Author guidelines

Contents

• How we publish
• Peer review process
• Publication and research ethics
• Availability of data and materials
• Self-archiving
• Publishing agreements and charges
• Changes to published papers
• Promoting your work
• Manuscript types
• Preparing your manuscript
• Submission
• Contact us

How we publish

Paediatrics & Child Health is a peer reviewed journal publishing 8 issues per year online and in print.

After copyediting and review of the final proof, papers are published on the journal’s Advance Access page and subsequently in an issue.

All articles are submitted to PubMed Central 12 months after publication in an issue of Paediatrics & Child Health.

Peer review process

The Journal operates single-anonymized peer review, meaning that the identity of the authors is known to the editors and to the reviewers, but that the reviewers’ identities are known only to the editors and are hidden from the authors.

Once a submitted manuscript passes initial assessment by the Journal’s Editor-in-Chief or a senior editor, it will then be passed to a handling editor to undergo peer review before making the final decision.

Articles that are sent for peer review generally meet all of the following three criteria:

• Of interest to a significant number of general paediatricians and family physicians who care for children and youth in Canada.
• Adds something new to the literature or presents information in a novel format appealing to our readers.
• Contains at least one new practical take-home point for a general paediatrician or a family physician who cares for children.

During the peer review phase, your manuscript is typically sent to 2-3 reviewers.

Authors must suggest at least one reviewer at submission. However, there is no guarantee the suggested reviewers will be selected by the Journal.

Statistical methods should be rigorous, and reporting of statistical findings should be accurate and complete. Editors may request an expert statistical review of any submission containing statistical analysis.

If an author is ultimately invited to resubmit a revised version of their manuscript, the author is expected to respond to each comment made by the reviewers and editor and to indicate changes to the manuscript using tracked changes.

If your manuscript is accepted for publication, the reviewer comments will not be published alongside the paper.

For full details about the peer review process, see Fair editing and peer review or OUP author FAQs.

Appeals and complaints

If an original manuscript is rejected, the author may appeal the decision to the Editor-in-Chief within 30 days of the decision. To do so, please contact the editorial office providing as much specific detail as possible about why the original decision should be reconsidered. For original manuscripts rejected by the Editor-in-Chief without peer review, one or more Senior Editors will be asked to review the decision. Every appeal will receive a response within a reasonable timeframe. Please do not resubmit your manuscript in the interim. Please note that there is no appeal process for Letters to the Editor.

The main reason that manuscripts are rejected is that they do not fulfill the following three criteria:

• Of interest to a significant number of general paediatricians and family physicians who care for children and youth in Canada.
• Add something new to the literature or present information in a novel format appealing to our readers.
• Contain at least one practical take-home point for the reader.

To register a complaint regarding non-editorial decisions, the Journal’s policies and procedures, editors, or staff, please contact us. Complaints will be taken seriously and will be carried forward following COPE guidelines and processes and/or sanctions will be enacted if deemed appropriate.

Publication and research ethics

Authorship

Authorship is limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the design and execution of the work described. Before a manuscript is published, the contributions of authors must be verified. Any contributors whose participation does not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged but not listed as an author. For a detailed definition of authorship, please see the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) definitions of authors and contributors.

The Journal does not allow ghost authorship, where an unnamed author prepares the article with no credit, or guest/gift authorship, where an author who made little or no contribution is listed as an author. The Journal follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance on investigating and resolving these cases. For more information, please see the OUP Publication Ethics page.

After manuscript submission, no authorship changes (including the authorship list, author order, and who is designated as the corresponding author) should be made without the approval of the editor. All co-authors must agree on the change(s), and neither the Journal nor the publisher mediates such disputes. If individuals cannot agree on the authorship of a submitted manuscript, contact the editorial office. The dispute must be resolved among the individuals and their institution(s) before the manuscript can be accepted for publication. If an authorship dispute or change arises after a paper is accepted, contact OUP’s Author Support team. COPE provides guidance for authors on resolving authorship disputes.

ORCID

Authors are encouraged to provide their ORCID iDs (Open Researcher and Contributor IDs) at submission and take advantage of the benefits of participating in ORCID.

If you do not already have an ORCID iD, you can register for free via the ORCID website.

As ORCID identifiers are collected, they are included in papers and displayed online, both in the HTML and PDF versions of the publication, in compliance with recommended practice issued by ORCID.

ORCID functionality online allows users to link to the ORCID website to view an author’s profile and list of publications. ORCID iDs are displayed on web pages and are sent downstream to third parties in data feeds, where supported.

