Online Submission

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Manuscripts in the following languages are accepted: Portuguese, Spanish, and English. Articles submitted in Portuguese or Spanish are translated by our journal into English and published in both languages. For articles submitted in English, there is no translation to Portuguese.

The original research manuscript must follow the structure known as IMRAD: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (Text Structure). Manuscripts based on qualitative researches may have other formats, with Results and Discussion being accepted in the same section, as well as Final Remarks and Conclusions. Other manuscript categories (reviews, commentary, etc.) must follow the text format suited to them.

The studies must be presented so that any interested researcher may reproduce its results. For that, we encourage using the following recommendations, according to the submitted article category:

  • CONSORT checklist and flowchart for controlled and randomized tests;
  • STARD checklist and flowchart for diagnostic accuracy studies;
  • MOOSE checklist and flowchart for meta-analyses and systematic review of observation studies;
  • PRISMA checklist and flowchart for systematic reviews and meta-analyses;
  • STROBE checklist for observation studies in epidemiology;
  • RATS checklist for qualitative studies.

Details on the items required for presenting the study are described according to the article category.

As a way of evaluating the occurrence of plagiarism, all received manuscripts are submitted to a program for text similarity detection.

The first author’s ORCID, as well as all other co-authors’ ones, must be informed when submitting the manuscripts, in the cover letter.

Article categories

a) Original Articles

Include observational, experimental or quasi-experimental studies, program evaluation, cost-effectiveness analyses, decision analyses, and studies on the evaluation of the performance of diagnose tests for populational triage. Each article must contain clear objectives and hypothesis, used design and methodology, results, discussion and conclusions.

They also include theoretical essays (critique and formulation of significant theoretical knowledge) and articles dedicated to present and discuss methodological aspects and techniques used in public health research. In this case, the text must be organized into topics to guide the reader in relation to the essential elements of the argument developed.

Measurement tools in populational research

Manuscripts that deal with measurement tools may include aspects related to transcultural development, evaluation, and adaptation for usage in populational studies, excluding the ones with clinical application, which do not meet the RSP scope.

For measurement manuscripts, we recommend the presentation of a detailed appreciation of the evaluated construct, including its possible intensity gradient and its occasional sub-dimensions. The development of a new tool must be based on a literature review, which can explicitly identify the insufficiency of previous proposals and justify the need for a new tool.

The following must be detailed in the text: item proposition, selection, and elaboration, as well as the employment of strategies to adequate it to the construct’s definition, including the use of qualitative techniques in research (in-depth interviews, focal groups, etc.), meetings with specialist panels, among others; the path traced in the definition of how to measure items and the performing pre-tests, along with its preliminary sets; and the evaluation of face, content, criteria, construct or dimensional validity.

Tool reliability analyses must also be presented and discussed, including measures for internal consistency, test-retest reliability, or interobserver concordance. The authors must expose the process of selecting the final tool and place it in critical and comparative view in relation to other tools destined to evaluate the same or similar constructs.

For manuscripts on the transcultural adaptation of measurement tools, besides fulfilling the aforementioned recommendations on the whole, it is necessary to explain the theoretical model guiding the process. The authors must just as well justify the choice for a certain tool for adaptation to a certain socio-cultural context, based on a through literature review. Lastly, they should also explicitly indicate how, and which were the adapting theoretical model’s phases used in the work submitted for publication.

The measurement tool must be included as an annex in the submitted article.

Manuscript organization

Besides the mentioned recommendations, authors must verify the following formatting instructions:

a) Original article

  • Should have a maximum of 3,500 words (excluding abstract, table, figures, and references).
  • Number of table and figures: up to 5.
  • Number of references: up to 30.
  • Abstract in the structured format with up to 300 words.

b) Concise communication - Short reports on findings which are of interest to public health, but which do not comprise a wider analysis or a more extensive discussion. Its presentation must follow the norms required for original articles.

