Instructions for Authors
The Journal of Integrated Maternal and Pediatric Care (JIMPC) is a diamond open-access, continuously published international scientific journal of the Mother and Newborn Health Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
All manuscripts must be submitted via the JIMPC online manuscript submission system at [http://jimpc.ssu.ac.ir] or, during the transition period, by email to jimpc@ssu.ac.ir.
Authorship Agreement
All authors must sign the authorship agreement and upload the signed form for initial submission. Any changes in authorship should be approved by all authors, and all authors must sign a new authorship agreement. Changes in authorship after initial submission must be communicated in a letter to the Editor-in-Chief. The authorship agreement form can be downloaded from the journal website.
The text of the manuscript must be in Microsoft Word format (DOC, DOCX, or RTF) and in the English language.
Manuscript Categories
Authors should indicate the type of manuscript in the cover letter: original articles, systematic review articles, literature review articles, book reviews, mini reviews, case reports or case series, brief reports, letters to the editor, or commentaries.
Original Articles
These include RCTs, cohort studies, case-control studies, cross-sectional studies, and other original research in biomedical, clinical, educational, or policy fields. Original articles must not have been published previously. All articles are evaluated through a double-blind peer review process.
Review Articles
Review articles summarize previously published scholarly research on a topic. Meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and literature reviews fall under this category.
Case Reports
Case reports provide comprehensive clinical information on a single case or case series that illustrates an unusual disease presentation, rare manifestations, or a unique diagnostic or therapeutic approach.
Brief Reports
Brief reports present a shorter version of an original article whose results are timely and of high interest to readers but do not justify a full-length paper.
Commentaries
Commentaries discuss previously published articles or a specific topic under consideration by the journal. The Editor-in-Chief may invite commentaries.
Letters to the Editor
Letters should be addressed to the JIMPC Editor. They express support for, or opposing views on, previously published articles.
Editorials
Editorials are solicited by the Editor-in-Chief and relate to content in a specific issue.
Order of Submission
Cover Letter
A cover letter must be submitted with the manuscript and addressed to the Editor-in-Chief. It should state the title and type of manuscript, briefly summarize the background and research question, describe the major findings and their importance, and explain why the article would interest the journal's readers. Authors may suggest potential reviewers or request the exclusion of specific reviewers, giving reasons. The letter must also confirm compliance with ethical standards and provide the corresponding author's full name.
Title Page
Abstract
The abstract should provide a concise summary of the study. For original articles, brief reports, systematic review and meta-analyses, the abstract must be no more than 250 words and must include the following structured headings: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. For review articles, the abstract must be no more than 250 words and may be unstructured. The abstract must be self-contained and clear, without references, and must briefly describe the main elements of the study and the key findings. All information in the abstract must appear in the main text. Case reports do not require a structured abstract. Up to six keywords should be supplied, preferably using MeSH terms.
Main Text
The structure of the main text depends on the type of manuscript. Citations must be numbered sequentially in superscript using Arabic numerals, preferably undated.
List of Abbreviations: Define all abbreviations at first use in the text. A list of abbreviations must be provided in a Table.
Conflict of Interest: Disclose all financial and non-financial competing interests. All authors must declare any situations that may influence the development or the conclusions of the work. These situations can be financial, political, academic, commercial, or other. If none exist, state: "The authors declare no competing interests."
Acknowledgements: Acknowledge individuals who contributed to the study but do not meet the authorship criteria, after obtaining their permission. If none, state "Not applicable."
Funding: List all sources of funding. If none, state: "This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors."
Availability of Data and Materials: State whether data and materials are available, and if so, where. If not applicable, state "Not applicable."
Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate: Manuscripts reporting studies involving human participants must state the name of the ethics committee that approved the study and the committee’s reference number. Animal studies also must include a statement on ethics approval and the committee’s reference number. If not applicable, state "Not applicable."
Consent for Publication: If the manuscript contains any individual person’s data in any form, consent for publication must be obtained. If not applicable, state "Not applicable."
AI Disclosure: Authors must explicitly declare whether artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies were used in any part of the research or manuscript preparation. If AI tools were employed (e.g., for language editing), authors must state the name and version of the tool, the provider, and the scope of its use. AI systems cannot be listed as authors. If no AI tools were used, state "Not applicable." Failure to disclose AI use may result in rejection or post-publication correction.
Author Contributions: Specify the contribution of each author.
References
References must follow the Vancouver style. Number citations consecutively with Arabic numerals in superscript as they appear in the text. For more than six authors, use "et al." after the first six names. Include the issue number in parentheses after the volume number. Cite tables, charts, and figures in numerical order.
In-text referencing examples:
Journal article example:
Khajehnoori S, Tabatabaee RS, Noori-Shadkam M, Lookzadeh MH, Mojibian M, Mirjalili M, et al. Prevalence of Fetomaternal Indications of Therapeutic Abortions in Yazd Province. World J Peri & Neonatol 2019;2(1):1-8.
Book example:
McKenzie BC. Medicine and the Internet: Introducing Online Resources and Terminology. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1997. p. 230-236.
Book chapter example:
Guyton JL, Crockarell JR. Fractures of acetabulum and pelvis. In: Canale ST, editor. Campbell's Operative Orthopedics. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby, Inc; 2003. p. 2939-2984.
Website example:
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2003. http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CAFF2003PWSecured.pdf. Accessed March 3, 2003.
Preprint Policy
The Journal of Integrated Maternal and Pediatric Care (JIMPC) recognizes the value of preprint servers in accelerating the dissemination of research and fostering scholarly feedback. In alignment with COPE guidance, the Journal's policy on preprints is as follows:
Acceptance of Preprints: JIMPC accepts submissions of manuscripts that have been previously posted on a recognized preprint server (e.g., arXiv, bioRxiv, medRxiv). Posting a preprint does not constitute prior publication and will not prejudice the consideration of the manuscript.
Author Obligations: Authors must disclose the preprint posting at the time of submission by providing the preprint DOI or a link to the preprint in the cover letter. Authors should also ensure that the preprint server allows subsequent publication in a peer‑reviewed journal and that any license applied to the preprint does not conflict with the journal's publication terms.
Peer Review and Preprints: During the peer review process, reviewers and editors are requested to treat the submitted manuscript as confidential and not to refer to or cite the preprint version in a way that could compromise the double‑blind review process.
Final Published Version: The final accepted and published version of the article in JIMPC is the version of record. Authors are encouraged to update the preprint with a link to the final published article upon publication.
Journal of Integrated Maternal and Pediatric Care