Author Guidelines

infermieristica journal (ij) is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal that promotes the development and exchange of knowledge relevant to nursing research and practice. ij supports evidence-based clinical practice, encourages, and promotes critical debate about the art and science of nursing.

The journal particularly welcomes studies that aim to evaluate and understand complex health care interventions and health policies, and which employ the most rigorous designs and methods appropriate for the research question of interest. The journal also seeks to advance the quality of research by publishing methodological papers introducing or elaborating on analytic techniques, measures, and research methods. The journal publishes original peer-reviewed articles of interest to the international health care community.

The editorial policies of ij include:

• Rapid initial screening for suitability and editorial interest;
• Highly efficient editorial processes: average time from submission to first decision of 2 months;
• Just Accepted Manuscript: the article is published online soon after its acceptance;
• Indexed of journal in scientific databases.

Editorial Office Contact Information

Editorial Office of infermieristica journal, e-mail: info@infermieristicaj.it. For technical help or questions not covered by the “Guide for authors” document, please email info@infermieristicaj.it.

Audicence
Nurses, educators, administrators, and researchers in all areas of nursing and caring sciences.

Impact Factor
Scientific journals will receive an impact factor (IF) only two years after their publication. The impact factor of ij will be available in January 2024.

Indexation in databases
The journal is indexed in some databases.

Topics
infermieristica journal (ij) publishes articles of professional interest covering all topics of nursing science. The aim of the journal is to promote excellence, improve clinical practice and encourage debate about patient care and nursing. Its international outlook provides an appropriate space for the diffusion and exchange of research outcomes, experiences, and ideas. It is fundamental that articles in English language are corrected and reviewed before submission.

Guide for authors

1. Types of papers and word limits
infermieristica journal publishes original research and other types of articles as listed below. For Italian authors, articles must be submitted in both Italian and English; for international authors, articles must be submitted in English.

1.1. Editorials
Editorials are commissioned by the editors. They generally provide discussion on an article in the corresponding issue of infermieristica journal. Editorials should be formatted to include a maximum of three authors, 1000 words, 15 references and may include one table or figure. Authors who have ideas for editorials which address issues of substantive concern to the discipline, should contact the Editor-in-Chief (contact: info@infermieristicaj.it). No abstract is required.

1.2. Original scientific research
Quantitative or qualitative research articles should report new findings relevant to the field of nursing supported by research evidence. These should be original, previously unpublished works and contain discussion of their implications for an international audience. A structured abstract of up to 400 words should accompany original research articles. Quantitative research studies should not exceed 4000 words, while reports on qualitative research studies may contain a maximum of 7000 words. Authors requiring a greater word limit for quantitative or qualitative papers may request this, highlighting their justification in the accompanying letter.

1.3. Quality improvement reports
These articles are focused on patient safety and on improving the quality of the interventions provided. In this type of article, the authors identify a problem or opportunity, summarise the state of scientific knowledge on this topic, then analyse it and finally implement an improvement solution. Papers should include a clear rationale for the quality initiative, which should be based on a robust literature review. A structured abstract of up to 300 words should accompany quality improvement reports and these submissions may contain a maximum of 4000 words.

1.4. Systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis
Systematic reviews seek to summarise or draw conclusions from the established literature. They can involve quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods studies. Transparency regarding the search strategy, search results, and the process of excluding articles is of key importance. All systematic reviews must include a flow diagram illustrating the search results and selection (http://prisma-statement.org/PRISMAStatement/FlowDiagram). A structured abstract of up to 400 words should accompany systematic reviews and these submissions may contain a maximum of 7000 words.

1.5. Narrative, integrative, rapid and scoping reviews
Narrative, integrative, rapid and scoping reviews should take a focused and purposeful approach to the review of the literature for a specific topic. In comparison with systematic reviews, these aren’t based on a standardised methodology. They require an abstract of maximum 400 words and may contain up to 5000 words.

1.6. Case report
A case report usually documents the management of one patient, with an emphasis on presentations that are unusual, rare or where there was an unexpected response to treatment. Not every case study contains educational value. Therefore, case studies can only be submitted following consultation and approval by the Editor-in-Chief (contact: info@infermieristicaj.it). Case studies can have a maximum three authors, maximum 800 words, maximum 15 references and may include one table or figure. No abstract is required.

