All manuscripts should be submitted via ScholarOne Manuscripts.
Healthcare Infection provides a peer-reviewed medium to expand infection control knowledge, in order to prevent infection-related illness. The journal´s readership of infection control professionals gain up-to-date and peer-reviewed articles covering clinical topics and original research.
We welcome submitted manuscripts in all areas of infection control. Articles are reviewed by at least one specialist reviewer and then edited before publication (and edited proofs are returned to authors for checking).
- Licence to publish
- Journal editorial policy
- Submission procedure
- Preparation of manuscripts
- Covering letter
- General organisation and length
- Consent
- Clinical Trials
- Language and style
- Title
- Abstract
- Implications
- Manuscript text
- Conflicts of interest
- Funding
- Tables and figures
- References
- Nomenclature of microorganisms
- Letters to the Editor
- Author´s checklist
- Peer review
- Page proofs
- Reprints
- Address for submissions
Licence to publish
For details regarding copyright, please see Copyright/Licence to Publish.
Journal editorial policy
Authors should obtain the appropriate clearances from their directors or supervisors before submission.
Healthcare Infection subscribes to the criteria for authorship as outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those that qualify should be listed. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. At least one author, ´corresponding author´, should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article. Authorship credit should be based only on (a) substantial contributions to conception and design or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (b) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, and (c) final approval of the version to be published. All conditions must all be met.
Distinction must be made between those who contributed as authors and those who should be named in Acknowledgements.
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to use figures and tables previously published in other books or journals, and written consent for patient photographs. It is also the reponsibility of the authors to check reproduced materials against the original for accuracy.
Submission procedure
To submit your paper, please use our online journal management system ScholarOne Manuscripts, which can be reached directly through this link or from the link on the journal´s homepage. If a first-time user, register via the ´Register here´ link, or use your existing username and password to log in. Then click on the ´Author Centre´ link and proceed.
A covering letter must accompany the submission and should include the names, institutional affiliations, and addresses of all authors, and contact number and email of the corresponding author. Authors should obtain the appropriate clearances from their directors or supervisors before submission. The letter should also contain a statement justifying why the work should be considered for publication in the journal and that the manuscript has not been published or simultaneously submitted for publication elsewhere. Include also any conflicts of interest (eg. shareholding, receipt of a grant, consultancy fees or contract) related to your manuscript.
Preparation of manuscripts
All submissions should be accompanied by a covering letter telling us the names, institutional affiliations, addresses and contact numbers of the authors, in addition to a completed Licence to Publish form.
Submissions should be double-spaced with ample margins. Number all pages consecutively. Font should be size 12, and recommended typeface Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri. Authors should retain one copy for their own reference.
Authors are advised to note the style of headings, tables and illustrations exemplified in the latest issues of the Journal. Strict observance of the requirements listed in ICMJE and following Preparation of Manuscripts instructions will shorten the interval between submission and publication. Poorly prepared or unnecessarily lengthy manuscripts have less prospect of being accepted. Poor quality figures will be returned for correction and will delay acceptance.
Covering letter
The manuscript body should not contain information identifying the author(s). Rather, on covering letter include the title of the article, full name(s), academic qualifications and institutional affiliation of the author(s), the city and state, and country. The corresponding author´s name, postal address, telephone and fax numbers and email address should also be provided. The cover letters must also explain why you wish to publish in Healthcare Infection, state that all listed authors have approved the final version, document the word count of the manuscript and confirm the manuscript has not been published elsewhere or simultaneously submitted for publication The body of the manuscript is to contain the title of the article only to allow double-blind peer review.
A suggested template for a cover letter can be downloaded.
General organisation and length
Article content should be structured according to the type of submission. For scientific papers the following headings should be used: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and References. Case reports and reviews should include an Abstract, Introduction (including how the information was obtained), the case report or review, Discussion, and any Recommendations. References should include seminal articles related to the topic.
Case reports, reviews and articles may include Lessons from Practice, Conference Report (overview of recent conference highlights), Position Statement (recommendations from learned bodies or interest groups) or Discussion and Details of a controversial topic.
