Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines and Submission Requirements
Authors must prepare their submission using the official Title Page and Anonymized Main Document templates. Submit both files separately, replace every bracketed field, and remove all instructional text before submission. Manuscripts that do not follow these requirements may be returned for correction before editorial evaluation.
Required Submission Files

Upload the following files through the journal’s online submission system:

FILE 1
Title Page
Contains author-identifying information, manuscript metadata, contact details, and declarations.
Open Title Page Template
FILE 2
Anonymized Main Document
Contains the complete scholarly content without author-identifying information.
Open Main Document Template
FILE 3
Turnitin Similarity Report
The maximum similarity index is 20%. The editorial team evaluates the report in context during initial screening.
File Separation for Double-Blind Review
Include in the Title Page
Author names, affiliations, ORCID iDs, corresponding-author details, acknowledgments, author contributions, funding information, conflicts of interest, and other identifying declarations.
Exclude from the Main Document
Author names, affiliations, ORCID iDs, email addresses, acknowledgments, institution-identifying file properties, and any other information that could reveal authorship.
Article Types
Original Research
Review Article
Systematic Review
Only the three article categories listed above are accepted.
Title Page Requirements
Article Information
State the article type, full article title, and a short title of no more than 50 characters including spaces.
Authors and Affiliations
List all authors in the agreed publication order. Use superscript numerals to connect each author to the correct department, faculty, institution, city, and country. Identify the corresponding author with an asterisk.
ORCID iDs
Provide a valid ORCID iD for each author where available.
Corresponding Author
Provide the full name, institution and postal address, institutional email address, and an optional telephone number with country code.
Manuscript Information
Report the counts for the abstract, main text, references, tables, figures, and supplementary files.
Declarations in the Title Page
Author Contributions
Describe each author’s contribution using appropriate CRediT roles and confirm approval and accountability.
Conflicts of Interest
Declare all financial and nonfinancial interests or state that none exist.
Funding
State the funder, grant number, and funder’s role, or clearly state that no specific funding was received.
Ethics Approval and Consent
Provide the ethics committee, approval number, and consent procedure, or the applicable justification when approval was not required.
Consent for Publication
Required when an individual may be identified from text, images, audio, video, or case details.
Data Availability
State where data may be accessed, applicable conditions, and the repository or persistent identifier where available.
Generative AI Declaration
Disclose the tool name and version, its purpose, and the authors’ verification and responsibility for the final content.
Acknowledgments
Recognize contributors who do not meet authorship criteria and confirm their agreement to be named.
Anonymized Main Document
Structured Abstract

State essential information only. Do not include citations, undefined abbreviations, tables, figures, or identifying details.

Introduction
Methods
Results
Conclusion
Keywords: Provide 3 to 6 standardized terms separated by semicolons.
Main Document Structure
INTRODUCTION
Explain the problem, summarize relevant evidence, identify the unresolved gap, and finish with a clear objective or hypothesis.
METHODS
Report sufficient detail for replication and apply the reporting guideline appropriate to the study design.
RESULTS
Present findings in the same order as the objectives and methods, report denominators and effect estimates, and avoid duplicating all data in both text and tables.
DISCUSSION
Interpret findings without repeating the results or overstating causal, clinical, or public-health implications.
CONCLUSION
Directly address the objective, reflect the magnitude and certainty of findings, and avoid introducing new data.
ETHICS AND DATA STATEMENTS
Retain the anonymized ethics approval and consent statement, data availability statement, and trial or protocol registration information.
REFERENCES
Use numbered citations in order of first appearance and format references consistently in Vancouver style.
FIGURE LEGENDS
List every figure legend separately and define all symbols, abbreviations, panels, and statistical annotations.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
List supplementary tables, figures, questionnaires, protocols, code, or datasets in citation order, or remove the section when not applicable.
Recommended Methods Subsections
Study Design
Design and analytical framework
Setting and Study Period
Setting, geographic scope, and dates
Participants, Sample, or Data Sources
Eligibility, sampling, recruitment, sample-size basis, and analytical sample
Variables and Measurement Instruments
Outcomes, exposures, covariates, instruments, validity, reliability, and definitions
Data Collection and Quality Control
Procedures, training, calibration, missing-data handling, and quality assurance
Statistical or Qualitative Analysis
Software and version, analytical methods, effect measures, intervals, thresholds, and sensitivity analyses
Ethical Considerations
Ethical framework, approval, consent, confidentiality safeguards, and registration where applicable
Discussion Subsections
Principal Findings
Comparison With Existing Evidence
Strengths and Limitations
Implications
References, Tables, Figures, and Supplementary Files
Number citations in order of first appearance and use Vancouver style consistently. Verify bibliographic details and include a DOI or stable URL where available. Number tables and figures in the order first cited, use concise descriptive titles, define abbreviations and statistical tests, and provide publication-quality figure legends. List supplementary files in citation order.
Final Submission Check
-Replace every bracketed placeholder in both templates.
-Delete all instructional text before submission.
-Submit the Title Page separately from the anonymized main document.
-Remove author-identifying information and file properties from the main document.
-Confirm that all declarations, ethics statements, data information, references, tables, figures, and supplementary files are complete.