If you have registered with ORCID, you can associate your ORCID iD with your submission system account by going to your account details, entering your ORCID iD, and validating your details. Learn more about ORCID and how to link it to your account.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

Authors

The Journal requires all authors to disclose any potential conflict of interest at the point of submission. Include all potential conflicts of interest on the title page. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that conflicts of interest of all authors are declared to the Journal.

A conflict of interest exists when the position, activities, or relationships of an individual, whether direct or indirect, financial or non-financial, could influence or be seen to influence the opinions or activities of the individual. For more information, refer to OUP’s definition of conflict of interest.

The Journal follows the COPE guidance for any undisclosed conflict of interest that emerges during peer review, production, or after publication.

The corresponding author must submit a completed and signed International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) disclosure of potential conflicts of interest (COI) form for each author by revision stage. A form must be submitted even if there are no interests to disclose, in which case the disclosure form and manuscript should state “none declared.” In addition, the manuscript must include a concise and accurate summary of any conflicts of interest declared in the ICMJE forms.

Peer reviewers

Individuals that have a conflict of interest relating to a submitted manuscript should recuse themselves and will not be assigned to oversee, handle, or peer review the manuscript.

If during peer review an editor, reviewer, or author becomes aware of a conflict of interest that was not previously known or disclosed they must inform the Editor-in-Chief immediately.

Editors and editorial board members

At initial submission, the corresponding author must declare if the Editor-in-Chief, an Editor, or an Editorial Board Member of the Journal is an author of or contributor to the manuscript. Another Editor without a conflict of interest will oversee the peer review and decision-making process. If accepted, a statement will be published in the paper describing how the manuscript was handled.

Previously published material

You should only submit your manuscript(s) to the Journal if:

• It is original work by you and your co-author(s).
• It is not under consideration, in peer review, or accepted for publication in any other publication.
• It has not been published in any other publication.
• It contains nothing abusive, defamatory, derogatory, obscene, fraudulent, or illegal.

The submitting author must disclose in their cover letter and provide copies of all related or similar preprints, dissertations, manuscripts, published papers, and reports by the same authors (i.e., those containing substantially similar content or using the same, similar, or a subset of data) that have been previously published or posted electronically or are under consideration elsewhere at the time of manuscript submission. You must also provide a concise explanation of how the submitted manuscript differs from these related manuscripts and papers. All related previously published papers should be cited as references and described in the submitted manuscript.

The Journal does not discourage you from presenting your findings at conferences or scientific meetings but recommends that you refrain from distributing complete copies of your manuscripts, which might later be published elsewhere without your knowledge.

For previously published materials including tables and figures, please see the Reusing copyrighted materials section.

Preprints

As an author, you retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels and this does not prevent submission to the Journal. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including adding your published paper’s DOI. For full details on allowed channels and updating your preprint, please see our Author self-archiving policy.

Reusing copyrighted material

As an author, you must obtain permission for any material used within your manuscript for which you are not the rightsholder, including quotations, tables, figures, or images. In seeking permissions for published materials, first contact the publisher rather than the author. For unpublished materials, start by contacting the creator. Copies of each grant of permission should be provided to the editorial office of the Journal. The permissions agreement must include the following:

• nonexclusive rights to reproduce the material in your paper in Paediatrics & Child Health
• rights for use in print and electronic format at a minimum, and preferably for use in any form or medium
• lifetime rights to use the material
• worldwide English-language rights

If you have chosen to publish under an open access licence but have not obtained open access re-use permissions for third-party material contained within the manuscript, this must be stated clearly by supplying a credit line alongside the material with the following information:

• Title of content
• Author, Original publication, year of original publication, by permission of [rightsholder]
• This image/content is not covered by the terms of the Creative Commons licence of this publication. For permission to reuse, please contact the rights holder.

Our publisher, Oxford University Press, provides detailed Copyright and Permissions Guidelines, and a summary of the fundamental information.

Misconduct

Authors should observe high standards with respect to research integrity and publication ethics as set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Falsification or fabrication of data including inappropriate image manipulation, plagiarism, including duplicate publication of the author's own work without proper citation, and misappropriation of work are all unacceptable practices. Allegations of ethical misconduct, both directly and through social media, are treated seriously and will be investigated in accordance with the relevant COPE guidance.

If misconduct has been established beyond reasonable doubt, this may result in one or more of the following outcomes, among others:

• If a submitted manuscript is still under consideration, it may be rejected and returned to the author.
• If a paper has already been published online, depending on the nature and severity of the infraction, either a correction notice will be published and linked to the paper, or retraction of the paper will occur, following the COPE Retraction Guidelines.
• The relevant party’s institution(s) and/or other journals may be informed.

