Guide for Authors

 Aim and Scope

International Journal of Community-Based Nursing and Midwifery (IJCBNM) is a quarterly open-access peer-reviewed publication for nurses, midwives, educators, and researchers in related fields. The Journal focuses on quantitative or qualitative research contributing to the understanding and improvement of healthcare delivery in community settings.

Manuscripts are published in the form of original research, reviews, brief reports, case reports, and letters to the editor.

 

Healthcare professionals, researchers, and educators are cordially invited to submit research on topics including, but not limited to: 

  • Health promotion & disease prevention across all life stages
  • Home healthcare
  • Family-centered care
  • Patient & client education
  • Individual care in family and community contexts
  • Healthcare delivery and outcomes
  • Continuity of care

 

 Assignment of Copyright and Authorship Responsibilities

Publication in IJCBNM requires submission of a signed Copyright Assignment Form, wherein you declare that “This article is an original work that has not been published in any form and is not currently being submitted for consideration or publication elsewhere, either in printed or electronic format”.

 

Ethical Considerations 

The Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). COPE’s flowcharts and guidelines are consulted in dealing with any incidents of unethical conduct. All manuscripts should be prepared in strict observation of the research and publication ethics guidelines recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, http://www.icmje.org/).

 

1)    Statement of Human and Animal Rights

  • Statement of Human Rights

Studies involving human participants, human material, or human data, must be performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and receive approval from an independent local, regional or national review body (e.g., ethics committee, institutional review board). Authors must be prepared to provide relevant documentation upon editor's request.

  • Statement of Animals Rights

With regard to animal experimentation, authors must provide assurance that all animals received humane care according to the "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" laid out by the National Academy of Sciences and published by the National Institutes of Health. When conducting research on animals, authors adhere to the Basel Declaration outlining the ethical guidelines set forth by the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS).

 

2) Conflict-of-Interest Statement

Conflict of interest arises when authors, their institutions, reviewers, or editors have financial, personal, political, or academic relationships that improperly influence or bias their judgment. They must declare all relevant interests that could be perceived as conflicting. Each author must fill the uniform disclosure form available at (http://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/) and upload it at the time of submission. General institutional support for an author’s time on the work should be distinguished from direct overall funding of the work. An appropriate funding statement might read: “This study was funded by A; Dr. F’s time on the work was supported by B.”

 

3) Statement of Informed Consent

All patients and participants in a study should be thoroughly informed about the research aims and any potential side effects of the drugs and interventions involved. Written informed consent from participants or their legal representatives is necessary for any such studies. The Journal reserves the right to request the related documents.

 

4) Institutional Review Board Approval

Any study that includes human subjects or human data must be reviewed and approved by a responsible institutional review board (IRB). IRB approval code must be stated in the “Materials and Methods” section. 

 

5) Registry of Clinical Trials

A clinical trial is defined as “any research project that prospectively assigns individuals or groups to receive a specific intervention, with or without the inclusion of comparison or control groups. The primary aim is to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a health-related intervention and health outcomes”. Each clinical trial must be registered with the primary registry prior to publication. Trial Registration Number should be stated on the title page.

 

6) Authorship

IJCBNM adheres to the authorship guidelines set forth by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).  All individuals who meet these criteria qualify for authorship and should be listed as authors on manuscript title pages and in the IJCBNM online submission system. Contributors who do not meet all authorship criteria should be duly acknowledged in the manuscript but not listed as authors.

 

7) Copyright 

If a manuscript contains any previous published image or text, it is the responsibility of the author to obtain authorization from the copyright holders. The original, signed permission letters for all copyrighted material used in the manuscript must be submitted along with the manuscript.

 

8) Open Access Policy

IJCBNM operates under a Gold Open Access model. All articles published in IJCBNM are immediately and freely available to everyone through the journal's website (https://ijcbnm.sums.ac.ir). Articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).

