Journal for Healthcare Quality accepts manuscript submissions through a submission service on another website.
Journal for Healthcare Quality has specific instructions and guidelines for submitting articles. Those instructions and guidelines are readily available on the submission service site. Please read and review them carefully. Articles that are not submitted in accordance with our instructions and guidelines are more likely to be rejected.
Journal for Healthcare Quality is an official publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) and is a refereed journal. Journal articles express the authors’ views only and are not necessarily the official policy of NAHQ or the editors of the journal. The Information for Authors is available at http://edmgr.ovid.com/jhq/accounts/ifauth.htm or from the editorial office of Journal for Healthcare Quality. The association reserves the right to accept, reject, or alter all editorial and advertising material submitted for publication. Advertising published in the journal does not imply endorsement of products and services. Members of the National Association for Healthcare Quality receive a subscription to Journal for Healthcare Quality as a benefit of membership.
Manuscript Submission
Clicking on the submission service links on this page will open our manuscript submission service website in a new browser window.
Submit a manuscript
The Journal for Healthcare Quality (JHQ) welcomes submissions by writers from all sectors of the healthcare quality field. The journal publishes articles on administration and management (including designing of organizations and roles), performance measurement and improvement, behavioral healthcare quality, compliance, evidence-based practice, pain management, accreditation issues and successes, information systems and management, knowledge management, innovations in healthcare, education's move to quality, government affairs and policy making, patient and staff safety, research in healthcare quality, continuum of care, and global and international issues.
Established in 1979, JHQ is the official journal of the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ). Its audience is the healthcare quality professional responsible for promoting and monitoring safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, equitable, and evidence-based care.
Copyright
Each author must complete and submit the journal's copyright transfer agreement, which includes a section on the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest based on the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals" (www.icmje.org/update.html).
A copy of the form is made available to the submitting author within the Editorial Manager submission process. Co-authors will automatically receive an Email with instructions on completing the form upon submission.
Conflicts of interest
Authors must state all possible conflicts of interest in the manuscript, including financial, consultant, institutional and other relationships that might lead to bias or a conflict of interest. If there is no conflict of interest, this should also be explicitly stated as none declared. All sources of funding should be acknowledged in the manuscript. All relevant conflicts of interest and sources of funding should be included on the title page of the manuscript with the heading "Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding:". For example:
Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: A has received honoraria from Company Z. B is currently receiving a grant (#12345) from Organization Y, and is on the speaker's bureau for Organization X – the CME organizers for Company A. For the remaining authors none were declared.
Manuscript Submission
All manuscripts must be submitted online via Editorial Manager at http://www.editorialmanager/com/jhq.
First-time users: Please click the Register button on the Editorial Manager home page (http://www.editorialmanager.com/jhq). Enter the requested information to complete your registration. Upon successful registration, an e-mail containing your user name and password will be sent to you. Please be sure to enter your e-mail address correctly; if an error has been made or an incorrect e-mail address has been provided, you will not receive this notification.
Note: If you have already received an e-mail containing your User ID and password, or if you are already registered, do not register again. You may log in to the site using the information previously provided to you. You may access your Author, Reviewer, or Editor accounts with the same log-in information.
Authors: Click the log-in button on the Editorial Manager home page, enter your username and password, and click on Author Login. Click on the Submit Manuscript link to begin the submission process. Be sure to prepare your manuscript according to the requirements laid out in these author instructions. Following submission to the journal office, you will be able to track the progress of your manuscript through the system.
For queries about submitting manuscripts, please contact the JHQ office at jhq@nahq.org.
Manuscript Format
The required formats for feature articles and letters to the editor are as follows:
Original Articles
Submissions of original articles should be 1,500–3,000 words (6–12 double-spaced pages) and typed double-spaced, with 1-in. (2.54-cm) margins on all sides. Pages must be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page. Because the review is a blind process, do not include the authors' names on manuscript pages or in running headers or footers.
Authorship
Only individuals who have contributed substantially to the conception, formulation, drafting, and revision of the submission should take public responsibility for its content and be listed as authors; other contributors (those who may have provided technical assistance or writing advice, for example) can be mentioned in an acknowledgment. In addition, all authors should have participated in the submission's final approval.
