Instructions for Authors

1. Scope and Editorial Policy
1.1. Review Process
1.2. Language
1.3. Preprint
1.4. Legal and Ethical Considerations

2. Manuscript Submission
2.1. Contribution Formats
2.2. Guidance for Text Presentation
2.3. Manuscript Preparation
2.4. Submission and Publication Fees

 

1. Scope and Editorial Policy

The Latin American Journal of Palliative Care's mission is to disseminate the results of scientific studies aimed at improving clinical practice and research in palliative care, providing a theoretical framework to all professionals and specialists working in the area of ​​improving the quality of life of patients and their families.

The journal is an initiative of the National Academy of Palliative Care (Academia Nacional de Cuidados Paliativos - ANCP), which aims to become the main vehicle for communicating scientific production in Latin America, through the publication of open access, peer-reviewed articles.

The journal is published online, in Portuguese and English (from 2025 onwards), under the Creative Commons Attribution BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licences). For the publication of its content, it adopts a continuous flow.

Manuscripts of the following types are accepted for publication: original articles, review articles, perspectives/opinions, brief communications, study protocols, case reports, and editorials.

The journal follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), entitled Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/). For ethical matters, it follows the code of ethical conduct in publication recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics – COPE (http://publicationethics.org/).

Manuscripts submitted to the Latin American Journal of Palliative Care cannot be published or previously submitted to other journals.

The concepts and statements contained in the aforementioned manuscripts are the sole responsibility of the authors.

It is established that the authors agree to publish the manuscript exclusively in this journal and to automatically transfer the rights and permissions for reproduction to the National Academy of Palliative Care.

1.1. Review Process

Manuscripts submitted to the Latin American Journal of Palliative Care are initially evaluated for formal aspects. Manuscripts that do not conform to the format defined in this document may be returned for adjustments/corrections.

After approval in the Pre-evaluation (desk review), manuscripts are analyzed for originality, relevance of themes, and scientific quality by up to two members of the Editorial Board and, if approved, will be forwarded to external Ad hoc reviewers by the Associate Editor.

For the evaluation of manuscripts, the journal adopts the double-blind peer review modality.

1.2. Language

The Latin American Journal of Palliative Careaccepts manuscript submissions in Portuguese, English, or Spanish. Starting in 2025, the journal will publish accepted articles in both Portuguese and English.

The translated version will be sent to the authors for approval during the proofreading process.

The Portuguese version of the article will also include the title, abstract, and keywords in English. The English version of the article will also include the title, abstract, and keywords in Portuguese.

1.3. Preprint

The journal accepts manuscripts previously deposited in national or international preprint repositories. At the time of submission, authors must provide the following information in the Cover Letter: manuscript title, DOI, name of the preprint repository, and manuscript URL.

1.4. Ethical and Legal Considerations

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose in the Cover Letter and in the manuscript itself any potential conflict of interest related to the publication of the study (http://icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/author-responsibilities--conflicts-of-interest.html).

Author Contribution

The contributions of each author to the manuscript should be specified, according to criteria defined by the Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), available at: http://icmje.org/recommendations/.

2. Manuscript Submission

Manuscript submissions to the Latin American Journal of Palliative Care must include the following documents:

a. Cover Letter, specifying the interest in publishing in the LAPC Journal and the potential of the submitted study; include the signatures of all authors (signatures validated by Gov.br or handwritten signatures).

1- Cover Letter in English ( download )

2- Cover Letter in Portuguese ( download )

b. Title page, which should indicate the following items:

  • Manuscript type (See item 2.1).
  • Full manuscript title with up to 15 words and in bold (avoid acronyms and abbreviations).
  • Abbreviated manuscript title with up to 60 characters, including spaces and in bold.
  • Full names of the authors and ORCID. At the time of submission, all authors must have their ORCID registered in the manuscript's contributors tab (http://orcid.org/).
  • Author affiliation, indicating: university, faculty and department, city, state and country, in that order.
  • Corresponding author (name, email, telephone contact and ORCID).
  • Name of the funding agency, for works that received funding.
  • Declaration of conflict of interest.
  • Indication of individual contribution of the authors.

Standard Template Title Page

1- Title page in English ( download )

2- Title page in Portuguese ( download )

c. Copy of the approval letter from the Ethics Committee of the Institution where the work was carried out, when referring to interventions in human beings.

d. Copy of the Informed Consent Form signed by the subject or their legal guardians, authorizing the use of images, when applicable.

e. Manuscript, according to the format and specifications indicated in this section.

f. Reviewer Response Letter for Submissions of Revised Versions of Manuscripts.

The manuscript submission system for the Latin American Journal of Palliative Care can be accessed at: https://lapcjournal.org/ojs/index.php/lapcj/about/submissions.