IJCBNM levies article-processing charges (APCs) for accepted articles, with fees varying based on the article type.

 

9) Research and Publication Misconduct

IJCBNM is committed to upholding publication ethics for all submitted papers. All manuscripts undergo a textual similarity check using plagiarism checker software. Any instances of publication misconduct in submitted manuscripts or published articles—including plagiarism, copyright infringement, duplicate publication, data fabrication/falsification, and authorship disputes—will be addressed according to the flowchart outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts).

 

10) Retraction Policy

The IJCBNM follows COPE's Retraction Guidelines to determine whether a published article should be retracted.

 

11) Preprint Policy

IJCBNM fully supports the archiving of preprints in any recognized, not-for-profit, preprint server. We do not consider preprints published in dedicated preprint repositories, either before or during submission to our journal, as prior publication. However, due to patient confidentiality concerns, this policy excludes case reports. Authors submitting a manuscript with a preprint version must provide the digital object identifier (DOI) in their cover letter (e.g., https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.21.24307677).

 

12) Editorial Independence 

The IJCBNM maintains editorial freedom. Our editorial policy is consistent with the principles of editorial independence established by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).  

 

Submission Process

IJCBNM accepts manuscripts only through the online submission system, accessible at (https://ijcbnm.sums.ac.ir/contacts) 

 

Article Categories

IJCBNM publishes various article types, including original articles, review articles, brief reports, case reports, and letters to the editor. Article format requirements are featured in the following table.

    * Word count excludes the abstract, references, figures and tables.

Original Articles: Include quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method articles, They should include a structured abstract, 3-5 keywords, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgements (if applicable), conflict of interest statement and references. Additionally, it may contain a maximum of 4 tables and 4 figures. The word count should not exceed 3000-3500 for quantitative, 5000 for qualitative and 4500 for mixed-method articles (excluding the references, abstract, figures and tables). 20-40 references should be cited in original articles. For clinical trials, follow the original article format with the addition of a CONSORT flow diagram as a figure. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) must be registered with a WHO-approved RCT Registry,  and their registration number should be included on the title page. RCTs conducted in Iran must be registered at https://www.irct.ir/ w.

Review Articles:

  • Systematic Reviews: Systematic reviews of RCTs or Observational Studies will be accepted for review, provided that the protocol of the study aligns with PRISMA or MOOSE guidelines for systematic reviews of RCTs or Observational studies, respectively. Abstracts should be structured. The word count should not exceed 4500 words. Up to 50 references can be cited.
  • Narrative Reviews: should critically assess the current knowledge of the field. Abstract should be non-structured. The word count should not exceed 4500 words. This category should contain at least 50 references.

Brief Reports: Contain a non-structured abstract, 3-5 keywords, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgements (if applicable), references, and a maximum of 2 tables and 2 figures. The word count should not exceed 2000 words. 10-15 references should be stated.

Case Reports: should optimally be accompanied by relevant figures to document the findings. Informed consent should be obtained from patients to report their cases. The Journal reserves the right to ask for original signed informed consents. Case reports contain a non-structured abstract, 3-5 keywords, introduction, case presentation, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgements (if applicable), and 5-10 references, along with a maximum of 1 table and 3 figures.

Letters to the Editor: Letters discussing articles published in IJCBNM should be submitted within 4 months of the article publication. Alternatively, they may address topics of general scientific or medical interest to our readership. Letters will undergo peer review and will be edited for clarity. They should be limited to 800 words and may include up to 6 references.

 

  Types of Article

  Abstract (word)

 Main Text  (word)*

 References

  

 Original Articles

 

 Structured, (250)

 

 Quantitative (3500)

 40

 

 Mixed-Method (4500)

 Qualitative (5000)

  Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses

 Structured, (300)

 (4500)

 50

  Narrative Reviews

 Non- structured,  (300)

 (4500)

 50

  Brief Reports

 Non-structured, (250)

 (2000)

 15

  Case Reports

 Non-structured, (150)

 (1500)

 10

  Letters to the Editor

 Not required

 (800)

 6

 

Manuscript Preparation

  1. Cover Letter: must include a statement indicating that the manuscript will not be submitted elsewhere until the review process is complete. Also please explain why the editorial board would want to publish your manuscript.

