National Center for Health

Behavioral Change – e-Press

Information for Authors

 

The e-Press of the National Center for Health Behavioral Change publishes original papers, articles, books, monographs. We welcome unsolicited manuscripts. We also welcome commentaries, blogs, book reviews and other professional writings having to do with Health Behavioral Change focused primarily on disease prevention and health promotion. We feel that preventing disease and dysfunction is of primary importance. Our primary interdisciplinary foci are Public Health, Social Work, Medicine, Counseling and the allied health disciplines.

 

 

National Center for Health Behavioral Change

Urban Medical Institute/Morgan State University

2600 Liberty Heights Avenue

Baltimore, Maryland 21215

Phone: (410) 383-5167 or (410) 383-4119

FAX: (410) 383-4110

 

The National Center for Health Behavioral Change e-Press is a

Full Comprehensive e-Press Completely Online.

 

We are the First Comprehensive e-Press in the Area

 of Health Behavioral Change

 

CHECKLIST FOR PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTS for e-Press

 

Submission Website

c  Visit our submission website at www.nchbc.org

c  Register as an author and follow instructions for manuscript submission.

 

Cover Letter

c  Include a cover letter addressed to the editor with your submission. The cover letter must state that the research has received institutional review board (IRB) approval, when suitable, and that the paper and/or submission is neither presently under consideration at another publication nor will be while it is under consideration with e-Press. It also must state that all co-authors have all contributed substantially to the paper and have approved the version being submitted.

 

Author Contact List

c  Include as a separate file a list of all authors (in the order of precedence used on the title page) with their degree abbreviations and complete contact information.

 

Abstract and Key Words

c  Please retain the abstract and key words in the blinded copy of the manuscript (as well as loading them into the Manuscript Central system when prompted to do so). If possible, use terms from the Medical and/or Social Science Subject Headings from noted publication guidelines.

 

Writing Style and Format

c  Write clearly and succinctly, with a minimum of jargon.

c  Double-space throughout.

c  Do not use proportional spacing or justified margin.

c  Spell out numbers from one to nine except for measurements (e.g., four days; 14 beds; 3 mm).

 

c  References must be Accurate and Pertaining to Submission

c  In the text, refer to each reference with an Arabic number in superscript, without parentheses.  Number references consecutively and place citation at the end of the text.

c  List all authors of cited works when there are three or fewer.  Otherwise, list the first three, then et al.

c  Use the following formats, based on Index Medicus/PubMed styles:

Journal article (GIVE COMPLETE PUBLICATION DATE PLUS VOLUME AND NUMBER. PubMed citations may be used as a guide):
1.  Zuckerman B, Frank DA, Hingson R, et al. Effects of maternal marijuana and cocaine use on fetal growth. N Engl J Med. 1989 Mar 23;320(12):762-8.

Chapter(s) in Book(s):
2.  Morris JN. The last weeks of life: does hospice care make a difference? In: Mor V, Greer DS, Kastenbaum R, eds. The hospice experiment.  Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1988.

Government report(s):
3.  National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 1989. (DHHS Pub. no. [PHS] 90-1232.) Hyattsville, MD: U.S.  Public Health Service, 1990.

Published conference presentation:
4.  Hinman AR. Progress over the last decade. In: Proceedings of the 24th Immunization Conference, Orlando (FL), May 21-5, 1990:17-20. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control, 1990.

Unpublished conference presentation:
5.  McJamerson E, Pearson W Jr. The declining participation of African-American males in higher education: causes and consequences. Presented at: Mid-South Sociological Association Conference, Baton Rouge (LA), Oct 1989.

Material accepted for publication:
6.  Hall LE, Callender CO, Yeager CL, et al. Organ donation in blacks. Transpl Proc (In press.)

Other unpublished material (cite in the text but not in the references):
(B.  Jones, personal communication)

c  Please note: e-Press accepts Internet urls only as supplementary information.  All references must include specification of the published source in the format described above.  After a period ending that print citation, a new sentence reading “Available at…” where “… is replaced by the Internet address, may be added.  In cases where the printed version is inaccessible, provide a citation modeled on those for print citations (supply the information referred to by words in capital letters here):

7.    AUTHOR. TITLE of work being cited. LOCATION of organization/publication: ORGANIZATION/PUBLICATION posting the work being cited, YEAR posted. Available at…URL HERE.

    8.  APA style should be strictly adhered to when citing internet sources

     

 

Specific Guidelines for Specific Types of Papers

 

1.  Original Papers

Research reports, health policy papers, literature reviews, evaluations of innovative or otherwise noteworthy health and health care programs; 2,501-10,000 words.