1.7. Letters to the Editor
Letters that point out deficiencies and that add to, or further clarify points made in a recently published work, are welcomed, after acceptance by the Editor-in-chief. The Scientific Board reserves the right to offer authors of papers a chance to respond. Responses will be published with the letter. Letters to the editor have a maximum of five authors, 500 words and five references.

1.8. Cultural article
A cultural article discusses past and present traditions and future perspectives of nursing art and science. Cultural articles should contain a maximum of 1500 words. An abstract is not required.

When using copyrighted material from other sources it is essential to provide proof of permission. Proposed material must comply with the policy of infermieristica journal.

Before you begin

Author Checklist
The Author Checklist is designed to be a self-assessment checklist to assist authors in preparing their manuscript. All authors submitting papers will be required to complete it during the submission process. The checklist ensures the author that the basic requirements of manuscript submission are met, including details of the roles of funding sources and any conflicts of interest. The “Checklist for authors” should be uploaded at submission as a “SUPPORTING CHECKLIST”.

Ethics

 

Studies in humans and animals

The study protocol must be approved by the Ethics Committee of the country for which authorisation has been requested and, If the work involves the use of human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans. The manuscript should be in line with the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals and aim for the inclusion of representative human populations (sex, age, and ethnicity) as per those recommendations. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained and the privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed. All animal experiments should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and should be carried out in accordance with the law of the country of execution of the Protocol. The authors should clearly indicate in the manuscript that such guidelines have been followed. The sex of animals must be indicated, and where appropriate, the influence (or association) of sex on the results of the study.

Informed consent and patient details
Studies on patients or volunteers require Ethics Committee approval and informed consent, which should be documented in the paper which is submitted to the journal. Written consents must be retained by the author and only if specifically requested by the journal in exceptional circumstances (for example if a legal issue arises) the author must provide copies of the consents or evidence that such consents have been obtained.

Declaration of Interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work under a heading Conflict of Interest. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. If there are no conflicts of interest then please state this: ‘Conflicts of interest: none’.

Submission declaration and verification
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Its publication is approved by all authors and, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form. To verify originality, your article may be checked to plagiarism detection services and software.

Use of inclusive language
Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions. We advise to seek gender neutrality by using plural nouns (“clinicians, patients/clients”) as default/wherever possible to avoid using “he, she,” or “he/she.” We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors that refer to personal attributes such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition unless they are relevant and valid. These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive.

Authorship
All authors should have made substantial contributions to all the following: the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, final approval of the version to be submitted. In the covering letter to the editorial office, we ask you make a true statement that all authors meet the criteria for authorship, have approved the final article and that all those entitled to authorship are listed as authors. On the Title Page, authors are required to specify the individual contributions of all authors and contributors.

Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such a change, the Editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: the reason for the change in author list; written confirmation from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement (in the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed).

Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication of the manuscript will be suspended. If the manuscript has already been published in an online issue, any requests approved by the Editor will result in a corrigendum.

Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a ‘Journal Publishing Agreement’. Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article.

Financial disclosure
You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data, in the writing of the report and in the decision to submit the article for publication. The declaration should be made under a heading Funding Source.

When funding is from a block grant or other resources available to a university, college, or other research institution, submit the name of the institute. If no funding has been provided for the research, please include the following sentence: “This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.”

Other details
Depending on the paper type the manuscript should include abstract, keywords, “Clinical Implications”, text and references. Submitted papers should be relevant to an international audience, therefore, authors are requested to write in plain English, to use terminology which is internationally acceptable and to have their draft submissions proofread/corrected by a native English-speaking expert.

Title
Concise and informative. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.

Authors
Author names and affiliations. Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. Please provide the email address of each author and the link to their Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID). Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author. In addition, the affiliations and/or institutes of origin of all authors must be indicated when submitting the article to the journal.

Abstract
Abstracts should be a maximum of 400 words and should not include abbreviations. (acronyms can be included). The abstract should summarise the content and, if it is a research study, it should follow format IMRaD: introduction, methods, results and discussion. The name of the place where the author conducted the study/research must also be indicated.