Papers should be:
Consent
All trials involving patients or human volunteers must have ethics committee approval, which must be explicitly stated in the paper. Volunteers must have given written informed consent. All case reports must have the consent of the patient for publication. When reporting on deceased patients make certain that they cannot be identified. Manuscripts not meeting these criteria will be rejected.
Clinical Trials
Articles on clinical trials should contain abstracts that include items the CONSORT group has identified as essential. When reporting a randomised controlled trial (RCT) include the trial registration number at the end of the abstract. When reporting on a RCT, list the trial registration number at the first instance of using the trial acronym whenever a registration number is available.
Language and style
The following items provide useful guidance:
Title
The title should be concise, informative and relevant.
Abstract
Every manuscript except book reviews must include an abstract of not more than 250 words, which concisely summarises the purpose, basic procedures, main findings and principal conclusions of the study. The Abstract should be clear and succinct, covering the purpose, research method, main findings (including statistical significance if relevant), and principal conclusions.
The Abstract should be organised under the following headings for original research: Background, Methods, Results and Conclusions. For reviews and editorials there should be no headings. It should be complete enough for direct use by abstracting services. Acronyms and references should be avoided.
Implications
For articles, reviews and case reports, authors are required to provide, in addition to an abstract, the implications the manuscript has for policy, practice, or research in less than 50 words. These are to be in dot point form.
Manuscript text
The Methods section should clearly state how the study was carried out. The reader should have a clear idea about the research design and how it was applied to answer the research question or hypothesis. The setting, subjects, instruments, and tools should also be elucidated.
For Review manuscripts the author should describe their data collection methods; this information should also be included in the Abstract.
Results describe the findings. These should not be repeated or introduced elsewhere, and discussion of results should be reserved for the Discussion section. The presentation of results (text, tables, or illustrations) is important. The purpose of graphs and tables is to supplement the text and provide a concise overview of the results. Graphs or tables should serve a purpose, and be clear and easy to understand.
The Discussion describes the significance of the results, including new and important findings. Discussion should be pertinent and concise, including the implications of the findings, limitations, and implications. The author may interpret the results, express opinions, speculate about the significance of the results and may compare them with those of other studies. No new information should be introduced and it is important to avoid repetition.
Statements made in the Conclusion should be derived from and supported by the findings in the study. They should relate to the goals of the study, clearly communicating the answer to the research question and how the work has contributed to new knowledge (or validated previous findings). Recommendations can be included if appropriate.
Conflicts of interest
Under a subheading ´Conflicts of interest´ at the end of the text all authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with organisations or people that could inappropriately influence their work. If there are no conflicts of interest, authors should state that none exist.
Funding
All sources of funding should be declared in the Acknowledgments or under a separate heading ´Funding´. If funding was received, please state any involvement the funders played in conducting the research or manuscript preparation. If no funding was received, please state ´No funding was received in relation to the research presented or preparation of the manuscript´.
Tables and figures
These should be clear and accurate, not contain excessive data and be presented on separate pages, with their placement in the text indicated.
Tables must be double-spaced and self-contained. Avoid using vertical lines or ditto (") marks. The table should have a title which should clearly describe the table. Each column and row should have a heading. Abbreviations should be explained in a footnote.
Figures should be simple. Every line in a graph should have a purpose and should be part of the message. Avoid three-dimensional boxes or unnecessary shading. If you need to distinguish columns in a histogram, use a pattern rather than a colour or shading. Figures need a legend (which should include all explanatory text; that is, avoid displaying stray text on the graph itself), and axes should be labelled. Ensure that text on the graph is large enough to be legible when the graph is reduced to the size of a column.
All Tables and Figures must be enumerated consecutively and cited within the text. Photos can be lightly identified on the back, indicating their number, the author and the top of the picture.
If material is presented in a table or graph, there is no need to repeat it in the text.
References
The journal conforms to the recommendations in:
The reference list should not include notes; these should be incorporated in the text of the article.
