Submissions

Author Guidelines

GUIDE FOR AUTHORS

IJCC is the official journal of the WFCCN. Authors are invited to submit ORIGINAL manuscripts for peer review. The journal is published in an electronic format on the WFCCN website (https://wfccn-ijcc.com).   As IJCC is a global journal, a worldwide view is appreciated.

LANGUAGE

English is the official language of the journal.

FEES and ACCESS

IJCC participants in the University of Alberta's Open Access Journal Publishing Program. As the journal operates under a Diamond Open Access model, IJCC articles are openly available online immediately upon publication, and authors are not charged any fees for article submission, processing, or publication.  

TYPES OF ARTICLES

The Editors welcome contributions for publication from the following categories:

Letters to the Editor or Editorials

• Editors welcome letters that comment on any aspect of the journal. The editors will make the final decision about whether to accept, reject, or accept letters without making any amendments to the views of the writer.
  • Editorials are generally written by or solicited by one of the Co-Editors-in-Chief and are related to an article published in IJCC.
  • Word guideline: 500–1000 words with a maximum of 10 The first citation must be for the original article under discussion when commenting on a recent article.
  • No abstract is required.

Commentaries

• Commentaries present a point of view of general interest about a currently relevant topic; comment on a published article touching on an important subject; highlight a significant contribution that can change the field; or discuss a debate or conflicting data and or findings.
• Limit of 2000 words with no more than 20 references.
• No abstract is required.

Reflections

• Reflections on practice are critical care practitioners' experiences, including critical
• Reflections on critical illness experiences may include accounts and narratives from individuals, families, or caregivers who have gone through a critical illness episode. Critical care practitioners are encouraged to support such individuals to articulate and publish their experience(s).
• Word guideline: 2000
• Include a structured summary of 4-6 bullet points of approximately 150 words that briefly describe the paper's main elements.

Research articles

• Research articles should be original and unpublished works identifying any new findings with evidence relevant to critical care
• Qualitative and quantitative studies are welcomed, as are meta-analyses
• Word guideline: 2000-3500 words for quantitative research studies and 5000 words for qualitative
• For clinical trials, observational studies, and other designs, use current and appropriate reporting guidelines for the study type available at: https://www.equator-network.org/. In general, CONSORT reporting guidelines are used for randomized trials, STROBE reporting guidelines for non-randomized trials or most observational studies, ISIPOR reporting guidelines for comparative effectiveness research, SRQR or COREQ for qualitative studies, and PRISMA or MOOSE Reporting Guidelines for meta-analysis of clinical trials or observational trials, respectively.  
• It is recommended that trials, especially randomized pharmaceutical or device trials, be registered in a public trial registry before patient enrollment, such as World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform or the Clinical Trials.gov See http//www.icmje.org for other acceptable trial registries.
• Study protocols may also be published (refer to SPIRIT reporting guidelines).
•    Include a structured abstract of approximately 250 words, including the following subheadings: Background, Aim, Methods, Results/Findings, and Conclusions.

Review papers and guidelines

• All types of review articles will be considered, such as:
• Systematic reviews that address focused practice questions
• Literature reviews (scoping reviews, narrative reviews) that focus on a specific topic, a critical analysis of the relationship among different works, or a thorough investigation of the results on a broad topic
• Policy reviews such as reviews of published literature and policy documents that inform nursing practice, the organization of nursing services, or the education and preparation of nurses and or midwives
  • Discussion papers that are designed to stimulate academic debate or identify the conversational nature
  • Clinical guidelines that target critical care or emergency department nursing.
• Papers are restricted to approximately 3000 words
• For systematic and scoping reviews and clinical guidelines, please use the recommended reporting guidelines available at: https://www.equator-network.org/
• Include a structured abstract of approximately 250 words that include the following subheadings: Background, Aim, Methods, Results/Findings, and Conclusions or as appropriate for the type of review.
• Position and or policy statements from associated critical care federations or societies are also welcome. These papers, however, should be shorter, approximately 1-2 pages in length, with the following suggested headings: Introduction; background or context; methods; findings, evidence, or discussion;  limitations; conclusions; and references. In addition, the society task force and authors should be named. See IJCC policy entitled "Publication and review of Critical Care Federation/Society Position/Policy Statements."

