Instructions for Authors

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

2. Submission of Manuscripts
2.1. Contribution Formats
2.2. Guidance for the presentation of texts
2.3. Preparation of Manuscripts
2.4. Submission and Publication Fees

 

1. Scope and Editorial Policies

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 for all professionals and specialists who work in the area of ​​improving the quality of life of patients and their family members.

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

The journal is published online, in English, and under a Creative Commons Attribution BY License (http:///creativecommons.org/licenses). For the publication of its contents, it adopts the continuous flow (rolling pass).

Manuscripts of the following categories are accepted for publication: original article, review article, perspective/opinion, brief communication, study protocol, case report, and letter to the editor.

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 issues, follow 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 these manuscripts are the sole responsibility of the authors.

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

1.1. Review Process

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

After approval in the pre-evaluation, the manuscripts are analyzed for originality, the relevance of the themes, and scientific quality by up to two members of the Editorial Board and, if approved, they will be forwarded to external reviewers by the Associate Editor.

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

1.2. Language

Latin American Journal of Palliative Care accepts the submission of manuscripts in English, Portuguese or Spanish.

Manuscripts submitted in Portuguese or Spanish will be translated into English and the translated version will be forwarded to the authors for approval at the time of proof review.

Articles will be published in English only, including the Portuguese or Spanish version of the title, abstract, and keywords.

1.3. Preprint

The journal accepts the submission of manuscripts previously deposited in Preprints repositories, national or foreign. At the time of submission, authors must inform in the Cover Letter, providing the following data: title of the manuscript, DOI, name of the Preprint Repository, and the URL of the manuscript.

1.4. Legal and Ethical Considerations

Conflict of interest

Authors must inform in the Cover Letter and in the manuscript itself of the existence of 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).

Authors' contribution

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

 

2. Submission of Manuscripts

The submission of manuscripts to the Latin American Journal of Palliative Care must include the following documents:

  1. Cover Letter, including the signature of all authors and according to the previously defined template (Download).
  2. b. Copy of the letter of approval from the Ethics Committee of the Institution where the work was carried out when referring to interventions in human beings.
  3. Copy of the Free and Informed Consent Term signed by the subject or their guardians, authorizing the use of the image, when applicable.
  4. Manuscript, according to the format and specifications indicated in this document.
  5. Response letter to reviewers for submissions of revised versions of manuscripts.

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

2.1. Contribution Formats

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

TYPES

SUBMISSION TYPE

NUMBER OF AUTHORS

ABSTRACT

NUMBER OF KEYWORDS

MAIN TEXT WORD COUNT

NUMBER OF REFERENCES

NUMBER OF TABLE/FIGURES

EDITORIAL

By invitation

3

–

–

900

10

1 table or
1 figure

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Voluntary submission

–

Structured
250 words

7

4,000

 40

5 tables
5 figures

VIEW AND REVIEW ARTICLE

Preferably by invitation

–

Unstructured
250 words

7

5,000

80

5 tables
5 figures

PERSPECTIVE/OPINION

Preferably by invitation

–

Unstructured
250 words

7

3,000

40

3 tables
3 figures

BRIEF COMMUNICATION

Voluntary submission

–

Structured
150 words

7

1,500

15

3 tables
3 figures

CASE REPORT

Voluntary submission

5

Unstructured
150 words

7

1,500

15

2 tables
2 figures

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Voluntary submission

3

–

–

500

5

1 table
1 figure

 

2.2. Guidance for the presentation of texts

We recommend the use of the Equator Network guides to increase the quality of health research documents, according to information available at: https://www.equator-network.org/library/resources-in-portuguese-recursos-em-portugues/.

2.3. Preparation of Manuscripts

The manuscript must be submitted according to the following specifications:

  • File in Word format (single file);
  • Font in size 12, with 1.5 spacing;
  • Text divided into the following sections: a) title page; b) abstract and descriptors; c) body of the text; d) thanks; e) references; f) tables and figure legends (figures must be sent separately in jpg or tiff format).

a) Title Page

The title page should indicate the following items:

  • Type of manuscript;
  • Title of the manuscript in English and Portuguese/Spanish;
  • Running title of the manuscript in English and Portuguese/Spanish;
  • Authors' full name and ORCID. At the time of submission, all authors must indicate the respective ORCID (http://orcid.org/);
  • Authors' affiliation, indicating: university, faculty, and department), city, state, and country, in that order;
  • Correspondence author (name and e-mail);
  • Name of the funding agency, for works that received a subsidy;
  • Declaration of conflict of interest;
  • Indication of the authors' contribution.

b) Abstract and Descriptors

Manuscripts must include an abstract and resumo/resumen, with up to 250 words. In their structured form, abstracts should indicate Introduction, Objective, Method, Results, and Discussion.

Indicate from 3 to 7 keywords, with their respective versions in Portuguese/Spanish. The terms must be provided based on DECS – Health Sciences Descriptors (http://decs.bvs.br/) or MeSH – Medical Subject Headings (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh).

c) Text Body

Must comply with the required format for each contribution category (see Contribution Format).

d) Acknowledgments

They must come before the references and indicate the collaboration of people, groups, or institutions; financial support; technical assistance, etc.

e) References

They must be numbered sequentially, in the order in which they were cited in the text and identified with Arabic numerals, in parentheses. The presentation of references must follow the standard defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors – ICMJE (https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html).

f) Tables, Figures, and Legends

  • Tables and illustrations must be numbered sequentially, with Arabic numerals, and in the order in which they were cited in the text.
  • Tables must have their respective legends, in English and Portuguese/Spanish.
  • The illustrations (photographs, graphics, drawings, etc.) must be sent individually, in JPG or Tiff format (in high resolution – 600 dpi), and can be colored.
  • Photos of people who can be recognized in the image need to be authorized in writing.
  • Legends of the illustrations must appear next to the tables, after the references.
  • For illustrations extracted from previously published works, authors must provide written permission for their reproduction. In the manuscript, the source of the illustration must be cited.

2.4. Submission and Publication Fees

Latin American Journal of Palliative Care does not charge fees for the submission or publication of manuscripts.