2.1. Contribution Format

The Latin American Journal of Palliative Care publishes contributions in the sections and formats indicated in the table below:

Manuscript Types

Submission Type

Number of Authors

 Abstract

Number of Keyword

Word Count

Number of References

Number of Tables/Figures

Editorial

 At the invitation of the edito-in-chief

 

3

–

–

900

10

1 table or
1 figure

Original Article

Voluntary submission

 6

Structured abstract 250 words

3 to 6

4,000

 40

5 tables
5 figures

Review Article

Voluntary submission

–

Structured abstract
250 words

 3 to 6

5,000

80

5 tables
5 figures

Perspective/Opinion

Preferaby at the invitation of the editor-in-chief

 6

Structured abstract
250 words

3 to 6

3,000

40

3 tables
3 figures

Brief Communication

Voluntary submission

 6

Structured
abstract 150 words

3 to 6

1,500

15

3 tables
3 figures

Case Report

Voluntary submission

6

Abstract (not necessarily structures) 150 words

3 to 6

1,500

15

2 tables
2 figures

Letter to the Editor

Voluntary submission

3

–

–

500

5

1 table
1 figure

Note: A number of authors beyond the permitted limit may be accepted with additional justification in the Cover Letter document, sent to the journal at the time of manuscript submission.

2.2. Guidelines for Text Presentation

To improve the quality of documents resulting from health research, the use of the Equator Network reporting guidelines (Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of health Research) is recommended, as per the information available at: https://www.equator-network.org.

2.3. Manuscript Preparation

The main manuscript file should be submitted according to the following specifications:

  • Word docx file (single file);
  • Times New Roman font; size 12; 1.5 line spacing (except for abstract, references, tables and figures); justified text on the left and right margins (except for titles and references, which should be justified only on the left margin); page formatting: top/bottom margins 2.5 cm and left/right margins 3.0 cm;
  • Text divided into the following sections: a) type of study (See item 2.1); b) full title; c) abstract and keywords; d) highlights (only 3 highlights); e) Body of the text; f) Acknowledgments, if any; g) References; h) Tables, charts, and figures, if any (in the body of the text).

a. Study Type

Before the full title, authors should indicate the Study Type category (See item 2.1); upper left corner of the page.

b. Full Title

Full main title of the manuscript with up to 15 words and in bold (avoid acronyms and abbreviations); upper left corner of the page.

c. Abstract and Keywords

Abstracts should have up to 250 words, written in a single paragraph, single line spacing, justified on the right and left margins, structured with the following items: Introduction, Objective, Method, Results, and Conclusion (only the title of the item should be in bold, followed by a colon).

Indicate 3 to 6 keywords below the abstract. The terms should be separated by semicolons, with a period at the end of the last term, provided based on the DeCS – Health Sciences Descriptors (http://decs.bvs.br/) or MeSH – Medical Subject Headings (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh).

d. Highlights

Authors should indicate 3 short highlights after the keywords. Highlights serve to signal the most important information, such as main results, conclusions, and/or general ideas of the text. Each highlight should have up to 80 characters including spaces.

e. Body of the Text

It must conform to the format required for each contribution category (see the Contribution Format table in item 2.1).

The following structure should be included:

  • Introduction: detailed description of the object of study, problem statement, state of the art, justification, and objective.
  • Methods: detailed description of the type of study, methodology used, inclusion and exclusion criteria (if any), data collection and processing, ethical aspects.
  • Results and/or Discussion: main findings of the study based on the objective and data analysis, scientific basis, and current literature.
  • Conclusion: concise, based on the objective of the study and main findings.

**Citations: these should be inserted in the main body of the text in superscript Arabic numerals, before the punctuation, in ascending order.

f. Acknowledgments (if any)

These should come before the references and indicate the collaboration or support of individuals, groups, or institutions; financial support; technical assistance.

g. References

These should be numbered sequentially, in the order in which they were cited in the text and identified with Arabic numerals and a period. Single line spacing, left-justified, with one space between references.

Example:

1. Puchalski C, Ferrell B, Virani R, Otis-Green S, Baird P, Bull J, Chochinov H, Handzo G, Nelson-Becker H, PrincePaul M, Pugliese K, Sulmasy D. Improving the quality of spiritual care as a dimension of palliative care: the report of the Consensus Conference. J Palliat Med. 2009 Oct;12(10):885-904. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2009.0142. PMID: 19807235.

The presentation of references should follow the Vancouver style standard defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors – ICMJE (https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html).

h. Tables, Charts, and Figures (if any)

These should be submitted within the body of the text* in jpg or tiff format (high resolution – 300 to 600 dpi), numbered sequentially with Arabic numerals and in the order in which they are cited in the text. Titles should be clear and highlight the intended purpose.

Tables and charts will have their titles placed above the item presented; figures and other illustrations will have their titles below the item.

Photos of recognizable individuals must be authorized in writing.

Previously published tables, charts, and figures must have their source cited.

*Throughout the editorial process, the journal may request tables, charts, and figures in a single/separate and editable file, depending on the need.

2.4. Submission and Publication Fees

The Latin American Journal of Palliative Care does not charge fees for the submission or publication of manuscripts. The fees for language translation and spelling/grammar revisions are also covered by the journal.