  • Should have a maximum of 1,500 words (excluding abstract, tables, figures, and references).
  • Number of tables and figures: one table or figure.
  • Number of references: up to 5.
  • Abstract in narrative form with a maximum of 100 words.

c) Review article

  • Systematic review and meta-analysis - Through the synthesis of results in original, quantitative or qualitative, studies, it aims to answer a specific question, which is significant to public health. It describes in detail the process of looking for original studies, the criteria used for selecting the ones included in the review and the procedures employed for synthetizing the results obtained by the reviewed studies. Consult:

MOOSE: checklist and flowchart for meta-analyses and systematic reviews of observational studies;

PRISMA:  checklist and flowchart for systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

  • Narrative or critical review - The narrative or critical review has a descriptive-discursive character, and it is dedicated to comprehensively present and discuss themes of scientific interest in the field of public health. It must present a clear formulation of a scientific interested object, logical argumentation, theoretic-methodological critique of consulted works, and a concluding synthesis. It must be designed by researchers with experience in the studied field or specialists of recognized knowledge.

 

  • It must have a maximum of 4,000 words (excluding abstract, tables, figures, and references).
  • Number of tables and figures: up to 5.
  • Number of references: no limitation.
  • Abstracts in the structured format must have up to 300 words, or 150 words for narrative formats.

d) Commentary - They aim to encourage the discussion, introduce a debate, and “fuel” controversies on significant aspects of public health. The text must be organized into topics or subitems. The introduction must highlight the subject and its significance. Mentioned references must support the main aspects covered by the text.

  • They must contain a maximum of 2,000 words (excluding abstracts, tables, figures, and references).
  • Number of references: up to 30.
  • Number of tables and figures: up to 5.
  • Abstracts in the narrative form must have a maximum of 150 words.

We also publish Letters to the Editor with up to 600 words and a maximum of 5 references.

 

MANUSCRIPT IDENTIFICATION DATA

Authorship

The notion of authorship is based on the substantial contribution of each one of the persons listed as author, in regards of the conception of the research project, data analysis and interpretation, writing, and critical review. Each author’s contribution must be explained in a specific declaration for that end. The inclusion of authors whose contribution does not fit the mentioned criteria is not justified. 

Author identification data (registry)

Name and surname: The author must follow the format in which he/she is already indexed in databases and which is registered in the ORCID.

Corresponding address: The name and address of the author responsible for letter exchange must be mentioned.

Institution: Up to three hierarchy institutional levels of affiliation may be included (for example: university, institute, department).

Co-authors: Identify the manuscript’s co-authors by their names, surnames, and institutions, according to the authorship order.

Research support: If the research was subsidized, the type of support, name of financing agency, and the respective number of the process must be indicated.

Previous presentation: If the research was presented in a scientific meeting, the event’s name, place, and year must be indicated.

Conflict of interests

Public reliability in the peer revision process and the credibility of published articles depend partly on how conflicts of interests are managed during writing, peer revision, and decision-making by the editors. 

Conflicts of interests may arise when authors, reviewers, or editors have interests, visible or not, that may affect manuscript elaboration or evaluation. The conflict of interests may be personal, commercial, political, academic, or financial. 

When authors submit a manuscript, they are responsible for recognizing and revealing financial or other conflicts that may have influenced their work. The authors must indicate in the manuscript all financial support given to the work or other financial or personal connections in relation to the research. The reviewer must report to the editors any conflict of interests that may affect their opinion on the manuscript and, when applicable, must declare him/herself non-qualified to review it. 

If the authors are unsure of what may be considered a potential conflict of interests, they should contact the RSP’s editorial secretary. 

Declarations and documents 

According to the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), some documents and declarations by the authors are required for evaluating their manuscripts. Read the following document list and, if applicable, attach the documents to the process. The moment in which each document is required varies:

Document

Who must sign it

When to attach it

a. Cover letter

All authors or the first one signs and inserts the ORCID of all authors informed in the cover letter.

When submitting

b. Declaration of Responsibility for Acknowledgments

Responsible author

After the approval

c. Declaration of Copyright Transference

All authors

After the approval

 a) Cover letter

The cover letter must be signed by all authors or at least by the first author. The ORCID of all authors must be informed in the letter.

The cover letter must have:

  • Information on the manuscript’s findings and most important conclusions and explanation about its significance for public health;
  • Information of the study’s novelty and why it should be published in this journal;
  • Mention of up to three articles, if any, published by the authors in the same research line of the manuscript;
  • Attestation of exclusively submitting the manuscript to RSP;
  • Declaration of the authors’ potential conflict of interests;
  • Each authors’ contribution to the manuscript.