 Clinical focus articles such as a  quality improvement study, continuing education articles,  economic evaluation,  or other similar types of work

• Clinical practice, quality improvement studies, continuing education, economic evaluations, and other similar types of articles are also welcome. These types are articles should inform nursing practice, the organization of nursing services, or the education and preparation of nurses working in critical care or emergency nursing.
• Use the current reported guidelines available at: https://www.equator-network.org/ (such as CHEERS for economic evaluations, STREGA for genetic studies, SQUIRE for quality improvement articles, AAPOR for survey results, STARD or TRIPOD for diagnostic or prognostic studies, ).
  • Word guideline: 2000- 3000
• Include a structured abstract of approximately 250 words, including the following subheadings: Background, Aim, Methods, Results/Findings, and Conclusions.

Case report or case studies

• Case studies and case reports are an invaluable record of usual, rare, or conditions where there was an unexpected response to treatment. Case studies usually document the management of successive patients and the clinical interactions and patient outcomes.
• Authors are encouraged to present cases where distinct phenomena can be documented and integrated with clinical expertise and external evidence to inform high-quality, individualized care. Authors are encouraged to follow the CARE guideline to present their research findings. The CARE guidelines are available at http://www.care-statement.org/case-report-writing-template.html.
• Word guideline: 2000
• Case reports/case studies should have a structured abstract summary of 4-6 bullet points of approximately 150 words that briefly describe the paper's main elements.  

Other types of articles include announcements, news items, book reviews, and such

• These types of articles are usually limited to 1 page.
• No special formatting is required.
• No abstract is required.
• References are typically limited.

Authors of manuscripts that do not comply with these restrictions should make a preliminary inquiry to the Editors-in-Chief before submission. Additionally, authors are encouraged to include the appropriate guidelines checklists with their submissions

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Plagiarism

• Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must be given in the manuscript. Duplicate submission and the absence of proper acknowledgment of the work of another person is a serious act of misconduct.
• The authors must ensure that the work and words of others that appear in the manuscript are appropriately cited or quoted.
• It is the authors' obligation to ensure that their manuscript does not contain plagiarized material before journal submission.

Ethical principles

• Authors are assumed to have followed sound ethical principles and to have preserved the anonymity and confidentiality of patients, clients, and staff.
• A statement regarding ethical approval (also known as an Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board [IRB] approval), citing the ethics approval reference number, must be made within all research
• Approval by a responsible review body does not preclude editors from forming their judgment on whether the conduct of the research was appropriate.
• If there has been no ethical or IRB review of the project, please indicate such on the manuscript's title page. In this case, the article will be reviewed to determine if an ethical/IRB review should have been conducted. The result of this review may determine whether the manuscript will be considered for publication.
• Informed Consent – Any manuscript that includes identifiable patient information (such as in a Case Report), must include informed consent from the patient (see webpage).
• Photo Release – Any manuscript that includes photographs of identifiable individuals must include a photo release signed by those individuals (include link).
• Authors seeking more information on appropriate manuscript preparation are referred to the requirements outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME) (December 2021 Update) at: http://www.icmje.org/about-icmje/.  
• Authors are encouraged to use gender-neutral terms.  This can be accomplished by using plural nouns ("clinicians, patients/clients") as default/wherever possible to avoid using "he, she," or "he/she." In addition, the term sex should be used when reporting biological factors, and gender should be used when reporting gender identity or psychological or social factors.
•  Use of inclusive language should be used throughout the submission. This includes words that acknowledge diversity, convey respect to all people, are sensitive to differences, and promote equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability, or health condition. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to the dominant culture and cultural assumptions. Descriptors that refer to personal attributes such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability, or health condition should be avoided unless relevant and valid.