 

Text

c  Clearly state the problem or issue at hand, describe past efforts to address it, and specify how the manuscript represents a new contribution to the field.

c  Note and discuss policy implications, as appropriate.

c  Include brief section headings.  Research reports should contain the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion.  Omit the Introduction section heading.

c  For any subheadings, use the following format:

1st level subheading: Boldface heading (with initial cap only) followed by period run into text.

2nd level subheading: Italicized heading (with initial cap only) followed by period run into text.

     In cases where the primary heading, a 1st subheading, and a 2nd subheading all occur in immediate succession, simply follow the same pattern. For example,

 

           Methods

 

            Population studied. Demographic characteristics. The population studied was …

 

c  List any acknowledgments and grant support at the end of the text under a new section heading,

Acknowledgments.

c  The list of references should follow a section heading, References.

 

Tables

c  Type tables on pages separate from the text.  Provide a title and consecutive Arabic numbering for each.

c  USE TABS, NOT SPACES, to separate columns when formatting tables. Alternatively, use the table formatting option in Microsoft Word. 

c  Tables should be in black and white.  

c  List source for table, as appropriate.

 

Figures

c  Maps, diagrams, drawings, and figures (bar graphs, pie charts, etc.) must be rendered in sharp detail and appear in black and white.

c  Include actual data.  For figures that contain percentages, include raw numbers.

c  List source for figure, as appropriate.

c  Please refrain from using scanned figures, as we are unable to edit them.

 

Permissions

c  Obtain written permission from the copyright holder to use published figures or tables or any other copyrighted material.

 

Submission

c  Submit the original and one copy of the manuscript following the instructions on Scholar One/Manuscript Central.

 

Review

c  Authors are notified promptly when manuscripts are received.  Manuscripts that pass an internal review are sent to at least two external reviewers who are experts in the topic area addressed by the paper. Reviewers provide comments to the editor, who relays them to the primary author.  Reviews are double-blind (i.e., neither authors nor reviewers know each other’s identity or institutional affiliation).

 

 

Copyright

c  Accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the NCHBC e-Press and are not published until all authors, coauthors have signed a copyright transmittal form and returned to the Editors-in-Chief.

     Authors who assign exclusive copyright to the e-Press retain residual copyright to the words and  

     data in their manuscripts. The e-Press and publisher usually honor requests to reprint copyrighted

     material on a limited basis, providing that permission is also obtained from the author(s) and proper

     credit is given to the source.

 

Proofs and reprints

c  After revisions are completed, primary authors receive electronic galley proofs for review from the publisher, National Center for Health Behavioral Change e-Press. The electronic galleys must be returned with any substantive corrections within the (brief) time frame established by the publisher.  Primary authors receive two complimentary copies of the submission in which their work appears and co-authors receive one copy each.

 

2.  Commentaries

Commentary on timely or controversial issues, with reference to the relevant literature; 1,000-4,000 words.

c  Above sections on cover letter, abstract and key words, permissions, submission, copyright, and proofs and reprints apply.

 

3.  Brief Communications

Brief research reports, literature reviews (only in understudied areas), policy analyses, evaluations of innovative or otherwise noteworthy public, social work, medicine and allied disciplines.

c  Above sections on cover letter, abstract and key words, tables, figures, permissions, submission, copyright, and proofs and reprints apply.

 

4.  Reports from the Field

This section of the e-Press is intended for brief, descriptive papers about programs, workshops, symposiums, courses, and other interventions that we believe will interest our readers.  While still hewing to the highest standards for timeliness and accuracy.  Reports are not structured as research papers and do not contain statistical analyses.  Innovative and/or newsworthy events especially will interest our readers.  We recommend a limit of 2,000 words.

c  Where applicable, the above sections describe policies and procedures for cover letter, tables,

figures, permissions, submission, copyright, and proofs and reprints.

c  In place of an abstract, include a summary of the paper’s contents. The summary should be no longer than 50 words. Also include a list of key words. These should appear in the blinded manuscript as well as being loaded onto Manuscript Central (with the summary being loaded in place of an abstract).

 

 

5.  Book Reviews and Other Reviews

Critical summaries of books, reports, videotapes, educational materials, and other materials of interest to our readers; 500-1,500 words.

 

 Above sections on cover letter, permissions, submission, copyright, and proofs and reprints apply. Authors receive a complimentary electronic copy of the publication in which their work

appears.

c  Assess the contributions of the material being reviewed to the broad field of prevention, public health, social work for the poor and underserved.

c  Summarize the salient features of the work; assess its accuracy, readability, completeness, biases, and important omissions; and suggest an audience that might find the work useful.

 

 

Thank you for your interest in the e-Press of the National Center for Health Behavioral Change

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