Information for Contributors

The Journal of Community Medicine and Primary Health Care subscribes to the 'Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals' as published in the New England Journal of Medicine 1997:336:309 -316. The Journal will publish the following types of contributions:

• Original research reports
• Critical and analytical reviews
• Short research reports
• Editorials and commentaries commissioned by the editorial board
• Letters to the editor relating to materials previously published in the Journal.
• Book reviews
• Reports of professional conferences and meetings
• Continuing education

Submissions will be considered on the understanding that they comprise original, unpublished material and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and the studies they have been based have been subject to appropriate ethical review. The authors accept to transfer copyright of accepted and published articles to the Journal of Community Medicine and Primary Health Care. A letter stating this fact signed by all authors should accompany each submitted article. Authors are responsible for obtaining from the copyright holder permission to reproduce any material for which copyright already exists.

The editors cannot enter into correspondence about papers considered unsuitable for publication and their decision is final. Neither the editors nor the publishers accept responsibility for the views of authors expressed in their contributions.

Authors should submit three hard copies and a diskette copy on MS Word or contributions.

Authors should submit three hard copies and a diskette copy on MS Word or electronically as Email attachments to:

Dr. C. L. Ejembi, MBBS, DTM&H, FMCPH
Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Community Medicine and Primary Health Care
Department of Community Medicine
Ahmadu Bello University
Zaria, Nigeria

Or

Dr. M. O. Araoye, MBBS, MPH, FWACP
Assistant Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Community Medicine and Primary Health Care
Department oF Epidermology and Community Health
University of Ilorin, Nigeria
E mail: acpn_journal@yahoo.com

Manuscripts

General: Documents must be double-spaced with 1" margins. The right hand side should not be justified. Hardcopies for submission should be of good quality single-sided printouts with a font size of 12pt on A4 heavy bond white paper. Submissions are acceptable in British English. The editors reserve the right to adjust style to certain standards of uniformity. Authors should retain a copy of their manuscript since no responsibility can be accepted for damage or loss of papers. The paper should be divided into the following sections:

Abstract and keywords: An abstract of a maximum of 300 words must be included, as well as up to six keywords. The abstract should be structured into the following subsections: background, methodology, results and conclusion. Short articles, letters to the editor, commentaries and reviews need not follow this format. The word count should be provided.

Text: The cover page should include the following: article title, corresponding author, affiliation, full postal address, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address. The full names, affiliations and contact details of the co-authors should also be clearly indicated. Also ensure that these details are printed on the cover page only, and do not appear on any other page of the manuscript.

On the following pages this order should be followed: abstract, abstract word count, keywords, main text,acknowledgements (on a separate page) references, appendix, figure captions, tables and figures. Do not place tables or figures in the main text. The full word-count must include all text, including that in the tables, figures, references etc. All pages must be numbered in the bottom right-hand corner.

The main text should be arranged in this order: Introduction, methodology, results and discussion.

References: The Vancouver style of referencing should be used. References should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text. These numbers should be inserted above the line on each occasion a reference is cited ( e.g ----. as noted in similar studies 1, 2) Numbered references should appear at the end of the article and should be typed double- spaced and should include the names and initials of all authors. The format of referencing should be as published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors in the British Medical Journal, 1988, volume 296, pages 401 - 405. Examples:

1. Standard journal article
   (All authors should be listed where they are six or less; if more than six, then list the first three and followed by et al. )
   Becker, S. Feyisetan, K. and Makinwa-Adebusoye, P. The effects of the sex of interviewers on the quality of data in a Nigerian family planning questionnaire. Stud in Fam Plann 1995, 26(4): 223 - 240.
2. Corporate Author
   International Steering Committee. Uniform requirement for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. Br. Med. J. 1962, 284:1766-1770
3. Chapter in a book
   Adesanya, C. A., Parry, E.H. O., Larbi, E. B. The heart and circulation in Parry, E. H. O. (ED) Principles of Medicine in Africa.2nd Edition ,Oxford ELBS/Oxford University Press. 1984 645 - 704.

Tables and Illustrations: All tables and figures should be submitted on separate sheets of paper and should be clearly labelled. Tables should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals and be given a suitable caption. Vertical and horizontal internal lines should be excluded. Tables should complement and not duplicate results already presented in the manuscript. Footnotes to the table should be typed below the table and should be referred to by superscript lowercase letters. All illustrations should be provided in camera-ready form, suitable for reproduction (which may include reduction) without retouching. Photographs, charts and diagrams are to be referred to as 'figure(s)' and should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are referred. Indicate at the back the appropriate places in the text where the tables and figures should be inserted. Peer review process: All manuscripts submitted to the Journal are sent to two independent experts in that field for review. Manuscripts with significant statistical component will be reviewed by a statistician in addition to above peer review. The comments of the reviewers will be communicated to the authors, even if the paper is rejected. All efforts will be made to ensure that the review process is as short as possible.