Manuscripts submitted to the Journal may be screened with plagiarism-detection software. Any manuscript may be screened, especially if there is reason to suppose that part or all the of the manuscript has been previously published.

COPE defines plagiarism as “when somebody presents the work of others (data, words or theories) as if they were their own and without proper acknowledgment.”

COPE defines redundant/overlapping publication as “when a published work (or substantial sections from a published work) is/are published more than once (in the same or another language) without adequate acknowledgment of the source/cross-referencing/justification,
or
when the same (or substantially overlapping) data is presented in more than one publication without adequate cross-referencing/justification, particularly when this is done in such a way that reviewers/readers are unlikely to realise that most or all the findings have been published before.”

COPE defines citation manipulation as “behaviours intended to inflate citation counts for personal gain, such as: excessive self-citation of an authors’ own work, excessive citation to the journal publishing the citing article, and excessive citation between journals in a coordinated manner.”

Data fabrication is defined as intentionally creating fake data or misrepresenting research results. An example includes making up data sets.

Data falsification is defined as manipulating research data with the purpose of intentionally giving a false representation. This can apply to images, research materials, equipment, or processes. Examples include cropping of gels/images to change context and omission of selected data.

If notified of a potential breach of research misconduct or publication ethics, the Journal editor and editorial office staff may inform OUP and/or the author’s institutional affiliation(s).

Ethical research

The Journal follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on ethical oversight. We take research integrity seriously, and all research published in the Journal must have been conducted in a fair and ethical manner. Wherever appropriate, the Journal requires that all research be done according to international and local guidelines.

Where practical, your manuscript should follow the appropriate reporting guidelines on the EQUATOR website, and you should submit the appropriate checklist from that website to demonstrate that you followed the guidelines. Exceptions include review articles and Clinician’s Corner, for which there are currently no appropriate guidelines on the EQUATOR website.

Human subjects

When reporting on human subjects, you should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration, which were developed by the World Medical Association. For non-interventional studies, where ethical approval is not required or where a study has been granted an exemption by an ethics committee, this should be stated within the manuscript with a full explanation. Otherwise, manuscripts must include a statement in the Methods section that the research was performed after approval by a local ethics committee, institutional review board and/or local licensing committee, or that such approval was not required. The name of the authorizing body and any reference/permit numbers (where available) should also be stated there. Please be prepared to provide further information to the editorial office upon request.

Human subjects must give written informed consent, or if they are minors or incapacitated, such consent must be obtained from their parents or guardians. Consent forms should cover not only study participation but also the publication of the data collected. Also, any patient or provider information should be anonymized to the extent possible; names and ID numbers should not be used in the text and must be removed from any images (X-rays, photographs, etc.). Please note blanking out an individual’s eyes in a photograph is not an effective way to conceal their identity. In studies where verbal, rather than written, informed consent was obtained, this must be explained and stated within the manuscript. If informed consent is not required or where a study has been granted an exemption, this must be included in the Methods section along with the name of the authorizing body. Please be prepared to provide written consent forms signed by the participants or other appropriate documentation to the editorial office upon request.

Informed consent:

Guidelines for use of the consent form

Patient consent form

Clinical trials

Clinical trials should be registered before enrollment of the first subject in accordance with the criteria outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). When reporting primary or secondary analyses from a clinical trial, follow these criteria:

• Provide the trial registration number at the end of the Abstract.
• When the trial acronym is first used in the manuscript, provide the registration number and a link to the trial registration, which should be cited as a reference.
• If your data have been deposited in a public repository and/or are being used in a secondary analysis, please state at the end of the Abstract the unique, persistent data set identifier, and repository name and number.
• When submitting the manuscript, you must disclose any protocol alterations and all posting of results of the submitted work or closely related work in registries.

• In reporting randomized clinical trials, you must comply with published CONSORT guidelines.
• Complete the recommended checklist and be prepared to provide it to the editorial office upon request.
• Present the recommended trial flow diagram as a figure in the manuscript or as supplementary material.
• If your manuscript reports on a randomized Phase II/III trial, you must provide a brief description of the statistical plan of the original study that includes the primary and secondary endpoints, power calculation, and sample size.

Where available, registration numbers should be provided not only for the trial you are reporting but also for any other trial mentioned in the manuscript. When the trial acronym is first used in the manuscript, provide the registration number and a link to the trial registration, which should be cited as a reference.

