Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved

The Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved publishes original papers, commentaries, brief communications, reports from the field, columns, and reviews regarding the health of low-income and other medically underserved people. We welcome manuscripts. Though our concerns-access to, quality of, and cost of health care-are universal, our focus is on North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Questions about the suitability of a topic should be sent to JournalQuestion@mmc.edu. Our mailing address, telephone numbers, and fax number are:

Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
Meharry Medical College
1005 D. B. Todd Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37208
Phone: 1-800-669-1269 or (615) 327-6819
FAX: (615) 327-6362

CHECKLIST FOR PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTS

SUBMISSION WEBSITE

• Visit our submission website at Scholar One/Manuscript Central:
  http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/JHCPU.
• Register as an author and follow instructions for manuscript submission.

WRITING STYLE AND FORMAT

• Write clearly and succinctly, with a minimum of jargon.
• Double-space throughout.
• Do not use proportional spacing or justified margin.
• Spell out numbers from one to nine except for measurements (e.g., four days; 14 beds; 3 mm). Within a paragraph where a number higher than nine appears (e.g., 15 questions) use numerals for all numbers (e.g., 7 responses).

REFERENCES

• 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.
• List all authors of cited works when there are three or fewer. Otherwise, list the first three, then et al.
• Use the following formats, based on Index Medicus/PubMed styles:
  Journal article (GIVE COMPLETE PUBLICATION DATE PLUS VOLUME AND NUMBER) Pub-Med citations may be used as a guide):
  1. Zuckerman B, Frank DA, Hingson R, et al. Effects of maternal marijuana and cocaine use on fe-tal growth. N Engl J Med. 1989 Mar 23;320(12):762-8.
     Chapter in Book:
  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:
  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)
• Please note: JHCPU 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.

SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR SPECIFIC TYPES OF PAPERS

1. ORIGINAL PAPERS

Research reports, literature reviews (only in understudied areas), policy analyses, evaluations of innovative or otherwise noteworthy health and health care programs; 2,501-10,000 words.

Follow the format provided on Scholar One/Manuscript Central for checklists, title pages, abstract, and key words. If possible, use terms from the Medical Subject Headings from Index Medicus for the key words.

Text

• 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.
• Note and discuss policy implications, as appropriate.
• Include brief section headings. Research reports should contain the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion. Omit the Introduction section heading.
• For any subheadings, use the following format:
  1^st level subheading: Boldface heading (with initial cap only) followed by period run into text.
  2^nd level subheading: Italicized heading (with initial cap only) followed by period run into text.
  In cases where the primary heading, a 1^st subheading, and a 2^nd subheading all occur in immediate succession, simply follow the same pattern. For example,

  Methods

  Population studied. Demographic characteristics. The population studied was . . .

• List any acknowledgments and grant support at the end of the text under a new section heading, Acknowledgments
• The list of references should follow a section heading, References.

Tables

• Type tables on pages separate from the text. Provide a title and consecutive Arabic numbering for each.
• USE TABS, NOT SPACES, to separate columns when formatting tables. Do not use the table format-ting option in Microsoft Word® or a Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet.
• CONVERT pre-formatted tables to text (separated by tabs) prior to submitting.
• Tables should be in black and white.
• List source for table, as appropriate.

Figures

• Maps, diagrams, drawings, and figures (bar graphs, pie charts, etc.) must be rendered in sharp de-tail and appear in black and white.
• Include actual data. For figures that contain percentages, include raw numbers.
• List source for figure, as appropriate.

Permissions

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

Submission

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

Review

• 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

• Accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the Journal and are not published until all authors have signed a copyright transmittal form and returned to the editor. Authors who assign exclusive copyright to the Journal retain residual copyright to the words and data in their manuscripts. The Journal 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

• After revisions are completed, primary authors receive galley proofs for review. Galleys must be re-turned with any substantive corrections within 48 hours after receipt. Primary authors receive two complimentary copies of the Journal issue in which their work appears and co-authors receive one copy each.

2. COMMENTARIES
Commentary on timely or controversial issues; referenced as appropriate; 1,000-4,000 words.

• 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 in-novative or otherwise noteworthy health and health care programs; up to 2,500 words.

• Above sections on cover letter, tables, figures, permissions, submission, copyright, and proofs and reprints apply.

4. REPORTS FROM THE FIELD
This section of the Journal is intended for brief, descriptive papers about programs, workshops, symposi-ums, 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.

• Where applicable, the above sections describe policies and procedures for cover letter, tables, figures, permissions, submission, copyright, and proofs and reprints.

5. HEROES AND GREAT IDEAS COLUMN
A column published in the Journal since 2005, Heroes and Great Ideas is a space for telling the stories of people and initiatives that have worked successfully to improve life in medically underserved communi-ties. Styles adopted vary widely and include traditional biographical or historical accounts, essays, and narratives. We welcome submissions to this section, which is reviewed by members of the editorial staff and editorial board. We recommend a limit of 2,000 words.

• Where applicable, the above sections describe policies and procedures for cover letter, tables, figures, permissions, submission, copyright, and proofs and reprints.

6. ACU COLUMN
The ACU Column originates in the office of the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved. Interested authors should write to the Executive Director of ACU, Kathie Westpheling, at kathiew@clinicians.org.

7. 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. See Scholar One/Manuscript Central site (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/JHCPU) for current list of books available from the Journal office for review.

• Above sections on cover letter, permissions, submission, copyright, and proofs and reprints apply. Authors receive a complimentary copy of the Journal issue in which their work appears.
• Assess the contributions of the material being reviewed to the broad field of health care for the poor and underserved.
• 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 Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved

For 2007, an individual subscription will cost $65.00, a student subscription will cost $28 and an insti-tutional subscription will cost $310. To order a subscription to the Journal, please write to the circula-tion department at JHUP (jlorder@jhupress.jhu.edu), visit www.press.jhu.edu/journals or call 1-800-548-1748. To receive a Journal subscription as a benefit of membership in the Association of Clini-cians for the Underserved (ACU) please visit ACU's website www.clinicians.org