Author guidelines

Overview

Manuscripts submitted to Journal of Clinical Sciences and Patient Care (JCSPC) must be written in clear, correct English and fall within the journal’s aims and scope. Each submission should include:

1. A title page (separate file)
2. An anonymised manuscript with abstract and keywords
3. Main text, declarations and references
4. Figures and tables (figures also as separate files)
5. Supplementary files, if any
6. A cover letter

These guidelines add journal-specific rules to the general FTI author guidelines. Where the two differ, follow this page.

Article types and length

Word counts include the main text only, not the abstract, references, tables or figure captions.

Manuscript format

• Submit an editable Word (.docx) or LaTeX file. PDF alone is not accepted.
• Use a single column, 12-point font, 1.5 line spacing, and number all pages and lines.
• Use UK or US spelling, but not a mix of both.
• Define each abbreviation the first time it is used, and add a list of abbreviations if there are more than five.
• Use no more than three levels of headings.

Title page

Because review is double-blind, the title page is a separate file. It must include:

• A title of no more than 25 words, without abbreviations.
• A short running title of no more than 50 characters.
• Full names, affiliations and ORCID iDs of all authors.
• The name, address and email of the corresponding author.
• Word count, and the number of figures and tables.

Abstract and keywords

Original research and systematic reviews need a structured abstract with the headings Background, Methods, Results and Conclusions. Give the main numerical results with confidence intervals, and do not cite references in the abstract. Trials should give the registration number at the end of the abstract.

Give 4 to 6 keywords, preferably taken from MeSH (Medical Subject Headings).

Main text

Original research articles should follow this order:

1. Introduction: the clinical problem, what is already known and the aim or hypothesis of the study.
2. Methods: study design, setting, participants and how they were selected, interventions, outcomes, sample size calculation and statistical analysis. State the ethics approval here.
3. Results: a participant flow diagram where relevant, baseline characteristics, and main and secondary outcomes with effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals.
4. Discussion: main findings, comparison with earlier studies, strengths and limitations, and what the results mean for clinical practice.
5. Conclusions: a short statement supported by the data.

Case reports use this order instead: Introduction, Case presentation (history, examination, investigations, treatment and follow-up, with a timeline), Discussion, Conclusion and Patient perspective (optional).

Reporting standards

Follow the reporting guideline that fits your study and upload the completed checklist with your submission.

Ethics and consent

• All studies on people, human tissue or patient records need approval from a research ethics committee. Give the committee name and the approval number in the Methods.
• State that written informed consent was obtained from every participant, or explain why the committee waived it.
• Case reports and clinical images need written consent from the patient (or guardian) to publish. Remove names, initials, hospital numbers and dates that could identify the patient.
• Clinical trials must be registered in a public registry (for example ClinicalTrials.gov or the EU Clinical Trials Register) before the first patient is enrolled. Give the registration number.
• Research must follow the Declaration of Helsinki. Animal studies must follow the ARRIVE guidelines.

See also our publication ethics policy.

Data availability

Include a data availability statement. Where patient privacy allows, share anonymised data in a public repository or explain how other researchers can request it.

Declarations

Add these statements after the conclusions and before the references:

• Author contributions (using the CRediT roles).
• Funding: funder names and grant numbers, or "This research received no external funding".
• Conflicts of interest for every author, or "The authors declare no conflicts of interest".
• Ethics approval and consent, where relevant.
• Data availability statement.
• Use of generative AI: describe any tool used for writing or analysis. AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
• Acknowledgements of people and institutions who helped but are not authors.

Figures, tables and units

• Number figures and tables in the order they are cited, each with a caption that can be understood on its own.
• Upload figures as separate files (TIFF, PNG or PDF) at 300 dpi or more, or as vector files for line drawings.
• Make tables in Word or LaTeX, not as images.
• If you reuse a figure published elsewhere, you must have permission from the copyright holder.

Use SI units, with conventional units in brackets where helpful. Use generic drug names, not brand names. Give the manufacturer and country of devices the first time you mention them.

References (Vancouver style)

JCSPC uses the Vancouver reference style.

• Number references in the order they are first cited, with Arabic numerals in square brackets [1], [2–4].
• List up to six authors, then add "et al."
• Abbreviate journal names as in the NLM Catalog.
• Include the DOI whenever one exists.

Formats:

• Journal article: Surname AB, Surname CD, Surname EF. Title of the article. Journal Abbreviation. Year;Volume(Issue):first–last page. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
• Book: Surname AB. Title of the book. Edition. City: Publisher; Year.
• Website: Organisation name. Title of the page [Internet]. Year [cited Year Month Day]. Available from: URL

Article processing charge and licence

• No fee is charged at submission.
• An article processing charge (APC) of €1,399 is invoiced only after the manuscript has been peer reviewed and accepted.
• Withdrawal: withdrawing before peer review starts is free. A withdrawal charge of €499 applies after peer review has started or after substantial editorial work.
• Payment never affects the editorial decision or guarantees publication. Authors covered by an FTI membership do not pay the APC.
• Authors keep copyright, and articles are published open access under the CC BY 4.0 licence.
• See our refund and cancellation policy.

Submission checklist

• The paper fits the aims and scope of JCSPC.
• The manuscript is anonymised and within the word limit.
• The title page is a separate file.
• The abstract and keywords follow this page.
• The reporting checklist is attached, if one applies.
• All declarations are included.
• References follow the Vancouver style, with DOIs.
• Figures are uploaded as separate high-resolution files.
• The cover letter confirms the work is original and not under review elsewhere.
• You have read the APC and withdrawal charge terms.