All references must be cited consecutively in the text using superscript numbers, and listed in numerical order at the end of the manuscript. List all authors where there are six or less; when there are seven or more, list the first six only, followed by et al.. Journals titles should be abbreviated according to the style of Index Medicus. Examples of the referencing format are as follows:
Nomenclature of microorganisms
Binary names, consisting of a generic name and a specific epithet (e.g. Staphylococcus aureus) must be used for all microorganisms. Names of categories above the genus level may be used alone (for example, Enterobacteriaceae) but specific and subspecific epithets may not. If species are either not known or typed, the generic name should be followed by ´sp.´ (for example, Neisseria sp.). A specific epithet must be preceded by a generic name the first time it is used in the paper; thereafter, the generic name should be abbreviated to the initial capital letter (e.g. E. coli). Names of all genera, species, and subspecies are to be printed in italics.
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor with relevant comments on published material are encouraged. Authors will be offered the right of reply to letters referring to earlier published manuscripts. Letters to the Editor may include references.
Author´s checklist
Download the author´s checklist or view list below:
- Cover letter: Include your rationale for seeking publication in Healthcare Infection, a statement that material has not been published or submitted elsewhere, permission to reproduce published material where necessary and declaration of any conflict(s) of interest (e.g. shareholding, receipt of a grant, consultancy fees or contract) related to your manuscript. The original letter must be signed by all authors, or by the corresponding author on behalf of all authors. Include the title of article; full name(s), title(s), qualifications and affiliations of author(s); name, address, phone, fax and email address of contact person. The letter must also state that all listed authors have approved the final version and document the word count of the manuscript. A template for a cover letter can be downloaded (not mandatory).
- First manuscript page: include title of article but no author details.
- Abstract: Maximum 250 words, single paragraph, double-spaced.
- Implications: Maximum 50 words, dot point. Separate document. Detail the implications your manuscript has for policy, practice or research.
- Article: Number pages consecutively, double-space the text, font size 12. Ensure you have a heading ´Conflict of interest´ and state any conflicts. Ensure a statement about any funding (even if none has been received, e.g. ‘no funding has been received.’) has been made in either the acknowledgments or as a separate heading, ´Funding´.
- References: Double-spaced and on a separate sheet. Refer to ‘references’ section for more detail.
- Tables/Figures: Double-spaced, on separate pages and consecutively numbered.
- Written consent for patient photographs and informed consent documented in the text of the paper.
Peer review
All scientific articles will be submitted for peer review following general review by the Editor. The review process aims to provide readers of Healthcare Infection with material of a high quality, and preclude inadvertent publication of poor quality scientific papers, articles that contain errors, and those that serve to endorse a particular product.
The reviewers are selected on the basis of their expertise. Assessment criteria include the article´s relevance, organisation, appropriateness for publication, originality, clarity of writing and inclusivness of the cited literature. The reviewers make recommendation as to whether: the manuscript is ready for publication, requires revision or is deemed unsuitable for publication. All such peer reviews are conducted anonymously in a double-blind process. A list of all persons who conducted peer reviews in each calendar year will be published in the December issue of Healthcare Infection.
If the reviewers recommend modifications, the manuscript will be returned to the author(s) for revision; if not, the author(s) will be notified of acceptance of the manuscript and the issue in which it is likely to be published. The review process takes several weeks, with most manuscripts requiring some revision. Authors should not be discouraged by requests to rewrite their submissions.
Page proofs
We will send page proofs to the corresponding author as PDF files. They must be returned to the production editor within three days of receipt. Major alterations to the text and illustrations are accepted only when absolutely necessary.
Reprints
The publisher will provide a final version of the paper free of charge as a high-resolution PDF file. Authors may purchase hard copies and order them from the publisher when the proofs are returned. Hard copies (if ordered) are sent out a few weeks after online publication.
Address for submissions
To submit your paper, please use our online journal management system ScholarOne Manuscripts.
For general enquires about submitted papers please contact:
Editor
Brett Mitchell
Healthcare Infection
c/o CSIRO PUBLISHING
PO Box 1139 (150 Oxford Street)
Collingwood, Vic. 3066
Australia
Telephone +61 3 6222 7779
Fax +61 3 6233 0553
Email bgmitc001@myacu.edu.au