Animal subjects

Studies involving animals require approval from the relevant institutional ethics committee or institutional animal use and care committee, and the research must be conducted in accordance with applicable national and international guidelines. All such manuscripts must include a statement in the Methods section providing details of the name of the committee(s) that approved the study, as well as the permit or animal license numbers where available. Where a study has been granted an exemption, this must be stated in the Methods section along with the name of the authorizing body. Please be prepared to provide further information to the editorial office upon request.

You are encouraged to consult the ARRIVE guidelines recommended by the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3R).

Where applicable, any euthanasia or anesthesia methods must be carried out in accordance with applicable veterinary guidelines. These methods must be described in detail in the manuscript.

Manuscripts describing research involving laboratory-based animals must include details on housing, husbandry, and steps taken to reduce suffering. In studies where experimental animals were euthanized, details must be provided on humane endpoints. Details on the planned behavioral observations or physiological measurements used to determine the humane endpoint must be described. You are advised to consult the NC3Rs guide on Humane Endpoints and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Guidelines for the Humane Slaughter of Animals.

C4DISC partnership

The Journal and OUP aim to create a community that fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion. As part of our commitment to these principles, OUP is a proud partner of the Coalition for Diversity & Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC). C4DISC works with organizations and individuals within the scholarly communications landscape to foster equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility across the publishing industry and its published outputs.

Availability of data and materials

Where ethically feasible, the Journal strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. Whenever possible, data should be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files or deposited in a public repository. Visit OUP’s Research data page for information on general repositories for all data types, and resources for selecting repositories by subject area. When data and software underlying the research article are available in an online source, authors should include a full citation in their reference list. For details of the minimum information to be included in data and software citations see the OUP guidance on citing research data and software.

Data availability statement

The inclusion of a data availability statement is a requirement for papers published in the Journal. Data availability statements provide a standardized format for readers to understand the availability of original and third-party data underlying the research results described in the paper. The statement should describe and provide means of access, where possible, by linking to the data or providing the required unique identifier.

More information and example data availability statements.

Data Citation

Paediatrics & Child Health supports the Force 11 Data Citation Principles and requires that all publicly available datasets be fully referenced in the reference list with an accession number or unique identifier such as a digital object identifier (DOI). Data citations should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite:

[dataset]* Authors, Year, Title, Publisher (repository or archive name), Identifier

*The inclusion of the [dataset] tag at the beginning of the citation helps us to correctly identify and tag the citation. This tag will be removed from the citation published in the reference list.

Self-archiving

Self-archiving refers to posting a copy of your work on a publicly accessible website or repository. Under certain circumstances, you may self-archive versions of your work on your own webpages, on institutional webpages, and in other repositories. For information about the Journal's policy, and to learn which version(s) of your paper are acceptable for self-archiving, please see our Author self-archiving policy.

Publishing agreement and charges

Publishing Agreements

After your manuscript is accepted, you will be asked to sign a licence to publish through the Journals Licencing and Online Payments portal. The Journal offers the option of publishing under either a non-open access (standard) licence or an open access (Creative Commons) licence. There is a charge to publish under an open access licence, which allows your paper to be freely accessible to all readers immediately upon online publication. Editorial decisions occur prior to this step and are not influenced by payment or ability to pay. The standard licence makes your paper available only to Journal subscribers and there is no licence charge. This licence grants OUP an exclusive licence to publish and distribute the content. There is no transfer of ownership of the copyright. You, the author, retain copyright for the content.

Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please check with your funder or institution before selecting your licence.

Papers can be published under the following:

• Standard licence to publish (Oxford University Press (OUP) Journals, Standard Publication Model)

• Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY)
• Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial licence (CC BY-NC)
• Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives licence (CC BY-NC-ND)
• United States Government Licence
• Crown Copyright Licence

Please see the OUP guidance on Licences, copyright, and re-use rights for more information regarding these publishing agreement options.

Complying with funder mandates

Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution before selecting your licence.

Further information on funder mandates and direct links to a range of funder policies.

Charges

Open access charges

Please see the details of open access licences and charges. If you select an open access licence, you must pay the open access charge or request to use an institutional agreement to pay the open access charge through the Journals Licencing and Online Payments portal.

OUP has a growing number of open access agreements with institutions and consortia, which provide funding for open access publishing (also known as Read and Publish agreements). This means corresponding authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution has an open access agreement.

Colour charges

The Journal does not charge for colour.

Page charges

The Journal does not have page charges.

