where necessary. Avoid three-dimensional graphs and visual presentations that may be misleading.
Explain abbreviations, symbols, units, denominators, and statistical tests in notes below the relevant table or figure.
Provide source citations for tables or figures adapted from or reproduced from other sources, and obtain permission where required.
Use a period as the decimal separator in English-language manuscripts. Maintain consistent decimal formatting throughout the manuscript.
Figures must have sufficient resolution for publication and must not be manipulated in ways that alter the scientific meaning of the data.

4.5. Discussion

The Discussion is the main analytical section of the manuscript and must not merely repeat the Results. It should follow a logical sequence: key findings → interpretation → theory/mechanisms → comparison with previous studies → explanations for similarities and differences → implications.

Begin by highlighting the principal findings that address the study objectives.
Explain the meaning of the findings and the plausible mechanisms underlying them. Clearly distinguish interpretations supported by the data from hypotheses that require further investigation.
Critically compare the findings with relevant, recent, and high-quality primary studies and reviews. Substantively explain the similarities and differences between the present findings and those of previous research.
Discuss plausible explanations for differences in findings, including population characteristics, study settings, variable definitions, measurement instruments, study designs, sample sizes, confounding factors, and health system contexts. Avoid unsupported speculation.
Explain the implications for public health, healthcare services, programs, policies, theory, or future research, ensuring that the implications are proportionate to the strength of the evidence.
For cross-sectional studies, use terms such as “associated with,” “related to,” or “correlated with,” as appropriate. Do not draw direct causal conclusions unless supported by the study design and analytical methods.
Avoid generalizations beyond the study population, setting, and period. Statistical significance does not automatically imply clinical or policy significance.

4.6. Conclusion and Limitations

The Conclusion must directly address the study objectives and be supported by the findings. Do not introduce new data or make claims that extend beyond what the study design and results can support. Recommendations should be realistic and directly linked to the findings.

Include an explicit Limitations subsection describing the limitations related to the study design, sampling, measurement, bias, confounding, and generalizability, as applicable. Explain how these limitations may affect the interpretation of the findings and describe any measures taken to mitigate their potential impact.

5. Required Declarations and Transparency

Include the declarations section after the Conclusion and Limitations and before the References, following the order specified in the journal template. If a declaration is not applicable, state this explicitly.

Ethics Approval: Provide the name of the ethics committee, approval number, and year of approval. If a formal exemption from ethical review has been granted, explain the basis for the exemption and identify the authority that granted it.
Informed Consent: State the form of consent obtained from participants or their legal guardians, or indicate whether a waiver of consent was approved by the ethics committee.
Consent for Publication: Include this declaration when the manuscript contains identifiable information or images of individuals.
Funding: Identify the funding organization, grant number, and the funder's role in the study. If no specific funding was received, explicitly state that the research received no specific grant or funding.
Conflict of Interest: Disclose any relevant financial or non-financial conflicts of interest, or explicitly state that no conflicts of interest exist.
Acknowledgments: Acknowledge individuals or organizations that provided substantial assistance but do not meet the criteria for authorship. Ensure that permission has been obtained from all individuals named in this section.
Author Contributions: Use the relevant roles from the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT): Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data Curation, Writing—Original Draft, Writing—Review & Editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project Administration, and Funding Acquisition.
Data Availability: Provide the repository name, DOI, URL, or a legitimate procedure for requesting access to the data. If access is restricted for ethical or privacy reasons, explain the justification and applicable restrictions.
AI Use Statement: Disclose the name of any generative AI tool used and its specific purpose, including drafting, editing, translation, analysis, coding, or image generation, where applicable. For example: “The authors used [tool] for [specific purpose]. All outputs were critically reviewed and verified by the authors, who take full responsibility for the manuscript.” If no generative AI tools were used, state this explicitly. AI tools cannot be listed as authors; human authors retain full responsibility for the scientific integrity of the manuscript.
Protocol Registration: For clinical trials and relevant reviews, provide the registry name, registration number, and URL. For systematic reviews and meta-analyses, state whether the protocol was registered and provide the registration details, if applicable. If no protocol registration was undertaken, state this explicitly where relevant.
Availability of Materials and Code: Where applicable, explain how readers can access research instruments, analysis code, protocols, or supplementary materials.

