About the Journal

  • Aims and Scope

    The Nigerian Health Journal (TNHJ) is an OPEN ACCESS, internationally peer-reviewed, English language, medical and health science journal that was established in 2000, as a publication of the Nigerian Medical Association, Rivers State Branch. The journal publishes quarterly scientific manuscripts that advance medical science or practice covering all aspects of medicine including socio-economic, political and legal perspectives related to medical practice. The journal’s scope covers medical and health science disciplines including clinical research, public health, nursing, pharmacology, laboratory practice, anatomy, physiology, physiotherapy etc. See more information on the journal’s website https://tnhjph.com/index.php/tnhj or via the AJOL link http://www.ajol.info/index.php/nhj/issue/archive

    http://www.ajol.info/index.php/nhj/about

    Those interested in joining our panel of peer reviewers to help us improve the quality of our publication, should kindly send an email to editor@tnhjph.com. Authors can get more information about the journal, navigation through the submission of their scientific manuscript, double blind peer review and publication processes at https://tnhjph.com/index.php/tnhj/information/authors

     

    Publishing Schedule

    The journal publishes quarterly scientific manuscripts with four publication per volumes scheduled as first quarter (October to December), second quarter (January to March), third quarter (April to June) and fourth quarter (July to September)

     

    Indexing

    The Nigerian Health Journal is currently indexed in Google Scholar, AJOL, SCOPUS while plans are ongoing to have the journal indexed in PubMed database.

     

    Disclaimer 

    Whilst every effort is made by the publishers and editorial board to see that no inaccurate or misleading data, opinion or statement appears in this journal, it is pertinent to note that all opinions and the accuracy of information expressed in the journal are the sole responsibility of the contributors or advertisers and do not in any way reflect the views of the TNHJ and the Nigerian Medical Association, Rivers state Branch. It is responsibility of the Contributors and Advertisers to ensure accuracy of information in their submitted manuscripts, in line with the disclosure and confidentiality forms which they are obliged to sign. Accordingly, the publishers, the editorial board and editors and their respective employees, officers and agents accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the consequences of any such inaccurate or misleading data, opinion or statement.

     

    Sources of Funding 

    The Nigerian Health Journal is funded through monthly subventions from the Nigerian Medical Association, Rivers State Chapter. The journal also generates revenue through grants, donations, local and international subscriptions by individuals and institutions, payment for advertising and also payment for processing fees for accepted manuscripts.

     

    Subscription rates 

    Annual subscription rate for the print format of the journal in Nigeria is sixty thousand naira (N60, 000.00) per volume of four issues for individuals and eighty thousand naira (N80, 000.00) per volume for institutions.   The annual international subscription rate is one hundred and twenty (120) dollars per volume of four issues.  The above subscription rates are exclusive of postage rates are available on request. Full payment in the correct currency is required for all orders and payments options include card, PayPal, certified cheques, draft or online deposits or swift transfers. [See Subscription order form].  As all publications are open accessed, there is no subscription fee for the journal online content.

     

    Article Processing Fees

    Authors are required to pay an article processing fee of seventy thousand naira only N 70, 000.00 (For authors in Nigeria) or 100 dollars (for authors outside Nigeria). Those who desire to have fast-track processing time for their articles over 4 weeks will pay N100, 000 (143 dollars). The article processing fees (APC) are charged on acceptance of the manuscript for publication in the journal. The Nigerian Health Journal does not charge submission fee. The APC covers administrative fees to support the open access policy and projects of the Journal. The journal grants discounts and waivers in exceptional situations such as invited manuscripts or when authors’ requests. The discounts offered to authors are on case-by-case basis.

