About This Journal | Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal - Baptist Health South Florida | Baptist Health South Florida
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Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal

About This Journal

General Information

The Nursing & Health Sciences Research Journal (NHSRJ) is published annually. The types of publications accepted include:

  • Original Research
  • Evidence-Based Practice Projects
  • Quality Improvement Projects
  • Case Studies
  • Viewpoints
  • Letters to the Editor

Article Publishing Charge

Authors are not required to pay a fee to publish their work. This is an open-access journal, meaning that all articles are available to readers immediately upon publication. No subscription is needed to access and download the articles.

Authorship

Authorship is defined by the Journal as any individual who has made contributions to the study in terms of concept and design, data acquisition and analysis, editing, drafting, revising, and/or final approval of the material for submission. To ensure integrity and accuracy, all authors should be accountable for all aspects of the material. No deserving author should be omitted from the author list. All authors must be listed in the manuscript, and their details must be entered during submission. One author should be appointed as the corresponding author to facilitate communication with the Journal during the editorial process.

Changes to authorship - including additions, deletions, or rearrangements - are only permitted prior to journal acceptance and must be approved by the Editor-in-Chief. A written explanation for the change, along with a signed agreement from all authors, is required for approval. All authorship change requests must be submitted using the Authorship Change Request Form.

The Journal may consider post-acceptance authorship changes under demonstrated exceptional circumstances and may issue a corrigendum for authorship changes in a published manuscript. Authorship disputes should be resolved within authors' institutions. Unauthorized authorship changes may result in rejection of a manuscript or retraction of a published article.

Copyright Agreement

All materials published in the Nursing and Health Sciences Research Journal are protected by copyright. Authors seeking to publish their work in the Nursing and Health Sciences Research Journal must complete a copyright agreement before their manuscript may undergo peer review.

Upon publication, the Nursing and Health Sciences Research Journal holds the copyright to all articles, tables, figures, and illustrations. Authors may request exceptions for select tables, figures, and illustrations by submitting a formal request to the Editor-in-Chief. Any exceptions must be approved through mutual written agreement.

Peer Review Process

  • Every manuscript is submitted through a double-blind peer review process, ensuring that both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout.
  • Each manuscript will be reviewed by at least two peer reviewers, in addition to undergoing an editorial review.
  • Most manuscripts require revisions. Authors will receive feedback from reviewers in the form of anonymous comments, along with an editorial decision. Authors are responsible for completing revisions in a timely manner, with deadlines determined by the editor. If an author fails to return the revised manuscript by the due date, the manuscript will be rejected.
  • The final decision on every manuscript rest with the Editor-in-Chief, who will take reviewer comments into account. Copyright infringement and plagiarism are strictly prohibited.
  • The accepted manuscript is the fully peer-reviewed version that has been revised in response to the review process and deemed acceptable for publication.

Generative AI in Research Publications

We permit the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for writing assistance and data analysis. Authors must clearly describe the role and extent of AI usage, as well as the AI tool used, in the Methods section. A statement disclosing the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies will appear in the published work. The use of AI to create or alter images, including but not limited to enhancements, obscurement, artwork, object removal and manipulation, is NOT permitted.

AI tools or chatbots may not be listed as authors, as they do not meet authorship criteria. Authors assume responsibility for all materials provided by AI in their paper and should thoroughly review the AI-generated material to ensure accuracy, originality, and proper source attribution.

When traditional and generative AI technologies are employed in any part of a manuscript, authors must disclose the following information in the Acknowledgment, Methodology, or similar section:

  • Name of the AI software platform, program, or tool
  • Version and extension numbers
  • Manufacturer
  • Date(s) of use
  • A brief description of how the AI was used and which portions of the manuscript or content were affected
  • Confirmation that the author(s) take responsibility for the integrity of the content generated

Corrections and Retractions

The NHSRJ adheres to the highest standards in publication ethics. Articles that have been published should remain exact and unaltered. However, if circumstances arise that necessitate corrections, retractions, or removals, the journal editors, in collaboration with the editorial board members and following COPE Core Practices, will take the appropriate action.

The NHSRJ Journal issues corrections in cases of honest error. When a correction is necessary, a notice that details the update(s), cites the original publication, and the date(s) the changes were made will be published. Pages listing any corrections will be noted in the Table of Contents. Prior versions of the article will be archived and made available upon request.

If an error is significant enough to invalidate the results and/or conclusions, a retraction with republication may be considered - provided the underlying science remains valid. In such cases, the article will undergo additional editorial review and scrutiny before being republished. The republication will include a thorough and transparent explanation of the changes made.

Retractions will occur for reasons including, but not limited to, significant errors, plagiarism, infringements, unethical research practices, undisclosed biases, data fabrication, or falsification. Retraction notices will include a link to the retracted article and the reason(s) for retraction.

Complaints

Complaints regarding the conduct of editors or peer reviewers should be submitted directly to the Editor-in-Chief. Submissions must include specific claims and supporting evidence. The Editor-in-Chief will address the complaint in accordance with the COPE Guidelines, depending on the nature of the complaint.