Keywords
They are required because they increase the detectability of the article via search engines. Immediately after the abstract, provide between four and ten keywords in alphabetical order and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, ‘and’, ‘of’). These keywords will be used for indexing purpose. It is recommended to use the keyword MeSH or Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL) (see http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html).

Artwork
Aim to use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, Symbol; number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text; use a logical naming convention for your artwork files; provide captions to illustrations separately; ensure that color images are accessible to all, including those with impaired color vision. If your electronic artwork is created in a Microsoft Office application then please supply ‘as is’ in the native document format, if any other application is used, the files must be converted to one of the following formats:

• EPS (or PDF): Vector drawings, embed all used fonts.
• TIFF (or JPEG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones), keep to a minimum of 300 dpi.
• TIFF (or JPEG): Bitmapped (pure black & white pixels) line drawings, keep to a minimum of 1000 dpi. TIFF (or JPEG).

Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale), keep to a minimum of 500 dpi.

Please do not:

• Supply files that are optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); these typically have a low number of pixels and limited set of colors;
• Supply files that are too low in resolution;
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Color artwork
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (as in the artwork section) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable color figures then infermieristica journal will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color online. For color reproduction in print, ij will take care of improving the quality of the files free of charge. Please indicate your preference for color: in print or online only. Further information on the preparation of electronic artwork.

Figure captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used. Illustrations and tables that have appeared elsewhere must be accompanied by written permission to reproduce them from the original publishers.

Tables
Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.

References 
The bibliography must follow the AMA style, which is based on the Vancouver style rules. For articles, please follow the format and punctuation shown in the following examples:

Journal articles
Surname and initials (without dots) of the authors, title of the article (report abbreviations in capital letters, no inverted commas). title of the journal (in italics and with Index Medicus abbreviations), year of publication, volume, page numbers included.
Example:
Sun JC, Davidson MJ, Lamy A, Eikelboom JW. Antithrombotic management of patients with prosthetic heart valves: current evidence and future trends. Lancet. 2009; 374: 565–576.

Books
Surname and initials of the authors (without dots), title of the book (in italics); edition number; surname and initials of the publisher, if any; publisher; year of publication; page numbers (only for specifically cited parts).
Example:
Comisso I, Lucchini A, Stefano B, Giusti GD, Manici M. Nursing in Critical Care Setting: An Overview from Basic to Sensitive Outcomes. 1th ed. Springer Nature; 2018.

Chapter in an edited book
Surname and initials of the authors (without dots); title of the chapter; “In:” followed by surname and initials of the publishers, edition number followed by “ed.”; title of the book, year of publication; page numbers (only for specifically cited parts).
Example:
Brewer L, Bouleware AL, Boss BJ. Cardiac and cardiovascular rehabilitation. In: Hoeman SP, eds. Rehabilitation Nursing: prevention, intervention & outcomes. 4th ed. Mosby Elsevier. 2007: 674-696.

Website
Author(s), if indicated, title of the specific article cited (if none is indicated, use the name of the organisation responsible for the site); name of the website; date of publication; date of update; date of access; full URL.
Example:
American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases. Prevention of influenza: recommendations for influenza immunization of children. April 01, 2008. Accessed August 12, 2021. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics

Video
infermieristica journal accepts video material and animation sequences to support and enhance your scientific research. Authors who have video or animation files that they wish to submit with their article are strongly encouraged to include links to these within the body of the article and noting in the body text where it should be placed. Accepted files must not exceed 1 GB in size. Video and animation files supplied will be published online in the electronic version of your article. You can choose any frame from the video or animation or make a separate image. These will be used instead of standard icons and will personalize the link to your video data

Supplementary material
Supplementary material can support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, high-resolution images, background datasets or sound clips. Please note that such items are published online exactly as they are submitted; there is no typesetting involved. Please also make sure to switch off the ‘Track Changes’ option in any Microsoft Office files as these will appear in the published supplementary file(s).

Research data
infermieristica journal encourages and enables you to share data that supports your research publication. To facilitate reproducibility and data reuse, this journal also encourages you to share your software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials related to the project