     

    Advertisement 

    The TNHJ offers a great opportunity to manufacturers and marketers of drugs, medical equipment, and consumables to reach a large pool of doctors and other health personnel in Nigeria and other subscribing countries with information on their product. The current advert rates are shown below:

    • Quarter page advert = N 50,000.
    • Strategic pages = N 100,000.
    • Inside back page = N 150,000
    • Inside Front page = N 150,000
    • Back page advert = N 200, 000
    • Front page picture = N 200,000

     

    Accounts

    Naira account

    Bank: Zenith Bank Plc

    Rumuokoro Branch, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

    Account Name: The Nigerian Health Journal

    Account Number: 1224492637 (Naira)

    Dollar account

    Bank: Zenith Bank Plc

    Account Name: The Nigerian Health Journal

    Account Number: 5072796589 (Naira)

    Other Accounts

    5080643088-Euro

    5060779578- Pound

     

    International Transfer Instructions

    BANK: CITIBANK N.A

    CANADA SQUARE

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    SORT CODE: 18-50-08

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    ACCOUNT NO: 8663076 (EURO)

    ACCOUNT NAME: ZENITH BANK PLC

    ZENITH BANK SWIFT: ZEIBNGLA

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    BANK:  CITIBANK N.A

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    SORT CODE:                   18-50-08

    SWIFT ADDRESS:            CITIGB2L

    IBAN NO:                     GB22CITI18500805527945

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    Editorial Structure

    The editorial structure comprises the editorial consultants (advisers), editorial board, editor-in-chief, deputy (managing) editor, section editor, reviewers, editorial assistants

     

    Editorial Consultants (Adviser)

    • Serve in advisory roles
    • Meeting annually with the editorial board

     

    Editorial Board

    • Comprises editor in chief, deputy editors and section editors
    • Meet quarterly before/after release of new series
    • Meeting in early March, June, September, and December

     

    Editor in Chief

    • Leads periodical reviews of the editorial corporate strategies and scope of the journal
    • Member of the Editorial Board
    • Chairs the quarterly editorial board meetings
    • Prepares annual reports
    • Receives all manuscripts
    • Makes initial judgement on suitability and reporting style
    • Ensures personal identifiers are removed from articles
    • Assigns manuscripts to Deputy (Managing Editor) and Section Editors
    • Approves final version
    • Refer reviewed articles to the copy editor
    • Communicates with the journal publisher
    • Plan capacity building for the editorial team

     

    Deputy Editor (Managing Editor) - Deputy Editor for Review & Advancement  

    • Member of the Editorial Board
    • Evaluates submissions from authors to decide what to publish
    • Conducts plagiarism checks on manuscripts recommended for publication by section editors
    • Ensuring timeliness of reviews and publication of articles
    • Verify facts and references cited in materials for publication
    • Supervises activities of section editors
    • Communicates with authors
    • Supports quality improvement of the journal
    • Assist the Editor-in-Chief in efforts at enhancing the indexing and ranking of the journal
    • Undertakes other activities assigned by the Editor-in-Chief from time to time

     

    Deputy Editor (Marketing & Circulation)

    • Member of the Editorial Board
    • Plan and implement strategies for improving journal subscription
    • Plan and implement strategies for improving article submission
    • Plan and implements strategies to enhance the visibility, availability and readership of articles published in the journal
    • Set up and manage the social media handles (WhatsApp’s, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat, YouTube) of the journal
    • Undertakes other activities assigned by the Editor-in-Chief from time to time

     

     

    Section Editor - a Section Editor (or Associate Editor) 

    • Member of the Editorial Board
    • Manages the progression of articles from submission to publication
    • Assigns manuscripts to reviewers with appropriate competencies to evaluate them
    • Communicating with peer reviewers regarding article reviews and revisions
    • Monitor quality of reviews by reviewers and recommend replacement of reviewers whose reviews are inadequate or not timely
    • Identify subject experts that would serve as reviewers
    • Verify facts and references cited in materials for publication
    • Makes recommendation on article after weighing comments of the reviewers
    • Supports marketing and quality improvement of the journal

     

    Copy Editor

    • Proofread content and correct spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors
    • Assess and make recommendations on readability, style, and congruence with editorial policy
    • Format submissions to journal requirements
    • Allocate space for text, tables, figures, photos and illustrations that make the article.
    • Arrange page layouts of articles

    Reviewer

    • Engages with the section editors and authors particularly in assisting with peer review
    • Provide regular peer review upon invitation to specific manuscripts
    • Follow the TNHJ Peer Review Guidelines
    • Submit peer-reviews by the assigned deadline
    • Recommend other peer reviewers, especially when you must decline the invitation to review a specific manuscript
    • Offer recommendations on improving the journal’s activities