Changes to published papers

The Journal will only make changes to published papers if the publication record is seriously affected by the academic accuracy of the published information. Changes to a published paper will be accompanied by a formal correction notice linking to and from the original paper.

As needed, we follow the COPE guidelines on retractions.

For more information and details of how to request changes, including for authors who wish to update their name and/or pronouns, please see OUP’s policy on changes to published papers.

Promoting Your Work

As the author, you are the best advocate for your work, and we encourage you to be involved in promoting your publication. Sharing your ideas and news about your publication with your colleagues and friends could take as little as 15 minutes and will make a real difference in raising the profile of your research.

You can promote your work by:

• Sharing your paper with colleagues and friends. If your paper is published open access, it will always be freely available to all readers, and you can share it without any limitations. Otherwise, use the toll-free link that is emailed to you after publication. It provides permanent, free access to your paper, even if your paper is updated.
• Signing up for an ORCID iD author identifier to distinguish yourself from any other researchers with the same name, create an online profile showcasing all your publications, and increase the visibility of your work.
• Using social media to promote your work. To learn more about self-promotion on social media, see our social media guide for authors.

Find out how Oxford University Press promotes your content.

Manuscript Types

Manuscripts from the field

• A Picture Says a Thousand Words
• A Sound Mind
• Clinician’s Corner
• Commentaries
• Original Articles
• Paediatric Progress: How should it change your practice?
• Paediatric Reflections: Essays from the heart, mind and soul
• Practical Tips for Paediatricians
• See Many, Do Many, and Teach Many
• The Critical Lens
• The Path to Quality & Safety Improvement
• Therapeutic Dilemmas

Contributions from readers

Submit Letters to the Editor and Therapeutic Dilemma articles directly to the Editorial Office.

Invited Manuscripts

Contribution to these columns is by invitation only. Invited manuscripts are peer reviewed before being accepted for publication.

Editorials, EPIQ Reviews, Evidence for Clinicians, MicroResearch for Global Health and Surveillance Highlights.

Manuscripts from the field

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

Submissions should be one to four photographs from a case. Please note that diagnostic images should not be submitted for this column type. There are two possible formats, each of which should have no more than:

• 3 authors

Format #1: The interesting aspect is the diagnosis, which readers can derive from the information provided (750-word limit). Must include:

• A description of the case (maximum 250 words)
• The diagnosis with a concise summary of the condition (maximum 500 words)
• Include a statement verifying that informed consent was obtained from the parent.

Format #2: The interesting aspect is the figure itself. Include a concise description of the case (maximum 300 words). Include a statement verifying that informed consent was obtained from the parent.

A Sound Mind

We are looking for original articles that focus on the prevention, recognition, or management of mental illness in children.

• 2500-word limit (excluding abstract, tables, figure legends and figures, and references)
• 250-word structured abstract with 3 to 6 keywords
• No reference limit, but do not use more than necessary

Clinician’s Corner

Paediatrics & Child Health encourages trainees and paediatricians outside of teaching hospitals to share their clinical experiences in this feature. Priority is given to cases illustrating an approach to common problems or important clinical clues to less common diagnoses that should not be missed (800-word limit).

• Begin with a 200-word (maximum) case presentation to give readers enough information to suspect the diagnosis without making it obvious
• Follow with a 600-word discussion
• Conclude with 3 “clinical pearls”
• Include a maximum of 2 references, if helpful
• Include a statement verifying that informed consent was obtained from the parent.

Please note that Paediatrics & Child Health no longer accepts case reports for publication.

Commentaries

Paediatrics & Child Health welcomes advocacy commentaries that present a problem of interest to readers by providing the evidence and a strategy to effect change, such as an improvement in practice or legislation. The journal also considers opinion commentaries that present a controversial issue by putting forward a clear point of view supported with sound arguments.

• 1500-word limit, excluding abstract, tables, figure legends and figures, and references
• 150-word descriptive abstract with 3 to 6 keywords
• Introduction, main text, and conclusion

Commentaries should include a descriptive abstract, introduction, main text and conclusion.

Paediatric Progress: How should it change your practice?

Paediatric Progress provides an update on a topic of interest to general paediatricians and family physicians. The focus should be on contemporary knowledge—within the last 5 years of published literature. Updates should be evidence-based and focused on patient care. The emphasis should be on practical aspects of diagnosis or management, although authors are encouraged to provide updated information on pathophysiology where relevant. The update should focus on diagnostic tools and therapies that are available in Canada and, where relevant, provide advice for how one would manage this condition in remote areas (i.e. who needs to be referred and how urgently). Priority is given to topics with no other recent high-quality updates in other journals.