6. Publication Ethics and Scientific Integrity

Plagiarism, misleading self-plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, image manipulation, fabricated citations, and inappropriate authorship are prohibited.
Manuscripts must be original, must not be under consideration by another journal, and must not duplicate previously published work without adequate transparency.
All authors must make substantial contributions, approve the final manuscript, and accept responsibility for its integrity. Any changes to authorship after submission must be justified, supported by written consent from all parties concerned, and approved by the editor.
Editors and reviewers must maintain confidentiality, disclose conflicts of interest, and refrain from using information obtained from manuscripts for personal benefit.
Peer review must be conducted independently in accordance with the journal's policies. Reviewers are expected to provide specific, constructive, evidence-based, and respectful comments.
Authors must disclose the use of AI in accordance with the journal's policies. AI tools cannot be listed as authors and must not replace scientific analysis or validation. They must not be used to generate misleading data, results, citations, or images.
Editors may conduct checks on similarity, references, images, data, and ethical compliance. Suspected misconduct will be handled through fair procedures guided by the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

7. References and Citations: Vancouver Style

Use numbered Vancouver-style references in the order in which they first appear in the text, rather than alphabetically. Every reference listed must be cited in the text, and every in-text citation must correspond to an entry in the reference list. Use journal title abbreviations in accordance with the NLM Catalog or Index Medicus, where available. Include the DOI in the format https://doi.org/... whenever one is available.

As an editorial recommendation, research articles should include at least 15 references, with a high proportion of primary sources and publications from the preceding 10 years. The proposed operational targets are at least 80% primary sources and at least 80% references published within the past 10 years, except where older, seminal sources are necessary. These targets represent a proposed editorial policy and must be formally approved before implementation.

Single citation: ... remains a public health concern (1).
Multiple citations: ... has been reported across several populations (2,3).
Consecutive references: ... has been documented in various studies (4–6).
Example of a journal article:

Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372. doi:10.1136/bmj.n71.
Example of a journal article with a DOI:

von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M, Pocock SJ, Gøtzsche PC, Vandenbroucke JP. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement. PLoS Med. 2007;4(10). doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040296.
Example of a book:

World Health Organization. World health statistics 2024: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024.

7.1. Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, and Reference Management Software

Authors are encouraged to use Zotero, Mendeley Reference Manager, EndNote, or equivalent reference management software.
Select the Vancouver citation style or a journal-specific style that has been approved and is compatible with Vancouver formatting.
Import bibliographic metadata from DOI records, PubMed, Crossref, or publisher websites. Verify the authors' names, article title, publication year, volume, issue, page numbers or article number, and DOI.
Use word-processing plugins to insert citations and generate reference lists automatically. Do not mix manually numbered references with automatically generated citations.
Before submission, update the bibliography, ensure that references are numbered according to their order of appearance, verify that all in-text citations correspond to the reference list, and check that DOIs and URLs are functional.

8. Reporting Guidelines by Study Design

Observational studies should follow STROBE. Randomized clinical trials and randomized intervention studies should follow CONSORT and be prospectively registered in accordance with applicable requirements. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should follow PRISMA, describe the search and study selection strategies, assess the risk of bias, explain the synthesis methods and heterogeneity, and report protocol registration where applicable.

Qualitative studies should follow COREQ or SRQR and describe the research paradigm, sampling strategy, researcher positionality or reflexivity, data collection procedures, analytical approach, and trustworthiness. Diagnostic accuracy studies should consider STARD, while prediction model studies should consider TRIPOD. Authors must use the reporting checklist most appropriate to their study design. Completed checklists may be requested during submission.