     

    Benefits of reviewing for the Journal

    • Enhance the credentials of the reviewer
    • Build the professional and academic networks of the reviewer
    • Reviewers receive annual letter of appreciation from the journal (only for those who had reviewed at least one manuscript during the year)
    • Receive recognition as a leader in the professional and academic community (TNHJ Reviewers will have their names, titles and affiliations listed on the journal website)
    • Reviewers are involved in the editorial board meeting (invitation will be provided) and capacity building activities organised by the Journal.

     

    INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

     

    Introduction

    The journal strives to provide readers with open-access, peer-reviewed, articles and commentaries on broadly medical and health-related issues by publishing research findings, case reports, reviews, and perspectives. Authors should carefully read this author’s guidelines and section policies for information on manuscript submission.

     

    Scope of the Journal

    Manuscripts submitted to TNHJ   may be in the form of review articles, original research articles, case series and reports, clinical practice materials, editorial letters, short commentaries, books reviews and medical educational materials.  This covers clinical research (Surgery, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology etc), basic medicine (anatomy, physiology, biochemistry etc), nursing, pharmacy/pharmacology, laboratory practice, physiotherapy etc. All contributions are not expected to have been previously published in print or online or simultaneously submitted to another journal. 

     

    Manuscript submission

    All articles should be submitted through the journal online article submission platform. Manuscripts should be written in English with double line spacing, with margins of at least I inch on all sides. Pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page and continuing through to the last page.

     

    Formatting Requirements

    Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word format, Times New Romans with font size of 12 and double-spaced. Authors should remove all identifying information from the main manuscript before submission. Final format of manuscript is done after copyedit by the editorial office.

     

    Authorship

    Authorship implies responsibility and accountability. This should be those who have made substantial contributions to the research and preparation of the manuscript. Journal subscribes to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) which based authorship on four criteria:

    • Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work
    • Drafting the work or revising it critically
    • Final approval of the version to be published
    • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work

    The full names of all authors (first, initial, surname) should be provided as well as their affiliations. The phone and email of the corresponding author should also be provided. The Journal will scrutinize any change in authorship after submission of manuscript and irregularity in authors’ status can lead to withdrawal of the manuscript

     

    Acknowledgements

    Contributors who do not meet all four ICMJE criteria are acknowledged but not given authorship status. Acknowledgements of general support, grants, technical assistance, etc, should be indicated. Authors are responsible for obtaining the consent of all institutions and those being acknowledged. The journals endorsed Conflict of interest disclosure forms and statements shall be provided by the Authors before publication of their articles.

     

    Ethical Approval

    Authors of original research articles are expected to make statements, confirming the Ethical approval of* the work from their respective institutions on submission of their manuscript. TNHJ may, if necessary, request evidence of such approval from the Authors Institutional Review Boards. When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000. If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. When reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.

     

    PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTS

     

    Each manuscript should have a: 

     

    Cover page

    Stating Authors names, affiliated institution, corresponding author with full contact address with email and phone numbers, conflict of interest declaration, acknowledgement, ethical conformity statement, a running title of not more than 60 characters, word count for the abstract and manuscript body and acknowledgements.

     

    Abstract

    Abstracts should be structured and a summary of the background stating the objective of the paper, methods, results, and conclusion, should not exceed 250 words for all categories of articles. Citations, Figures, Tables, Images, Illustrations, Abbreviations (if possible) should not be included in the abstract.

     

    Keywords

    Keywords are essential and frequently used to maximise online retrieval of the article. The keywords should not be more than 7 words/phases, and contain essential terms/words from the title, abstract or main manuscript. Should be cases (except abbreviations or proper names), separated by commas and end in a full stop. Acronyms should be spelt out e.g., IOM, Institute of Medicine.