Appeals

All manuscripts submitted to The Nursing and Health Sciences Research Journal are initially reviewed by a member of the editorial staff. Manuscripts may be rejected at this stage without being sent for peer review. Manuscripts that proceed to peer review will be evaluated by two or more reviewers, who will be blinded to the authors' identities throughout the entirety of the review process.

Decisions to reject a manuscript are generally considered final. However, authors may appeal a rejection by submitting a written request to the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief will review the appeal and make a final decision as to whether to accept or reject it, in accordance with the COPE Guidelines for appeals.

Misconduct Allegations

Allegations of misconduct by any authors, including, but not limited to, soundness of data, plagiarism, and figure manipulation, may be made directly to the Editor-in-Chief. Allegations may be submitted anonymously if desired. Allegations must include specific and detailed evidence. Allegations lacking specificity or detail will not be investigated.

The editorial team may collaborate with the authors' institutions to conduct a thorough investigation. The individual who submitted the allegation will be informed of the outcome, subject to legal and confidentiality constraints. If misconduct is confirmed, the journal will issue the necessary corrections or retractions, which will be published on the journal's website and in the subsequent volume.

Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial or personal conflicts of interest that could influence or bias their work. Disclosures should be made using the ICMJE Disclosure Form and submitted along with the original manuscript. A summary of the reported disclosures will be included in the final published manuscript.

If no conflicts of interest exist, authors should indicate so during the submission process. Authors are not required to complete the ICMJE Disclosure Form if no conflicts are being reported. In such cases, a statement declaring the absence of conflicts will be included in the final published manuscript.

All reviewers, associate editors, and the deputy editor-in-chief may have conflicts of interest related to the topic and/or methods of a manuscript and have disclosed them to the Editor-in-Chief. Only individuals without relevant conflicts are assigned to handle or review each manuscript. The Editor-in-Chief, who has no known conflicts of interest, is responsible for making all final editorial decisions.

Funding Statements

Authors must report any funding sources that supported the work in the body of the manuscript. Please list the funding source in the Methods section of your manuscript using the following template:
"This [study/project] was supported by the [insert funding body; e.g., National Institutes of Health] (Grant Number xxxx, yyyy)."

If the work was not supported by external funding, please indicate so in the Methods section of  your manuscript using the following template:
"This [study/project] was not supported by external funding from any public, private, or not-for-profit organizations."

Data Sharing and Reproducibility

Authors must make all datasets supporting the findings of their research publicly available in a recognized data repository or provide them upon request by the journal or readers to allow for examination of reproducibility of reported findings. If data cannot be shared publicly, authors must clearly justify the restriction. In such cases, access to the data must be granted to reviewers during the peer-review process, ensuring confidentiality. A "Data Availability Statement" must be included in the methods section of the manuscript, detailing data availability and accessibility. Authors are also required to provide sufficient methodological detail, including descriptions of protocols, tools, and software, to enable independent replication of their work. Policy non-compliance may lead to article rejection or retraction post-publication.

Ethical Oversight

To ensure ethical compliance, all studies must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association). All submissions must include a statement of approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or a comparable ethics committee. All studies using animal subjects must obtain approval from an animal utilization study committee. If IRB or Ethics Committee approval was not obtained, a thorough explanation must be submitted to the editorial team for review.

For human studies, consent must be obtained from all participants, unless a waiver of informed consent was obtained by the IRB or Ethics Committee. A statement describing the informed consent process or receipt of a waiver of informed consent must be included in the manuscript. Authors are responsible for obtaining and retaining consent documentation, but should not forward this information to the journal to protect patient confidentiality in accordance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines.

All clinical trials, whether involving randomization into treatment groups or prospective comparison of treatments, must be registered in a publicly accessible trial registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov).

Post-publication Discussions

The welcomes post-publication discussions and alternative interpretations of published data. Commentary, critiques, questions, or discussions related to published articles should be submitted in the form of a Letter to the Editor within one year of the article's publication date. To engage in post-publication discussions, authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest in their correspondence.

Submissions will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and may be published in the journal under Letters to the Editor. Submissions may be edited for clarity, language, and formatting prior to publication. Correspondence that is irrelevant, incoherent, or does not meet the journal's standards will not be published.

The Journal encourages responsible debate, critique, and disagreement. The Journal aims to support a wide range of perspectives and promote constructive academic dialogue.

Research Integrity

Authors must ensure the accuracy, originality, and ethical soundness of their work. Any form of research misconduct - including, but not limited to, plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, and citation manipulation - will be treated seriously and may result in corrective actions such as retraction or notification of relevant institutions. All submissions must adhere to ethical approval standards, demonstrate proper citation practices, and maintain transparent methodology to uphold scholarly integrity. Breaches of research integrity will be investigated in accordance with the COPE framework to ensure responsible research dissemination and uphold academic trust.

Advertising Guidelines

NHSRJ does not advertise.