9. Submission and Peer Review Process

Manuscripts must be submitted through the journal's Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. Authors must register or log in to submit manuscripts and track their progress.
Upload all required files in accordance with the submission instructions, including the main manuscript, a separate title page where required, supplementary files, relevant reporting checklists, and applicable ethics approval or permission documents.
For double-blind peer review, the main manuscript must not contain author names, affiliations, or other identifying information in the text or file metadata. Avoid unnecessary self-citations that may reveal author identities, but do not remove or obscure references in a misleading manner.
The editor conducts an initial screening to assess the manuscript's scope, completeness, originality, ethical compliance, methodological quality, and novelty. Manuscripts may be returned for technical corrections or rejected before peer review.
Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are evaluated by independent reviewers in accordance with the journal's policies. Editorial decisions may include revision, acceptance, or rejection. A request for revision does not guarantee acceptance.
Authors submitting a revised manuscript must respond to every reviewer comment, indicate the changes made and their corresponding page or line numbers, and provide a polite, scientifically justified explanation when they choose not to implement a particular suggestion.

10. Pre-Submission Checklist

Before submitting a manuscript, authors should ensure that all the following requirements have been met.

☐ The manuscript is within the journal's scope and complies with the official journal template.

☐ The Introduction presents relevant evidence, synthesizes the state of the art, identifies the research gap and novelty, and clearly states the research objectives.

☐ The Methods section provides sufficient detail to enable replication, including sample size determination, instruments, data analysis, and ethical considerations.

☐ The Results address the research objectives and report statistical findings completely and appropriately.

☐ The Discussion provides critical analysis, compares the findings with previous studies, explains plausible reasons for differences, and discusses relevant implications.

☐ The study limitations are explicitly stated.

☐ All tables and figures are numbered, titled, cited in the text, and provided with appropriate notes and sources.

☐ Vancouver referencing is applied consistently. Reference metadata and DOIs have been verified using reference management software.

☐ All applicable declarations have been completed, including ethics approval, informed consent, funding, conflicts of interest, acknowledgments, author contributions, data availability, and AI use.

☐ All authors have approved the final manuscript and submission. Anonymized files have been prepared where required by the journal's peer review policy.

11. Policy References and Important Links

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. Available at: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Core Practices. Available at: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
EQUATOR Network. Reporting Guidelines for Health Research. Available at: https://www.equator-network.org/
National Library of Medicine (NLM). Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/
Elsevier/Scopus. Content Policy and Selection Criteria. This resource outlines relevant considerations for journal evaluation, including peer review, publication regularity, international readability, and publication ethics. Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/products/scopus/content/content-policy-and-selection
Elsevier. Publishing Ethics. Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/publishing-ethics

5. Required Declarations and Transparency

Ethics Approval: Provide the name of the ethics committee, approval number, and year of approval. If a formal exemption from ethical review has been granted, explain the basis for the exemption and identify the authority that granted it.
Informed Consent: State the form of consent obtained from participants or their legal guardians, or indicate whether a waiver of consent was approved by the ethics committee.
Consent for Publication: Include this declaration when the manuscript contains identifiable information or images of individuals.
Funding: Identify the funding organization, grant number, and the funder's role in the study. If no specific funding was received, explicitly state that the research received no specific grant or funding.
Conflict of Interest: Disclose any relevant financial or non-financial conflicts of interest, or explicitly state that no conflicts of interest exist.
Acknowledgments: Acknowledge individuals or organizations that provided substantial assistance but do not meet the criteria for authorship. Ensure that permission has been obtained from all individuals named in this section.
Author Contributions: Use the relevant roles from the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT): Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data Curation, Writing—Original Draft, Writing—Review & Editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project Administration, and Funding Acquisition.
Data Availability: Provide the repository name, DOI, URL, or a legitimate procedure for requesting access to the data. If access is restricted for ethical or privacy reasons, explain the justification and applicable restrictions.
AI Use Statement: Disclose the name of any generative AI tool used and its specific purpose, including drafting, editing, translation, analysis, coding, or image generation, where applicable. For example: “The authors used [tool] for [specific purpose]. All outputs were critically reviewed and verified by the authors, who take full responsibility for the manuscript.” If no generative AI tools were used, state this explicitly. AI tools cannot be listed as authors; human authors retain full responsibility for the scientific integrity of the manuscript.
Protocol Registration: For clinical trials and relevant reviews, provide the registry name, registration number, and URL. For systematic reviews and meta-analyses, state whether the protocol was registered and provide the registration details, if applicable. If no protocol registration was undertaken, state this explicitly where relevant.
Availability of Materials and Code: Where applicable, explain how readers can access research instruments, analysis code, protocols, or supplementary materials.