According to the authorship criteria by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), authors should fulfill all following conditions: (1) contributing significantly to the conception and planning, or data analysis and interpretation; (2) contributing significantly to draft elaborations or to the content’s critical review; and (3) participating in the approval of the manuscript’s final version.

In the case of multicentric groups, or if a great number of authors has developed the work, the group must indicate the individuals that accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals must completely fulfill the aforementioned criteria for authorship. In this case, the editors will ask them for the required declarations when submitting the manuscripts. The corresponding author must clearly indicate the preferred way of mentioning the group’s name and identification of its members, which will be listed at the end of the article.

Do not comprise authorship: those who only acquired financing, gathered data, or performed a general supervision of the research group.

 b) Declaration of Responsibility for Acknowledgements

The authors must mention the names of those who, although they did not fit the authorship requisites, have collaborated to the work. It will be necessary to explain the reason for the acknowledgement (e.g.: scientific consultancy, manuscript critical review, data collection, etc.). Mentioned people should express their permission and the responsible author must attach the Declaration of Responsibility for Acknowledgements. It may also comprise the logistical support by institutions.

 c) Declaration of Copyright Transference

All authors must read, sign and send the document transferring copyrights. The article will be authorized for publication only when this document is in the possession of RSP.

The copyright transference document will be requested after the article is approved. 

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Title in the manuscript’s original language

The title must be concise and complete, containing significant information that can enable the recuperation of the article in databases. The limit is 90 characters, including spaces. If the manuscript is submitted in English, it will be also necessary to inform the title in Portuguese. 

Short title

It is the title that will appear in the article’s header. It must contain the subject in a maximum of 45 characters. 

Descriptors

For manuscripts written in Portuguese or Spanish, the authors must indicate 3 to 10 descriptors extracted from the Descritores em Ciências da Saúde (DeCS) by BVS/Bireme. For English, authors should use the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) by the National Library of Medicine (USA). If descriptors suited to the article’s theme are not found, keywords may be indicated. 

Abstract

The abstract must be written in the original language of the manuscript. Specifications regarding the abstract type are described in each of the article categories. As a general rule, the abstract must include: aim of the study, main methodological procedures (studied population, place and year of performance, observational and analytical methods), main results and conclusions. 

Text structure

Introduction Must be short, reporting the context and justification of the study, supported by references suited to the manuscript’s objective, which must be clear at the end of this section. 

Methodology – It is indispensable to clearly describe the procedures adopted, the analyzed variables (with their respective definition, if needed), and the hypothesis to be tested. The population, sample, and measuring tools must also be described, presenting, if possible, validity measures. It is necessary to indicate information on data collection and processing. Due references for methods and techniques employed, including statistical methods, must be included; it is essential that new methods or the ones that were substantially modified be described, justifying the reasons for employing it and mentioning its limitations. Ethic criteria in research must be respected. The authors must explain that the research was conducted according to the ethic standards and approved by an ethics committee. 

Results – It is necessary to present them in a logical sequence, beginning with the description of the most important data. Tables and figures should be restricted to the ones that are necessary for the argument and the description of data in the text must be restricted to the most important ones. Graphs should be used to highlight significant results and to summarize complex relations. Data in graphs and tables should not be duplicated nor repeated throughout the text. Numerical results must specify the statistical method used in the analysis. 

Discussion – Based on the data obtained and results reached, new and significant aspects observed should be interpreted in the light of scientific literature and pre-existing theories in the field. Arguments and proofs based on personal communication or published in restricted documents cannot be used as bases for the author’s argumentation. Both the work’s limitation and its implications for future research must be described. It is necessary to include only hypotheses and generalizations based on data from the study. The Conclusions must close this section, recovering the work’s objective. 

References

List: References must be normalized according to the Vancouver style - Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication, listed according to the order of apparition. Journal titles must be cited in abbreviation, according to the PubMed. For publications with up to six authors, all of them should be cited; for more than six, only the six first should be cited, followed by the Latin expression “et al.”. Whenever possible, include the DOI of the cited work. 