AUTHORSHIP  

• Only those contributors meeting the following criteria qualify for authorship:  

1.  Substantial contributions to the conception of the design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work: AND  
2. Drafting the work or revising it for critical importantly intellectual content; AND
3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
4.  Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

• In addition, all authors should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of their coauthors. Contributors that do not meet all four requirements for authorship should be acknowledged.
• Authors should determine the order of authorship among themselves and settle any disagreements before submitting their manuscript.

Corresponding author

• The corresponding author is the one individual who will take primary responsibility for communication with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer-review, and publication process.
• The corresponding author will ensure that all the journal's administrative requirements, such as providing details of authorship, ethics committee approval, clinical trial registration documentation, and disclosures of relationships and activities, are appropriately completed and reported. However, these duties may be delegated to one or more coauthors.
• The corresponding author should be available throughout the submission and peer-review process to respond to editorial queries in a timely way and should be available after publication to respond to critiques of the work and cooperate with any requests from the journal for data or additional information should questions about the paper arise after publication.

Acknowledgment

•  All those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged
• People should not be acknowledged without their permission. It is the author's responsibility to obtain permission. 
• All financial and material support should be clearly and completely identified in this section along with their role in the research project (e.g., study design, data collection, analysis, writing or editing assistance).  
• Conflicts of interest (COI)
• Authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential competing interests include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. This includes explicitly stating funding sources and whether the organization that funded the research participated in collecting and analyzing data, interpretation, or reporting of results.
• The submitting author is responsible for ensuring that COIs are reported when present.
• Authors must disclose any interests in two places: 1. A summary declaration of interest statement should be included in the title page file. If there are no interests to declare, please state this: 'Declarations of interest: none.' 2. Detailed disclosures as part of a separate Declaration of Interest form (embedded in the submission process), which forms part of the journal's official records. It is important for potential interests to be declared in both places and that the information match.

MANUSCRIPT FORMAT AND STYLE

• The entire manuscript should be written using double-spaced lines, with a font of 12 point and "Times New Roman" style with margins of 2.5 cm from each side using Word software (save in .doc format).
• All articles must be prepared using Word software. Tables and figures should be embedded as they appear in the text.
• Supplementary files, if appropriate, are to be included and labeled as supplemental files.
• All pages should be numbered, and manuscripts should be organized as outlined in the subsequent sub-headings.
• Use generic medication names.

Title Page

• All manuscripts should begin with a separate title page that contains the following information:
• Title of the article. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.
• The author(s) full name(s), qualifications, job title(s), place of work, and  country
• An email address for correspondence (to be published if the paper is accepted)
• 4 to 6 keywords (preferably MESH headings) related to the These will be used as search terms when the article is archived.
• Disclosure statement. If no disclosures state 'Declarations of interest: none.'
• Also, note whether there was an ethical or IRB review or IRB was not required.

Summary or abstract

• A summary is not required for letters and news items.
• Case reports, reflections, and continuing education articles must have a structured summary of 4-6 bullet points of approximately 150 words that briefly describe the paper's main elements.
• Research and review papers should contain a structured abstract of approximately 250 words, including the following subheadings: Background, Aim, Methods, Results/Findings, and Conclusions.
• It is important that the abstract accurately reflect the findings in the article.

Word limits

• The word limit guidelines for each type of article are indicated above.
• The title page, summary or abstract, figures and tables, acknowledgments and contributions, and references are not included in the word count.

Manuscript structure

• The structure will vary depending upon the article type. The following main headings are customarily used:

§    INTRODUCTION

• METHODS (if relevant)
• RESULTS/FINDINGS (if relevant)
• DISCUSSION (if relevant)

§    CONCLUSIONS

• REFERENCES
• *Other main headings may be used for non-research articles.

Headings and sub-headings

• Main headings should be indicated in BOLD and CAPITALS
• Sub-headings should be displayed in Bold sentence case

Statistics

• Describe statistical methods with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to judge its appropriateness for the study and to verify the reported results.
• When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). When feasible, authors should avoid relying solely on statistical hypothesis testing, such as P values, which fail to convey important information about effect size and precision of estimates.  
• References for the study's design and statistical methods should be to standard works when possible (with pages stated).
• Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and most symbols.
• Specify the statistical software package(s) and versions used.
• Distinguish prespecified from exploratory analyses, including subgroup analyses.