6. Publication Ethics and Scientific Integrity

Plagiarism, misleading self-plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, image manipulation, fabricated citations, and inappropriate authorship are prohibited.
Manuscripts must be original, must not be under consideration by another journal, and must not duplicate previously published work without adequate transparency.
All authors must make substantial contributions, approve the final manuscript, and accept responsibility for its integrity. Any changes to authorship after submission must be justified, supported by written consent from all parties concerned, and approved by the editor.
Editors and reviewers must maintain confidentiality, disclose conflicts of interest, and refrain from using information obtained from manuscripts for personal benefit.
Peer review must be conducted independently in accordance with the journal's policies. Reviewers are expected to provide specific, constructive, evidence-based, and respectful comments.
Authors must disclose the use of AI in accordance with the journal's policies. AI tools cannot be listed as authors and must not replace scientific analysis or validation. They must not be used to generate misleading data, results, citations, or images.
Editors may conduct checks on similarity, references, images, data, and ethical compliance. Suspected misconduct will be handled through fair procedures guided by the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

5. Required Declarations and Transparency

Ethics Approval: Provide the name of the ethics committee, approval number, and year of approval. If a formal exemption from ethical review has been granted, explain the basis for the exemption and identify the authority that granted it.
Informed Consent: State the form of consent obtained from participants or their legal guardians, or indicate whether a waiver of consent was approved by the ethics committee.
Consent for Publication: Include this declaration when the manuscript contains identifiable information or images of individuals.
Funding: Identify the funding organization, grant number, and the funder's role in the study. If no specific funding was received, explicitly state that the research received no specific grant or funding.
Conflict of Interest: Disclose any relevant financial or non-financial conflicts of interest, or explicitly state that no conflicts of interest exist.
Acknowledgments: Acknowledge individuals or organizations that provided substantial assistance but do not meet the criteria for authorship. Ensure that permission has been obtained from all individuals named in this section.
Author Contributions: Use the relevant roles from the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT): Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data Curation, Writing—Original Draft, Writing—Review & Editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project Administration, and Funding Acquisition.
Data Availability: Provide the repository name, DOI, URL, or a legitimate procedure for requesting access to the data. If access is restricted for ethical or privacy reasons, explain the justification and applicable restrictions.
AI Use Statement: Disclose the name of any generative AI tool used and its specific purpose, including drafting, editing, translation, analysis, coding, or image generation, where applicable. For example: “The authors used [tool] for [specific purpose]. All outputs were critically reviewed and verified by the authors, who take full responsibility for the manuscript.” If no generative AI tools were used, state this explicitly. AI tools cannot be listed as authors; human authors retain full responsibility for the scientific integrity of the manuscript.
Protocol Registration: For clinical trials and relevant reviews, provide the registry name, registration number, and URL. For systematic reviews and meta-analyses, state whether the protocol was registered and provide the registration details, if applicable. If no protocol registration was undertaken, state this explicitly where relevant.
Availability of Materials and Code: Where applicable, explain how readers can access research instruments, analysis code, protocols, or supplementary materials.

6. Publication Ethics and Scientific Integrity

Plagiarism, misleading self-plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, image manipulation, fabricated citations, and inappropriate authorship are prohibited.
Manuscripts must be original, must not be under consideration by another journal, and must not duplicate previously published work without adequate transparency.
All authors must make substantial contributions, approve the final manuscript, and accept responsibility for its integrity. Any changes to authorship after submission must be justified, supported by written consent from all parties concerned, and approved by the editor.
Editors and reviewers must maintain confidentiality, disclose conflicts of interest, and refrain from using information obtained from manuscripts for personal benefit.
Peer review must be conducted independently in accordance with the journal's policies. Reviewers are expected to provide specific, constructive, evidence-based, and respectful comments.
Authors must disclose the use of AI in accordance with the journal's policies. AI tools cannot be listed as authors and must not replace scientific analysis or validation. They must not be used to generate misleading data, results, citations, or images.
Editors may conduct checks on similarity, references, images, data, and ethical compliance. Suspected misconduct will be handled through fair procedures guided by the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