Specifications:

• 2500-word limit (excluding abstract, tables, figures, acknowledgments, references, and online-only material)
• “What’s New” section, summarizing key points in 3 to 5 bullets (25 word maximum for each)

More traditional review articles may be considered in some circumstances. Consult the editorial office about the suitability of the topic prior to submission.

Paediatric Reflections: Essays from the heart, mind and soul

We welcome stories or discussions of cases or scenarios where the author learned something novel and important that might be useful for paediatricians and/or paediatric residents. The following are suggested themes to consider:

• A Letter to My Younger Colleagues
• Lessons Learned
• My Memorable Mentor
• Humour is the Best Medicine
• Physician as Parent of a Sick Child
• My Memorable Patient
• Reflections on the Art of Pediatrics
• Resident Reflections

Specifications:

• 1500-word limit, excluding references
• No abstract
• No reference limit, but do not use multiple references where one would suffice

Practical Tips for Paediatricians

The journal considers concise reports that are noteworthy for a specific learning point about a common or serious condition that can be applied to inpatient or outpatient practice.

• 750-word limit
• 1-table or 1-figure limit
• 3 to 6 keywords
• abstract not required

Original Articles

Paediatrics & Child Health welcomes original research articles that report on clinical trials (interventional, cohort or case series studies), case-control studies, or epidemiologic assessments, on subjects that may effect change in clinical practice or contribute significantly to knowledge translation for our readers. Priority is given to articles of particular relevance to clinicians serving Canadian children and youth. Survey-based research articles are rarely considered for publication because of their limitations.

Follow the EQUATOR Network guidelines for details on how to report your study and include a check-list for the appropriate guideline.

Original research articles should include a structured abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusion.

• 2500-word limit (excluding abstract, tables, figure legends and figures, and references)
• 250-word structured abstract with 3 to 6 keywords
• No reference limit but do not use more than necessary
• Brief acknowledgements may be included

Authors of Original Articles are encouraged to submit a graphical abstract in addition to the text abstract. The graphical/video abstract should clearly summarize the focus and findings of the article in a visually compelling manner.

See Many, Do Many, and Teach Many

Authors are invited to submit manuscripts that describe novel methods, programs or curricula for teaching clinical paediatrics or the fundamentals of paediatric research to trainees or to paediatricians. Studies analyzing evaluation of learners are also welcome. Although learner satisfaction is a worthy outcome, studies should look at outcomes that are more objective and/or more long-term if possible. Submission from outside Canada is encouraged but the innovation must be applicable in the Canadian setting.

• Maximum length is 2500 words but priority will be given to shorter manuscripts.

The Critical Lens

The Critical Lens is focused on enhancing advocacy. These articles are unsolicited viewpoints that reflect opinions of leading scholars about matters of paediatric care, education, research and policy. Critical Lens articles must be highly readable and compelling and appeal to readers of Paediatrics & Child Health, paediatric care providers and policy makers. The goal is to publish thought-provoking, timely viewpoints about significant issues in caring for Canadian children such as: access to care; provincial barriers to implementation of guidelines; public health; pollution issues threatening our small patients; and immigrant and refugee health care. Inquiries to the Editor prior to submission are encouraged.

• 1000-word limit (excluding title and author affiliations)
• No more than 3 authors

The Path to Quality & Safety Improvement

This column features articles that provide insights and learning on improving quality and safety of care in paediatrics in Canada, and how to get there.

Articles should highlight quantitative and qualitative research findings of evolving quality measurement, care coordination programs, large-scale improvement efforts, and the implementation of multifaceted quality-improvement interventions in community and academic care for children and youth in Canada.

The column publishes articles on administration and management (including designing of organizations and roles), performance measurement and improvement, behavioural 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 paediatric health care issues. The idea is to provide news, opinion, debate and research for academics, clinicians, healthcare managers and policy makers. It encourages the science of improvement, debate, and new thinking on improving the quality of healthcare. The focus is on improving readers’ knowledge of quality and safety with the overall goal of improving patient care. Evaluation of the impact and data on tracking outcomes are essential.

An abstract, key words, subheadings including purpose, introduction, limitations, conclusions and a paragraph on potential impact and implications for practice of the proposed quality and safety initiative are required. Concise and clear writing is encouraged.