Figures and Tables

• All figures and tables must be labeled and referred to in the body of the text and inserted into the main text where they should appear in the final paper.  
• Electronic photographs are accepted. Files such as jpeg or bitmap are acceptable but must be of at least 300 dpi resolution. Other formats such as video and imaging should be submitted as supplemental digital content.
• For table footnotes, use subscript letters (a, b, c, etc.).
• Table titles should be 10-15 words.

Supplemental Digital Content

• Authors may submit supplemental digital content (SDC) such as audio, video, or imaging files to enhance their article's text. For large files, problems uploading documents, or additional questions regarding SDC, please reach out directly to the managing editor.   
• All SDC must be cited consecutively in the text of the submitted manuscript. Citations should include the type of material submitted (Audio, Figure, Table, etc.), be clearly labeled as "Supplemental Digital Content," include the sequential list number and provide a description of the supplemental content.

Example:
The physical therapist demonstrated several methods on how to assess the patient for safe ambulation by starting with an assessment of trunk strength (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, which demonstrates the evaluation of trunk strength) that can be quickly conducted at the bedside.

• List all SDC at the end of the manuscript file.

Example:  Supplemental Digital Content 1. Assessment of trunk strength.

Reference style

• Include the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) for references, if available.
• Use the modified Harvard System (author-date) reference style, as highlighted in the following examples.

In text citations

• When an author is cited in the text, their surname and the year of publication should appear in brackets, separated by a comma.

           For example:  The cow jumped over the moon (Smith, 2007).

• When two authors are cited in text, both surnames should be given using an ampersand (&) and followed by a comma before the year in

For example: The little dog laughed to see such fun (Jones & Brown, 2007).

• When more than two authors are cited in text, only the surname of the first author should be given followed by et al., followed by the date in

For example:  And the dish ran away with the spoon (Bloggs et al., 2007).

• When a single author's name is used within the text, the citation should be followed by the year in brackets .

For example:  Smith (2007) stated that the cow jumped over the moon.

• When two authors' names are used within the text, they should be separated by the word 'and', followed by the year in brackets.

For example:  Jones and Brown (2007) noted that the little dog laughed to see such fun.

• When more than two authors are used within the text, only the surname of the first author should be given, followed by et al., followed by the year in

For example:  Bloggs et al. (2007) reported that the dish ran away with the spoon.

• If a direct quote is given, speech marks must be used to indicate the quote exactly and the page number of the quotation must also be

For example:  Smith (2007 p.3) stated, "The cow jumped over the moon."

Reference lists

• Articles should be listed in alphabetical order, followed by date order for an author of the same name, for example:
  • Brown A (2006). XXXX
  • Brown P (2006). XXXX
  • Brown P (2007). XXX
  • Orange S (2003). XXX
  • Pink P (2004). XXX
• If there is more than one article by the same author(s) in a single year, they should be listed a, b, c, et cetera according to the order in which they are cited in the main body of the text.

For example:  Brown (2007a) noted that the cow jumped over the moon. In a later publication he observed that the little dog had laughed to see such fun (Brown, 2007b). Following an extensive review of the literature, it was concluded that the dish had run away with the spoon (Brown, 2007c).

• This is the same order that they should appear in the reference list (irrespective of the chronological order in which they were published) g.
  • Brown A (2007a). XXX
  • Brown A (2007b). XXX
  • Brown A (2007c). XXX

Journal article

• The title of a journal should be written in full using italic font, followed by the volume number, the issue number (in brackets) followed by the page numbers written in full, e.g.
• Jones J, Wong C, Shoemaker C (2000). Advances in Critical Care. Connect: The World of Critical Care Nursing 5 (3), 267-272.

Book

• The title of a book should be written in full .

For example:  Stephens ON, Rocket ER (1986). Early Inventions. London: Blackpuddle Scientific.