 

  1. Title Page: should entail the following information: 1) The title of the article; 2) Running title (short form of the main title presented on the top of pages); 3) All authors' names, ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID, https://orcid.org/), affiliation, city, and country; 4) Complete mailing address, telephone number, and email address of the corresponding author, 5) Disclosures of conflict of interest and acknowledgments; and 6) A statement of authors' contributions. This page is unnumbered. The title page template is available at: https://ijcbnm.sums.ac.ir/page_3.html

 

  1. Abstract: A structured abstract in original articles and systematic reviews should consist of background/objective for the study, methods, results, and conclusion. Narrative reviews, brief reports, and case reports should present a non-structured abstract that conveys essential information. An abstract should not exceed 300 words for original and review articles, and 150 words for case reports.

 

  1. Keywords: Each article should provide three to five keywords selected from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), listed in alphabetical order below the abstract and separated by semicolons.

 

  1. Background: Should provide a context or background and specify the purpose of the study or observation.

 

  1. Materials and Methods: Must provide sufficient detail to enable replication of the study by others. All relevant aspects of the study plan including type of study, characteristics of patients and participants, inclusion and exclusion criteria, sample size and sample recruitment methods should be indicated. All questionnaires used—including standardized, researcher-generated, and modified standard questionnaires—must demonstrate face, content and construct validity, as well as construct reliability. The methods applied and the software used for statistical analyses must be specified, along with the criteria for determining significance levels. The use of AI technology in the study should be reported with detailed information about its application—including the tool used, version, and prompts where applicable—to enable replication of the approach. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) should be registered in an approved RCT Registry by the WHO, and their registration number should be stated in the title page. RCTs conducted in Iran must be registered at https://www.irct.ir/ w. Authors are encouraged to adhere to the CONSORT guidelines for RCTs and the SAGER guidelines for reporting of sex and gender information in study design, data analyses, results and interpretation of findings. We strongly advise the use of appropriate reporting guidelines as outlined in the EQUATOR Network, particularly:
  • CONSORT for randomized controlled trials
  • TREND for non-randomized trials
  • PRISMA for systematic review and meta-analyses
  • CARE for case reports
  • STROBE for observational studies
  • SRQR for qualitative studies

 

  1. Results: Should be presented in chronological sequence in the text, table, and illustration. Organize the results according to their importance. Avoid redundancy by referring to tables and figures as needed.

 

  1. Tables: Every table must have a descriptive title, and should be cited in the order in which it appears in the text. Format tables consistently, using double-spacing and Arabic numerals. Tables should be presented as standalone items without duplicating information from the main text. Clarify nonstandard abbreviations in footnotes and sequence them using the following symbols: a, b, c, etc.

 

  1. Figures: Should be provided only if they enhance the clarity of the article. The preferred formats for illustrations are JPG (JPEG), GIF, and TIFF files (600 dpi or higher). Color photographs, if found to improve the article, will be published at no extra-charge in the journal's print version. Each illustration must have an accompanying legend, typed on a separate page. 

 

  1. Discussion: Should highlight the novel and significant aspects of the study without reiterating information already presented in the Results section. It should compare the study findings with the existing literature, presenting both arguments and counterarguments. Discuss the limitations and strengths of the study, and explore the implications of the findings for future research or clinical practice.

 

  1. Conclusion: Should include the final results reached by the author(s). Redundant information should be avoided.

 

  1. Supplementary Materials: Such as tools, questionnaires, and similar items may be published in the online version of the journal.