• 2500-word limit
• Visual aids (e.g. bullets, lists, tables and figures) are encouraged

Therapeutic Dilemmas

Paediatrics & Child Health publishes manuscripts that discuss the pros and cons of two or more therapies for a condition that general paediatricians are likely to select therapies for at least occasionally. The format of the manuscript is up to the authors; inclusion of a case report often piques the interest of readers but is not mandatory.

• 1500-word limit, excluding abstract, tables, figure legends and figures, and references
• 150-word descriptive abstract with 3 to 6 keywords
• No reference limit but do not use multiple references where one would suffice

Contributions from readers

Letters to the editor

Paediatrics & Child Health welcomes Letters to the Editor (maximum 500 words), which ideally refer to articles published in the journal in the previous 3 months. The author of the published article will see the letter and have an opportunity to respond. Letters and responses are published as soon as possible, at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. Submit directly to the Editorial Office.

Therapeutic Dilemma

The majority of therapies in children have not had the benefit of evidence-based evaluation. This feature complements the outstanding work of Cochrane Child Health and others in establishing evidence-based practice by giving clinicians guidance on current best practice in areas of therapeutic uncertainty. Residents, paediatricians and other frontline providers are encouraged to share their therapeutic questions with readers. Questions should be brief—one or two lines long. Submit directly to the Editorial Office.

Invited Manuscripts

Editorials

Editorials relate to other papers in the journal or discuss topical or timely issues.

EPIQ Review Summaries

Developed and established in Canadian neonatal intensive care units, EPIQ (Evidence-based Practice for Improving Quality) is a scientific method for continuous quality improvement that is evidence-based, targeted on key outcomes, collaborative by involving interprofessional teams, and continuous by promoting a culture of change. Based on the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation literature review template, the EPIQ review process addresses important clinical questions by summarizing relevant studies. Each article is intended as a guide to best practices, does not represent unique or mandatory protocols, and summarizes the full version of the review available at www.epiq.ca.

Evidence for Clinicians

This column explores clinical questions frequently encountered in the course of practice where it is believed there is some controversy. The format specifies Population (type of patient), Intervention, Comparison (treatment options) and Outcome (a clinical result)—PICO. Questions are systematically searched, appraised, and summarized along with a description of some of the strengths and weaknesses of the studies. In addition, a clinical expert on the topic is invited to provide clinical commentary. This work is typically carried out by Cochrane Child Health but the editorial office would be happy to hear from others who would like to write such a column.

Example of a question: “In patients presenting to the emergency department with mild to moderate croup, are glucocorticoids more effective than placebo in causing clinical improvement?”

MicroResearch for Global Health

This column showcases micro-research projects that have been supported in part through the efforts of the Canadian Paediatric Society and its members. Each short report, or extended abstract, summarizes the full version of the research project available at www.microresearch.ca.

Surveillance Highlights

The Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP) is a joint project between the CPS and the Public Health Agency of Canada, which undertakes the surveillance of rare diseases and conditions in children and youth. Each highlight is a teaching tool that presents a short clinical example, from one of the studies or one-time surveys with important learning points that translate knowledge about the condition. Details include only what is pertinent to the clinical vignette in question and are not meant to cover a topic extensively.

Preparing your manuscript

General guidelines on preparing your manuscript for publication can be found on OUP’s Preparing and submitting your manuscript page. Specific instructions for Paediatrics & Child Health can be found below.

Articles may be submitted in English or French. If neither is an author’s working language, it is highly recommended that prior to submission, the manuscript be read by someone with excellent written English or French skills; even non-medical readers can often markedly improve a manuscript if they are articulate.

Before you start

Prior to submission, authors can email Editor-in-Chief Dr. Joan Robinson at [email protected] to ask if their research question is suitable for the journal audience. Please include an abstract if possible. Keep in mind that Paediatrics & Child Health primarily publishes manuscripts that may change clinical practice.

Review the types of manuscripts that Paediatrics & Child Health publishes.

Consult the journal’s editorial policies, particularly those on ethics board approval, conflicts of interest, and informed consent. To ensure equity, fairness, and inclusion, authors should use inclusive language in their writing.

Cover Letter

The cover letter should point out the novel features of your manuscript.

If there are multiple authors, identify the author responsible for all correspondence and page proofs. For the corresponding author, include contact address, telephone and fax numbers and an e-mail address.

Confirm that the manuscript is not being considered for publication elsewhere. If any portion of the manuscript was previously published, please provide details in the letter.

Title Page

Provide a descriptive title for the manuscript. Consider using suggestions from the EQUATOR website on choosing a title to provide potential readers with optimal information about the manuscript. We encourage interesting or provocative titles where appropriate.