     

    Abbreviation and Nomenclature

    All abbreviations must first be written in full followed by parentheses before subsequent use in the manuscript.  All Non-standard abbreviations contained in the manuscript (excluding references) should be listed in an alphabetical order with definitions after key words

     

    Main Manuscript

    Except for Review Articles, Case Reports, Editorial, Short Commentaries and Medical Education articles, all manuscript Should be categorized into the Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussion and References section.  Each of the following sections should begin on a new page.  All units of measurement and laboratory values must be expressed in line with (System International) SI unit standards.  Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and placed after the sections of the manuscript which they reflect, particularly the results which they describe on separate pages. Legends should be provided for all tables and figures, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the tables and figures. Any abbreviation and symbols in the tables and figures should also be explained. Vertical lines should not be used when constructing the tables. All tables and figures should also be sent in electronic format by email on submission of the manuscript as supplementary files. Clinical Photographs should conceal the subject's identity. The authors accept the full responsibility of obtaining the written consent of the subjects.

    The Nigerian Health Journal adheres to the EQUATOR (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) Network initiative that seeks to enhance reporting of medical literature (https://www.equator-network.org/). Authors should ensure that the appropriate reporting guidelines/checklists/statements are followed in reporting their research. Such guidelines include:

    • CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials)
    • PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis)
    • ENTREQ (Enhancing Transparency in REporting the synthesis of Qualitative research)
    • COREQ (Consolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research)
    • CARE (CAse REport guidelines)
    • SQUIRE (Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence)
    • STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology)
    • SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items for Interventional Trials)
    • CHEERS (Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards)
    • STARD (Standards for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy Studies)
    • MOOSE (Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology)
    • AGREE (Appraisal of Guidelines Research & Evaluation)
    • REMARK (Reporting Recommendations for Tumor Marker Prognostic Studies)

     

    Article Length

    Word limits inclusive of references are as follows; Correspondence: 1500 words, Short Commentaries: 2,500 words, Reviews: 4,000 words, Original Research articles: 3,500 words, Case Reports: 2,500 words, Book review 4,000 words, medical education, and clinical practice materials 4,000 words.  The word limits exclude tables, figures, and references. Authors should assume each figure counts for 250 words of the total word count. However, depending on the topic and potential impact of a paper, the Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to waive word limits.

     

    Referencing

    References should be cited in accordance with the Vancouver citation in line with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/). References in the text should be numbered consecutively in superscript font format in the order in which they are first cited, using Arabic numerals.  Unpublished papers should not be listed in the references. The names of the journals in the reference section should be abbreviated in line with Index Medicus guidelines. Journals without standard abbreviation should be written in full. References cited only in tables or figure legends should be numbered in accordance with the first mention of the relevant table or figure in the text. Authors are advised to review the reference guidelines below. [Authors may also view this document through this URL http://www.library.uq.edu.au/training/citation/vancouv.pdf]

    The TNHJ Reference guidelines was sourced from the University of Queensland Australia Library resources, titled the “References/Bibliography Vancouver Style “How To guide”.

     The list of references should contain details of only of those works cited in the text which preferably should not be more than 40 references. Your reference list should identify references cited (e.g., book, journal article, pamphlet, internet site, cassette tape or film) in sufficient detail so that others may locate and consult your references. Punctuation marks and spaces in the reference list and citations are very important. Follow the punctuation and spacing exactly in the examples given.  When multiple references are cited at a given place in the text, use a hyphen to join the first and last numbers that are inclusive. Use commas (without spaces) to separate non inclusive numbers in a multiple citation e.g., 2,3,4,5,7,10 is abbreviated to (2-5,7,10) Do not use a hyphen if there are no citation numbers in between that support your statement e.g., 1-2. Give the first six names in full and add “et al”. The authors should be listed in the order in which they appear on the title page and ensure consistency in their referencing format.

     

    Submission checklist

     

    Authors should use this list to carry out a final check of your submission before you send it to the journal for review. Please check the relevant section in this Guide for Authors for more details.