 

  1. Acknowledgments: Contributors who do not meet all criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors; instead they should be duly acknowledged. Any financial or technical support must also be disclosed. Additionally, any use of AI for writing assistance should be reported in the acknowledgments section.

 

  1. Authors’ Contributions: It is essential to delineate the responsibilities of all authors in the authors’ contributions section, as outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines regarding authorship credit criteria. For review articles and letters in the IJCBNM that do not present original research, please specify who developed the original idea, who performed the literature search, who composed the manuscript, and who accepts full responsibility for the final article. For case reports, please state who identified and/or managed the case(s). All other individuals who have made substantial contributions to the work reported in the manuscript, but do not qualify for authorship, should be recognized in the Acknowledgments section.

 

  1. Funding Source: Authors are requested to clearly identify all financial and material support for the research and related work—including grant identification number—at the time of submission.

 

  1. Conflict of Interest: All authors are required to report potential conflicts of interest at the time of submission, presenting both relevant financial interests and any other relationships that could be deemed to influence the research.

 

  1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology: Upon submission, the authors must disclose whether they employed artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies (e.g., Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image generators) in the production of submitted work. A detailed account of their application procedure should be provided both in the cover letter and the appropriate section of the submitted work. For instance, if AI was used for writing assistance, describe this in the acknowledgments section. For data collection, analysis, or figure generation, any use of AI should be fully reported in the methods. Chatbots (such as ChatGPT) should not be listed as authors because they cannot be held to account for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work. Authors are responsible for meticulously reviewing and editing AI outputs, as they can be authoritative-sounding yet incorrect, incomplete, or biased. AI and AI assisted technologies cannot be listed as authors or co-authors, nor can they be cited as sources. Authors must ensure the absence of plagiarism, including in AI-generated texts and images. Proper attribution of all quoted material, including full citations, must remain a human responsibility.

 

  1. References: Should adhere to the Vancouver style, listed consecutively according to their order of appearance in the text. The numbers of references should not preferably exceed 40 for original articles, 15 for briefs, 10 for case reports and 6 for letters to the editor. Referencing AI-generated material as a primary source is not acceptable. References should be made to published articles rather than to abstracts whenever possible. For the references credited to more than 3 authors please provide the name of the first 3 authors and represent the rest authors by the phrase “et al.” For various referencing guidelines please consult the “NLM style guide for authors, editors, and publishers and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/pmcdoc/tagging-guidelines/citations/v2/citationtags.html”.

          Listed below are sample references:

       Journal Article:

  • 1- Warnier MJ, Rutten FH, Kors JA, et al. Cardiac arrhythmias in adult patients with asthma. J Asthma. 2012;49:942-6.
    2- Sohrabi MB, Zolfaghari P, Mahdizade F, et al. Evaluation and comparison of cognitive state and depression in elderly admitted in sanitarium with elderly sited in personal home. Knowledge & Health. 2008;3:27-31. [In Persian]
    3- Javan S, Tabesh M. Action of carbon dioxide on pulmonary vasoconstriction. J Appl Physiol. In press 2005
  • Reference With URL:
    World Health Organization. Mental health and older adults.Geneva: World Health Organization; 2017. [Cited 12 December 2017]. Available from: http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-of-older-adults
  • Complete Book:
    Cunningham FG, Leveno KJ, Bloom SL, et al. Williams Obstetrics. 24th ed. New york: McGraw-Hill Education; 2014.
  • Chapter in Book:
    Young VR. The role of skeletal muscle in the regulation of protein metabolism. In Munro HN, editor: Mammalian protein metabolism. Vol 4. San Diego; Academic; 1970. p. 585-674.

 

  1. Language and Style: The text of a manuscript should be written in a uniform style, using either American or British English. It must be clear and concise, conforming to accepted standards of English language usage. Non-native English speakers are advised to seek assistance from professional language editors. All materials should be presented in double line spacing with numbered pages. Abbreviations must be standard and defined upon first use. Units of measurement must conform to the International System of Units (SI). The editorial office reserves the right to edit the submitted manuscripts to ensure compliance with the journal’s style. In any case, the authors retain ultimate responsibility for the published material.