Title
The title should be no longer than 20 words. The title should compel a healthcare quality professional to read the entire submission and should describe the main point of the article.
Abstract
Authors should provide a paragraph of 200 words or fewer that summarizes the article and contains its essential elements. The abstract appears at the beginning of the article and should contain no bullets, references, tables, or figures. An abstract should include a brief description of the topic, the purpose of the submission, its importance and relevance to healthcare quality, and conclusions.
Keywords
Authors should provide 3–5 keywords or short phrases that will assist indexers in cross-indexing the article and that will be published with the abstract.
Biographical Sketch
A brief biographical sketch (2–3 sentences) must be provided for each author and should include a summary of the author's credentials, title, affiliation, city and state, and current roles and accountabilities. Please do not submit résumés, curricula vitae, or lists of job titles.
Manuscripts Involving Research
Manuscripts involving research should generally include material under the following headings:
- Abstract
- Purpose (or Research Questions)
- Review of the Literature
- Study Design and Methods
- Institutional Review Board Approval (or discussion of waiver)
- Results (or Findings)
- Limitations
- Directions for Future Research
- Discussion
- Implications for Practice
If research was conducted involving human subjects, a statement is required indicating that an institutional review board (IRB) approved the study. Please provide the IRB number. If IRB approval was not obtained, an explanation must be provided.
Graphics
JHQ welcomes the inclusion of tables and figures. Upload each figure to Editorial Manager in conjunction with your manuscript text and tables. Be sure that the graphics are relevant to and help to clarify the article's major points. If you are using a form from an organization or agency, be sure that the organization is identified, that permission for use has been obtained from the organization, and that the form is introduced and explained in the text.
If a graphic is not original and presents information from another source, give full credit to the original source (i.e., list the name of the source and the publication, the publication's volume and date, and the source's page number). Authors are responsible for obtaining reprint permission for using copyrighted material from another source. When submitting the manuscript, be sure to provide written permission from the source for JHQ to reprint the graphic.
Here are the basics to have in place before submitting your digital art to JHQ:
- Artwork should be saved as TIFF, PDF, Word Doc, PPT, or EPS files.
- Artwork is created as the actual size (or slightly larger) it will appear in the journal. (To get an idea of the size images should be when they print, study a copy of the journal to which you wish to submit. Measure the artwork typically shown and scale your image to match.)
- Crop out any white or black space surrounding the image.
- Diagrams, drawings, graphs, and other line art must be vector or saved at a resolution of at least 1200 dpi. If the art is created in an MS Office program, convert to a hi-res PDF. If the PDF creation process is unfamiliar then submit the MS Office doc.
- Photographs, radiographs and other halftone images must be saved at a resolution of at least 300 dpi.
- Photographs and radiographs with text must be saved as postscript or at a resolution of at least 600 dpi.
- Each figure must be saved and submitted as a separate file. Figures should not be embedded in the manuscript text file.
Remember:
- Cite figures consecutively in your manuscript.
- Number figures in the figure legend in the order in which they are discussed.
- Upload figures consecutively to the Editorial Manager web site and number figures consecutively in the Description box during upload.
For more information on graphics, please visit http://links.lww.com/ES/A42.
References
The style of references is dictated by the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. References should be cited in the text by author's name and year of publication, in parentheses—for example, (Smith, 2004). Direct quotations should include page numbers—for example, (Smith, 2004, p. 14). All references cited in the text must be included in the reference list at the end of the manuscript, and every reference in the list must be cited in the text. The reference list should be double-spaced and in alphabetical order by author. (Do not number the references on the list.) The references must be verified by the author(s) against the original documents. In summary, the author(s) should ensure that references are
- current (generally not older than 5 years), though citations of classic works in the literature on quality may also be included
- appropriate to the concepts, interpretations, or conclusions being presented
- complete (see the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association).
When electronic references are used, follow APA guidelines for citing information from Web sites at http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html.
Examples of Reference Citations
Standard journal article (list all authors, but see APA manual for citation of works with six or more authors)
McCartney, J. R., & Campbell, V. A. (1998). Confirmed abuse cases in public residential facilities for persons with mental retardation: A multi-state study. Mental Retardation, 36(6), 465–473.