    Ensure that the following items are present:

    *One author has been designated as the corresponding author √

    *All authors included meet the requirements of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations for authorship

    *Contact details of corresponding author is provided:

    • E-mail address √
    • Phone number √
    • Full postal address √

    *Affiliations and ORCID iDs (if available) of all authors are provided √

    *All necessary files have been uploaded √

    *Manuscript:

    • Include keywords √
    • All figures (include relevant captions) √
    • All tables (including titles, description, footnotes) √
    • Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided √
    • Indicate clearly if color should be used for any figures in print √
    • Graphical Abstracts / Highlights files (where applicable) √
    • Supplemental files (where applicable) √

    *Further considerations

    • Ethics approval obtained and reported in the manuscript √
    • Manuscript has been 'spell checked' and 'grammar checked' √
    • Manuscript reported in line with specified reporting guideline √
    • All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa √
    • References are in Vancouver referencing style √
    • Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet) √
    • Full disclosure if AI tools were used in concept development, data collection, analysis, writing the manuscripts. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those parts produced by an Ai tool, are thus liable for any breach of publication ethics √
    • A competing interest’s statement is provided, even if the authors have no competing interests to declare Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed √

     

    PEER REVIEW PROCESS

    TNHJ ensures an objective and quick peer review process, with a targeted maximum paper turnaround time of three weeks.  All manuscripts are subjected to an internal Editorial review process is on conformity with the scope of the journal and guidelines for submitted manuscripts. Articles are then subjected to a double-blind review by an odd number of reviewers, usually three. The double-blind review process ensures that the reviewers and authors are unaware of each other’s identity. The journal’s editorial advisers and peer reviewers are provided with a structured peer review assessment form aimed at achieving an objective review. Academics interested in becoming editorial advisers and peer reviewers should send their expression of intent with a brief profile by email to editor@tnhjph.org.

    Processing timelines from submission

    The timelines for the various stages of processing of manuscripts for publication is shown below.

    Acknowledgement  72 hours

    Reviews  12 weeks

    Fast track review  4 weeks

    Post-review activities to publication  4 weeks

     

    Peer Reviewer Guidelines (2022)

     

    Each article is sent to 3 reviewers who have competence on the subject to be reviewed. Double blind review where both authors and reviewers keep their anonymity is adopted by the Journal. Reviewers are sent an email request for their review of the article and before they accept the review request, they should make sure their experience fits with the topic of the article for review. Reviews are due 28 days from the initial acceptance of the review assignment except in cases of FastTrack reviews. Reviewers who need an extension or wish to decline initial acceptance should contact the section editor immediately so the manuscript can be reassigned to other reviewers. Reviewers are encouraged to state any competing interest in the conduct of specific reviews.

    Peer reviewers are expected to offer both supportive and constructive feedback to strengthen the manuscript. They should give specific constructive feedback and honest commendation where needed. They can also provide annotations on the blind copy of the manuscript which can direct areas author(s) should deal with.

    During submission of reviewed manuscripts, reviewers are expected to complete a substantive reviewer’s report using the template provided. They are also expected to give clear recommendations on the article as provided in the submission portion of the website.

    Copyright

     

    The Journal is owned, published, and copyrighted by the Nigerian Medical Association, River state Branch. The copyright of papers published are vested in the journal and the publisher. Open access authors retain the copyrights of their papers, with the work three months after publication simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (Attribution, Non-Commercial, ShareAlike” 4.0) - (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

     

    Open Access

    This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.

    The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations.

    While the advice and information in this journal are believed to be true and accurate on the date of its going to press, neither the authors, the editors, nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.

     TNHJ also supports open access archiving of articles published in the journal after three months of publication.  Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) within the stated period, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. All requests for permission for open access archiving outside this period should be sent to the editor via email to editor@tnhjph.org.

     

    Acknowledgments

    The TNHJ Editorial board acknowledges the use of the following resources in developing its Editorial Policy, Peer Review and Referencing Guidelines.

    Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication (Updated October 2008) Publication Ethics: Sponsorship, Authorship, and Accountability. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors

    • World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. JAMA. 2000; 284:3043-5.
    • References – Monash University. Quick reference guide: Vancouver Citing & Referencing Style [online]. Available from https://guides.lib.monash.edu/ld.php?content_id=48260115 [cited 23rd June 2022]

     

     

    THANK YOU

    EDITOR-IN-CHIEF TNHJ