List the names of all authors (including full, first or middle names) along with qualifications (e.g. MD, PhD, RN) and institutions. Identify the author responsible for correspondence. Provide the source of funding.

A statement concerning conflicts of interest must be included on the title page. See Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest for information on what details to include.

Abstract

Original articles must include a structured abstract (i.e., objectives, methods, results, and conclusions) of maximum 250 words. The abstract should provide actual data unless there are none. Other article types should include an unstructured abstract (maximum 150 words). Only standard units of measurement should be abbreviated—no acronyms please. Everything mentioned in the abstract should also be mentioned in the manuscript.

Text abstracts must always include an English version in order to ensure proper indexing of the article.

Keywords

Submitting authors will be asked to select the area of specialization for their manuscript and include 3 to 6 key words. Keywords should preferably be MESH terms.

Graphical abstracts

Authors are encouraged to include a graphical or video abstract in addition to a text abstract. These abstracts may be included with initial submission or once an article has been accepted. The graphical/video abstract should clearly summarize the focus and findings of the article in a visually compelling manner.

Graphical abstracts should be one panel, 1200 pixels (width) x 900 pixels (height) at 300 ppi. This corresponds to 4 inches/10 cm x 3 inches/7.5 cm at 300 ppi. Use a 12- to 16-point UNICODE font to ensure legibility. Please provide as a TIFF, PDF or JPG file. Provide videos as AVI or MP4 files.

Graphical abstracts will be considered for the following manuscript types: Original Articles; Commentaries; Paediatric Progress; See Many, Do Many, and Teach Many; The Path to Quality and Safety Improvement; Therapeutic Dilemmas; View from the Top; A Sound Mind. 

For questions about graphical abstracts, please contact the Editorial Office.

Manuscript

The preferred order for original articles is Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. We will consider other formats if it leads to a clearer or more concise article. Use simple language and use the same terms throughout the paper. Use sub-headings if they increase clarity. Methods must be provided in sufficient detail that others could repeat your study. See the Ethical Research section for guidelines on required approvals and disclosures. Avoid repeating items from the Introduction in the Discussion. It is preferred that the conclusion be mentioned in the final paragraph rather than in a separate section.

Tables/Figures/Photographs

Cite using Arabic numerals in the order mentioned in the text. Tables can be included in the manuscript itself but submit figures as separate files.

Tables: Each table should be on a separate page from the rest of the text with the table number above and explanatory notes below. The legend should provide sufficient information that the table is useful as a stand-alone resource. Abbreviations in alphabetical order must be included as a footnote.

Figures: Each figure should be submitted in its original format. Figure lettering, decimals, lines and other details must be sufficiently large to withstand reduction and reproduction. Type the legend below the figure; provide sufficient information to allow preliminary interpretation of the figure without reference to the text. Abbreviations in alphabetical order must be included as a footnote.

Graphs: Graphs must be supplied using Microsoft Word (.docx), Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt), Microsoft Excel (.xls) or Adobe Illustrator (.ai or .eps).

Photographs: Any photographs imported into your figure must be scanned at a resolution of no less than 360 dpi and saved as a .tiff file. Place crop marks on photomicrographs to show the essential field and designate special features with arrows (which must contrast with the background). Please consult our policies for information regarding informed consent for photographs of people.

Figure accessibility and alt text

Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.  

Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs. 

Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article. 

Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text. 

Acknowledgments

Brief acknowledgements may appear at the end of the text, before the references.

Study Funding

You must fully declare all funding information relevant to the study, including specific grant numbers, under a separate subheading following the acknowledgements.

References

Our preference is that you follow the style of the National Library of Medicine (NLM on Endnote). Each reference is numbered consecutively in the order it is cited in the text, using Arabic numerals in parentheses on the line without superscript.

For the original submission, however, references may be submitted in any standard format. If the manuscript is eventually accepted, the editorial office may request that references be re-formatted in the journal style.

Personal communications, manuscripts in preparation, and other unpublished data should not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text in parentheses. Identify abstracts with the abbreviation ‘Abst’ and letters to the editor by ‘Lett’ in parentheses; abstracts should not be cited if the data have been published and a full article could be cited.

Submission

The corresponding author will receive an email notification confirming that the manuscript was successfully submitted. If the manuscript meets the criteria, the peer review process will commence.

Submit a manuscript

Contact us

For questions regarding submission and review, including appeals, you can reach the editorial office by email at [email protected].

After your paper has been sent to production, you can contact [email protected] for questions regarding the production process or publication. Please see Changes to published papers if you need to request a substantive correction to your published paper.