Examples:

Journal articles

Brüggemann OM, Osis MJD, Parpinelli MA. Apoio no nascimento: percepções de profissionais e acompanhantes escolhidos pela mulher. Rev Saude Publica. 2007;41(1):44-52. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0034-89102006005000015 

Books

Wunsch Filho V, Koifman S. Tumores malignos relacionados com o trabalho. In: Mendes R, coordenador. Patologia do trabalho. 2. ed. São Paulo: Atheneu; 2003. v.2, p. 990-1040. 

Foley KM, Gelband H, editors. Improving palliative care for cancer Washington: National Academy Press; 2001[cited 2003 jul 13] Available at: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10149 

For other examples, we recommend consulting the norms (“Citing Medicine”) by the National Library of Medicine, available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bookshelf/br.fcgi?book=citmed

In-Text citations

It is necessary for the reference to be indicated by its number in the list, as an exponent (superscript) before the punctuation, without parenthesis, brackets or similar symbols. In cases when the author’s name and year are significant, the reference number must be typed before the author’s name. Works by two authors must cite both authors connected by “and”. In cases of multiple authors, cite only the first author followed by ”et al.”. 

Examples:

The promotion of population health has as reference the article by Evans and Stoddart9, who consider the distribution of income, social development, and individual reaction in the determinations of health-disease process. 

According to Lima at al.9 (2006), the prevalence of mental disorders in medicine students is higher than in the general population. 

Tables

They should be presented at the end of the text, after the references, and numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals, in the same order they were mentioned in the text. Each table must have a short title. Do not use internal horizontal or vertical dashes. Explanatory notes must be inserted at the foot of the table and not in the title. If there is a table extracted from a previously published work, the authors must formally ask the authorization of the journal that published it for its reproduction.

To build a legible table, the maximum number is 10 columns, depending on the amount of content in each space. Notes in tables must be indicated by letters and superscripted. 

Boxes

Boxes differ from tables for containing text instead of numerical data. They should be presented at the end of the text, after the references, and numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals, in the same order they were mentioned in the text. Each chart must have a short title. Explanatory notes must be inserted at the foot of the box and not in the title. If there is a chart extracted from a previously published work, the authors must formally ask the authorization of the journal that published it for its reproduction. 

Figures

Images (photography, drawings, graphs, etc.) must be cited as Figures and numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals, in the same order they were mentioned in the text and presented after the tables. They also must have a title and legend inserted on the lower part of the figure. Figures will only be accepted for publication if they were sufficiently clear and have digital quality, preferably in a vector format. For JPEG format, the minimum resolution must be 300 dpi. Graphs with grid lines are not accepted, and their elements (bars, circles) cannot have volume (3-D). If there is a figure extracted from a previously published work, the authors must formally ask the authorization of the journal that published it for its reproduction. 

Submission checklist

  1. Name and affiliation institution of each author, including e-mail and telephone.
  2. Manuscript title, in the original language of the manuscript, with up to 90 characters, including spaces between words.
  3. Summarized title with 45 characters.
  4. Text presented in Arial font, body size 12, in Word or similar formats (doc, docx, and rtf).
  5. Structured abstract for original research papers in the original language of the manuscript.
  6. Narrative abstract for non-research manuscripts in the original language of the manuscript.
  7. Cover letter, containing signed authorship responsibility. It must be signed by all authors or at least by the first author and contain the ORCID of all authors. 
  8. Name of the supporting agency and number(s) of the process(es).
  9. References normalized according to the Vancouver style, presented in citation order. It is necessary to verify if all references are cited in the text.
  10. Tables numbered sequentially, with title and notes, with a maximum of 10 columns.
  11. Figure in vector format in pdf, tif, jpeg, or bmp, with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Graphs should not have grid lines nor volume.
  12. Tables, boxes, and figures must not be, altogether, more than five. 

EDITORIAL PROCESS

a) Evaluation

Pre-analysis: the Scientific Editor evaluates manuscripts based on their quality and relevance for the public health field and decides whether the manuscript will be selected for peer reviews or not.