7. References and Citations: Vancouver Style

Single citation: ... remains a public health concern (1).
Multiple citations: ... has been reported across several populations (2,3).
Consecutive references: ... has been documented in various studies (4–6).
Example of a journal article:

Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. 2021;372. doi:10.1136/bmj.n71.
Example of a journal article with a DOI:

von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M, Pocock SJ, Gøtzsche PC, Vandenbroucke JP. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement. PLoS Med. 2007;4(10). doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040296.
Example of a book:

World Health Organization. World health statistics 2024: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024.

7.1. Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, and Reference Management Software

Authors are encouraged to use Zotero, Mendeley Reference Manager, EndNote, or equivalent reference management software.
Select the Vancouver citation style or a journal-specific style that has been approved and is compatible with Vancouver formatting.
Import bibliographic metadata from DOI records, PubMed, Crossref, or publisher websites. Verify the authors' names, article title, publication year, volume, issue, page numbers or article number, and DOI.
Use word-processing plugins to insert citations and generate reference lists automatically. Do not mix manually numbered references with automatically generated citations.
Before submission, update the bibliography, ensure that references are numbered according to their order of appearance, verify that all in-text citations correspond to the reference list, and check that DOIs and URLs are functional.

8. Reporting Guidelines by Study Design

9. Submission and Peer Review Process

Manuscripts must be submitted through the journal's Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. Authors must register or log in to submit manuscripts and track their progress.
Upload all required files in accordance with the submission instructions, including the main manuscript, a separate title page where required, supplementary files, relevant reporting checklists, and applicable ethics approval or permission documents.
For double-blind peer review, the main manuscript must not contain author names, affiliations, or other identifying information in the text or file metadata. Avoid unnecessary self-citations that may reveal author identities, but do not remove or obscure references in a misleading manner.
The editor conducts an initial screening to assess the manuscript's scope, completeness, originality, ethical compliance, methodological quality, and novelty. Manuscripts may be returned for technical corrections or rejected before peer review.
Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are evaluated by independent reviewers in accordance with the journal's policies. Editorial decisions may include revision, acceptance, or rejection. A request for revision does not guarantee acceptance.

Authors submitting a revised manuscript must respond to every reviewer comment, indicate the changes made and their corresponding page or line numbers, and provide a polite, scientifically justified explanation when they choose not to implement a particular suggestion.

10. Pre-Submission Checklist

Before submitting a manuscript, authors should ensure that all the following requirements have been met.

☐ The manuscript is within the journal's scope and complies with the official journal template.

☐ The Introduction presents relevant evidence, synthesizes the state of the art, identifies the research gap and novelty, and clearly states the research objectives.

☐ The Methods section provides sufficient detail to enable replication, including sample size determination, instruments, data analysis, and ethical considerations.

☐ The Results address the research objectives and report statistical findings completely and appropriately.

☐ The Discussion provides critical analysis, compares the findings with previous studies, explains plausible reasons for differences, and discusses relevant implications.

☐ The study limitations are explicitly stated.

☐ All tables and figures are numbered, titled, cited in the text, and provided with appropriate notes and sources.

☐ Vancouver referencing is applied consistently. Reference metadata and DOIs have been verified using reference management software.

☐ All applicable declarations have been completed, including ethics approval, informed consent, funding, conflicts of interest, acknowledgments, author contributions, data availability, and AI use.

☐ All authors have approved the final manuscript and submission. Anonymized files have been prepared where required by the journal's peer review policy.

11. Policy References and Important Links

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals. Available at: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Core Practices. Available at: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
EQUATOR Network. Reporting Guidelines for Health Research. Available at: https://www.equator-network.org/
National Library of Medicine (NLM). Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/
Elsevier/Scopus. Content Policy and Selection Criteria. This resource outlines relevant considerations for journal evaluation, including peer review, publication regularity, international readability, and publication ethics. Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/products/scopus/content/content-policy-and-selection
Elsevier. Publishing Ethics. Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/publishing-ethics

Jambura Journal of Health Sciences and Research is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

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