Book chapter

• The title of the chapter and the title of the book should be written in

For example:  Jones T, Wong J (1992). Writing for Publication, In: Hoover JE, Clinton W, Bush G (eds.), Principles of Dissemination, Volume 2. New York: Political Publishing.

Internet site

• An Internet site should be referenced as follows:

World Federation of Critical Care Nurses. Provision of Critical Care Nurse Education [online]. Available at: https://wfccn.org/ Accessed 05 May 2021.

Other

• Authors should avoid citing articles in predatory or pseudo-journals.
• References to papers accepted but not yet published should be designated as "in press" or "forthcoming."

SUBMISSION PROCESS

• Manuscripts should be submitted online at: https://wfccn-ijcc.com/index.php/ijcc/about/submissions
• All manuscripts should be accompanied by a cover letter with the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address of the corresponding author, and a statement declaring that the manuscript/work described has not been published elsewhere; all authors have agreed to transfer the copyright of the article to IJCC for publication; a statement regarding the presence or absence of conflict of interests; funding sources (where applicable), and where relevant, institutional ethical approval of the study.
• All articles must be prepared using Word. WORD files will be returned to the author. The Word file of the article must be clearly labeled with the first author's name.
• Manuscript language - IJCC publishes articles in English (UK). Papers will not be rejected solely based on the poor use of the English language. Wherever possible, the editors and associate editors will support writers in increasing the readability of their manuscript.

Copyright

• It will be assumed that articles submitted for consideration for publication have been submitted exclusively to IJCC.
• The editors retain the right to make minor modifications and edits to the manuscript.
• Where figures or other illustrations are reproduced, permission must be obtained by the author from the original publisher or author. In such cases,  an additional declaration that permission has been obtained must be included on the title page of the article.
• Authors will agree to provide the copyrights to IJCC needed to publish and disseminate the article in current and future formats, including migrating journals to new platforms and preserving journal content.
• All authors published in IJCC retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under an International Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC-BY-NC4.0).

REVIEW PROCESS

• All manuscripts are subject to double-blind peer Manuscripts will be reviewed by at least two reviewers and or editors.
• All manuscripts received for review will be treated as confidential
• The review process usually takes four to six weeks.
• After the manuscript has been reviewed, the author will be informed whether the manuscript has been accepted, rejected, or requires revision before
• The manuscript will be reviewed for originality, timeliness, that the methods are appropriate, that data add value, conclusions are reasonable, that the writing is clear, and that the manuscript is of interest to Federation members.

Proofs

• Once an article has been accepted for publication, a “PDF” proof copy will be supplied to the corresponding author for approval. Authors will only be able to make minor corrections or modifications at this All edits should be "tracked".

Accepted manuscripts

• Please refer to the copyright agreement.

Corrections and retractions

• Corrections or errata will be published in a subsequent journal issue with the original article appropriately cited. The electronic version of the article will be corrected and will appear online in its corrected form.
• IJCC will work to correct errors as they occur. Content that has been indexed is considered the final published record and must be preserved; therefore, all changes to articles must be made as a formal correction. Corrections will be published online and will be linked to the original article. Corrections will be picked up by indexing services and other aggregating databases.
• Corrections will be reviewed and considered if they affect the publication record, the scientific integrity of the paper, or the reputation of the authors or of the journal. Corrections that do not significantly affect the paper may not be approved (i.e., a punctuation or spelling error).
• Retractions will be considered if results are invalid or ethical guidelines have been violated (i.e., applicable cases of plagiarism or ghostwriting). All authors will be asked to sign a retraction detailing the error and how the conclusions were affected. Retractions will be published online, linked to the original article, and picked up by indexing services and other aggregating databases.
• All decisions about corrections or retractions are made by one of the editorial staff. Author consultation may be required. When coauthors disagree about a correction, the Editors will consult with independent peer-reviewers before applying the appropriate correction. The dissenting author(s) position will be noted on the correction.

Appeals

• Authors may appeal the decision.
• All appeals are reviewed by one of the editors or designee if the editor-in-chief is recused from the review.
• Please note, that the editor can elect not to publish papers that pose a security risk, such as a threat to public health, an environmental threat, or other similar types of risk.