Peer review: if selected in the pre-analysis, the manuscript is sent to one of the Associate Editors registered at the system according to his/her respective area of expertise. The Associate Editor selects the reviewers (two) according to their area of expertise and submits the manuscript for evaluation. If the Associate Editor considers that the received opinions are insufficient for a conclusion, he/she should refer another (other) reviewer(s). Based on the opinions, the Associate Editor decides: to refuse it, if the manuscript has major deficiencies; to accept it; or to allow a new submission, and, in this case, he/she should indicate in his/her comments the important modifications for possible reformulation and for re-evaluation by reviewers. 

 b) Scientific writing review

To be published, the approved manuscript will be edited by a team that will review grammar, style, and scientific writing (clarity, conciseness, objectivity, and solidity). RSP reserves the right of making changes aiming at a perfect communication with readers. The responsible author will have access to all suggested changes until the last proof sent.

 c) Proofs 

The author responsible for correspondence will receive a proof, in a text file (doc, docx, or rtf), with observations and changes made by the technical reading team. The deadline for reviewing the proof is two days.

In case there are doubts regarding this proof, the editorial team will contact the author to review the text, until a final version of it is reached.

Articles submitted in Portuguese or Spanish will translated into English. About 20 days after the author has finished the article’s proof, RSP will send the article’s version in English for appreciation by the author. During this review, the author should pay attention to possible interpretation errors, field vocabulary, and especially to the content equivalence to the approved original version. The deadline for reviewing the English version is two days.

The RSP adopts the continuous publication system. Therefore, the publication is faster: it does not depend on a set of articles for closing an issue, but on the individual process of each article. Because of that, we ask authors to observe the stipulated deadlines. 

PUBLICATION FEES

Although journals receive subsidies from public institutions, such subsidization is not enough to maintain them. Thus, charging publication fees was the alternative found to ensure the necessary resources to produce the RSP.

RSP, in 2016, has completed 50 years of publication and only in 2012 it has begun to charge fees for articles, an imperative fact in order to ensure its continuity, specially allowing it to evolve with more advanced technology, which also demands higher quality and technological resources.

The fees charged are assessed annually. Therefore, for articles submitted after July 1, 2019, the fee is R$ 2,400.00 for original articles, review and commentary, and R$ 1,600.00 for brief communication.

RSP provides the authors with the necessary documentation to prove the payment of the fee for employing institutions, post-graduate programs or research funding agencies.

After having the article approved, the authors must wait to receive the proforma invoice with the information on how to pay the fee.

 a) COVER LETTER MODEL

City, _[day]_ of month year. 

Dear Mr. Editor, Revista de Saúde Pública

[Inform the most important finding and conclusions in the manuscript and explain its meaning for public health]

[Inform the novelty of the study]

[Mention, if any, up to three articles published by the authors in the same research line than the manuscript]

Thus, we submit to your appreciation the work “____________[title]____________”, which fits RSP’s areas of interest. The journal was chosen [justify the choice for the journal to publish the manuscript].

Authors’ contribution (example): work’s design, planning, analysis, interpretation, and writing: author 1; result interpretation and manuscript writing: author 2. Both authors have approved the submitted final version.

I certify that this manuscript represents an original work and that it, or another work with substantially similar content by me, has not been published, in parts or completely, nor is it being considered for publication by another journal, be it in print or digital publications.

The authors declare no conflict of interest. (If there is a conflict, explain it). 

__________________________

1st author’s complete name + signature + ORCID

 

___________________________

2nd author’s complete name  + ORCID

 b) DECLARATION OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 I, (full name of the author responsible for the submission), author of the manuscript named (full title of the article):

. Certify that all persons that have substantially contributed to making this manuscript, but who did not fit the authorship criteria, are cited along with their specific contributions in Acknowledgements in the manuscript.

. Certify that all persons mentioned in the Acknowledgements have provided their due written permission. 

 

_____/_____/_______                                  ________________________________________

DATE                                                                       FULL NAME AND SIGNATURE

 c) DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT TRANSFERENCE

I agree that all copyrights referring to the manuscript [TITLE], approved for publication in the Revista de Saúde Pública, will be sole property of the Faculdade de Saúde Pública, being permitted its complete or partial reproduction in any other mean of publication, printed or digital, since the source is cited, conferring the due credit to the Revista de Saúde Pública. 

Authors: 

 

_______________________                              ________________________________

Place, date                                                       FULL NAME + Signature

 

_______________________                              ________________________________

Place, date                                                        FULL NAME + Signature