Book or monograph
Byers, J. F., & White, S. V. (2004). Patient safety: Principles and practices. New York: Springer.
Online information (include retrieval date)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1999). Guideline for the prevention of surgical site infection. Retrieved May 30, 2007, from www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/gl_surgicalsite.html.
Technical or research report
Sing., M. (1998). The costs and effects of parity for mental health and substance abuse insurance benefits (DHHS Publication No. SMA 98-3205). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services.
Summary of Tips for Writing Original Articles
- Present information in a manner that is easy to read and understand.
- Give examples or use case studies to illustrate your points.
- Be clear and concise; offer practical advice and lessons learned.
- Focus on helping readers improve their skills and their organizations' quality, performance, outcomes, effectiveness, and efficiencies.
- Use headings within the text to aid comprehension. To divide the article into sections, insert succinct, meaningful subheadings into the text.
- Include visual aids such as bullets, lists, tables, and figures.
- Support conclusions with data or citations from the scientific and professional literature.
- Limit historical review of the literature unless a historical review is the focus of the article. JHQ readers typically are familiar with classic quality management and performance improvement literature.
Letters to the Editor
JHQ relies on feedback from NAHQ members and other readers and welcomes letters to the editor. Submit a brief letter outlining any comment, criticism, compliment, or idea to the JHQ editor in chief via the Editorial Manager submission site. The editor in chief reserves the right to edit all letters.
Editorial Policies
Editing
JHQ reserves the right to edit all submissions according to style and space requirements, to clarify content, and to meet standards of language use. Journal articles express the authors' views and are not necessarily the policy of NAHQ or the editors of the journal.
Publication
Publication and publication dates are not guaranteed. Authors will be notified of the disposition of their manuscripts. If a manuscript is accepted for publication, authors will have the opportunity to review and amend a PDF proof of their article prior to publication.
Compliance
The author or submitting agent is responsible for compliance with all journal policies, including identification of a corresponding author, declaration of all sources of research funding and support, and documentation of all appropriate permissions.
Copyright Policy
Copyright on all published articles will be held by NAHQ. Each contributing author of a submitted manuscript must sign a statement expressly transferring copyright if the article is published. Copyright assignment is a condition of publication, and manuscripts will not be passed to the publisher for production unless copyright has been assigned.
Grant Funding and In-Kind Support
The author should indicate in the body of the manuscript or an endnote any public (e.g., Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) or private (e.g., foundation or pharmaceutical company) funding for the reported research or improvement activity. Any additional funding (monetary or in-kind support or provision of equipment) related to the research or improvement activity or preparation of the manuscript should also be acknowledged. The author should also disclose any financial stake in the funding agency or any product mentioned in the manuscript.
Peer Review Process
Submissions are carefully screened for professional, accurate, and timely content. Manuscript evaluation is conducted through a blind review process and is completed by the JHQ editor, members of the editorial board, and reviewers who are experts in the particular area of healthcare quality addressed in the manuscript. The review process for submissions usually takes 2–4 months, during which time the submission is evaluated for appropriateness, originality, clarity, the timeliness of the subject matter, and contribution to the art and science of healthcare quality.
Manuscripts involving original research (including manuscripts that describe improvements achieved through the application of a process improvement model) are also reviewed for the merit and rigor of their methodology and the significance of the findings. The editor in chief or an associate editor makes the final publication decision. The decision may be that the manuscript is accepted, that the manuscript should be resubmitted with major revisions, that the manuscript should be resubmitted with minor revisions, or that the manuscript is not accepted. The editor in chief or associate editor usually sends reviewers' comments to the author for consideration in revising the manuscript for resubmission. Authors submitting a revised manuscript should respond to all the comments received.
Continuing Education Credits
By publishing their manuscripts in JHQ, healthcare quality professionals can earn continuing education (CE) credits required to maintain the Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) designation. Authors can earn up to 4 hours of CE credit toward CPHQ recertification for each page published in JHQ. 1 CPHQ credit = 60 minutes of work on an article.
At least one CE article is available in each issue of JHQ. Readers can complete an online exam on the NAHQ website (http://www.nahq.org/education/content/jhq-ce.html) to receive CE credit for each CE article.
Updated 09/2014