 

  1. Erratum: The journal offers publication of corrections (errata) submitted by the author(s) in case of errors within the manuscript.  

 

Peer Review Process

 

  • Manuscript Submission and Initial Assessment: Upon submission, each manuscript will be assigned a unique code. All subsequent communication should reference this code. The manuscript will undergo an initial evaluation to ensure it adheres to the journal's guidelines and falls within the scope of the publication.

 

  • Statistical Review and Preliminary Decision: The journal’s statisticians will then meticulously examine the manuscript for any methodological flaws. Based on this review, one of three decisions will be made: fast reject, revise and re-submit, or assign to external reviewers for a detailed evaluation process.

 

  • Double-Blind Peer Review: The manuscript will be subject to a double-blind peer review process, involving at least two external reviewers selected based on their scientific expertise and relevant publications. Reviewers will provide detailed comments, which will be shared with the authors.

 

  • Editorial Evaluation and Final Decision: The Editor-in-Chief, along with a member of the Editorial Board, will carefully consider the original reviews and the authors' responses to reviewer comments. The final review process will be discussed in regular editorial board sessions and on the basis of the comments. The Editor-in-Chief will decide about the manuscript's suitability for publication and communicate the decision to the corresponding author. Manuscripts submitted by the staff and editors of the IJCBNM will also undergo a rigorous peer review process, ensuring impartiality and objectivity.

 

  • Timeline: The typical review time for a manuscript at IJCBNM is 4-6 months. However, in certain cases, a longer review period may be perceived as necessary. 

 

Article Charges

As of August 1, 2022, the payment of fee is mandatory for all types of manuscripts sent to the International Journal of Community-Based Nursing and Midwifery (IJCBNM). Invited articles are exempt from the article charges.
Please note that manuscripts will only be processed for review and potential publication once the following conditions are met:

 

 International Authors

 Submission Fee

 10    US Dollars

 Acceptance Fee based on Article Type

 Original Article/ Review Article

 100  US Dollars

 Brief Report

 80    US Dollars

 Case Report

 70    US Dollars

 Letter to the Editor

 50    US Dollars

 Iranian Authors

 Submission fee

 1,000,000    IRR

 Acceptance Fee based on Article Type

 Original Article/ Review Article

  25,000,000  IRR

 Brief Report

  20,000,000   IRR

 Case Report

  15,000,000   IRR

 Letter to the Editor

  8,000,000   IRR

The fee for Iranian Authors should be deposited in the account number 8847106400 with IBAN code IR890120000000008847106400 at Bank Mellat.
International Authors will receive an email from the journal with payment instructions.
• To follow the instructions for the above payments please click here.
• Please ensure that a copy of your payment receipt is attached to your submission as an image file (you can either upload it on the journal site or send it to ijcbnm1@sums.ac.ir).
• It should be noted that all deposits are non-refundable and submissions may be rejected by the Editors without being sent for review. Additionally, APCs will not be refunded for articles that are retracted because of author/s’ error or misconduct. The authors are not under any obligation to pay APC if they withdraw the manuscript before receiving the first decision. The author/s who withdraw after receiving the first decision must pay 50% of the APC as a withdrawal fee. The submission and acceptance fees support journal related activities and cover editorial services, web hosting and article production costs.

 

Journal Archiving

All articles published in the IJCBNM are archived in the PubMed Central®, a free digital repository of biomedical and life science scholarly publications at the US National Library of Medicine. 

 

For further information please contact the Editorial Office

International Journal of Community-Based Nursing & Midwifery Office

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

Nemazee Square, Zand Blvd.

Shiraz, Iran.

Postal Code: 71936-13119

Tel/Fax: +98 71 36474287

Email: ijcbnm1@sums.ac.ir