Turkish Journal of Public Health

The Turkish Journal of Public Health serving a broad audience in the field of public health included, but not limited to health policy, epidemiology, occupational and environmental health, social determinants of health, gender, economics, health promotion and prevention. Turk J Public Health committed to research publishing to better support the needs of public health communities around the globe with the special attention to political and social policies. The Journal is of interest to public health professionals, researchers, practitioners and social scientists. 

The editors anticipates receiving manuscripts from the following areas of public health:

• Health policy and management
• Biostatistics
• Epidemiology
• Environmental health
• Health economics
• Demography
• Social sciences for health
• Health education
• Health promotion
• Community nutrition
• Infectious diseases
• Disaster management
• Injuries
• Women's health
• Reproductive health
• Child health,
• Chronic diseases
• Occupational health
• Global health
• Inequalities 

The following types of contributions are welcomed:

 A) Original Research: Papers reporting original research findings in a relevant area. The text of the article should include the following format: Abstract (up to 250 words); keywords (maximum 5); Main text should be limited with 4000 words, except tables, figures and references. Maximum number of references is 40. 

We recommend authors to adhere to the following reporting guidelines for respective type of the article.

Observational non-experimental studies (cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies):

·         The STROBE (STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology- https://www.strobe-statement.org/index.php?id=available-checklists ) statement.

·         Reporting randomized controlled trials: The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials- http://www.consort-statement.org/  ) statement.

·         Randomized controlled trials of herbal interventions: The elaborated CONSORT statement (Annals of Internal Medicine 2006;144:364–367).

·         Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials: The Cochrane Collaboration guidelines ( https://training.cochrane.org/handbook )

·         Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology: The MOOSE (Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) statement (JAMA 2000;283:2008–2012).

·         Systematic reviews and meta analysis: PRISMA (Ann Intern Med. 2015;162(11):777-784.)

The abstract should be structured under the following headings: Objective; Methods; Results; Conclusion. The word limit is 250 words. Add up to five key words to the bottom of the abstract page. Use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus when possible.

The main text should be divided into the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion. Structure and content of these sections can be found in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts. Relevant ethical issues should be discussed in the manuscript and necessary permissions and authorizations should be declared.

 B) Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis:  The systematic review may or may not include a meta-analysis or statistical summary of the individual study results. The text body of systematic reviews will be structured in Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion and should not exceed 5000 words (without reference list and tables/figures), with up to 60 references. Abstract should not exceed of 250 words. In the Introduction section, research question needs to be stated; the rationale and the aim of the review is explained. The method section will describe how and where the studies have been selected for inclusion in the review. Methodological appraisal of the included articles should be performed. The discussion should address the international relevance of the findings for public health.

C) Review

The main purpose of a review articles is to provide a synthesis of the resources in the literature for current area of public health research. Review articles should provide a comprehensive summary of research on a certain research question, and a perspective on the state of the field and where it is heading. Review articles written after invitation from the editors of the TJPH. The text body of reviews will be structured in Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion and should not exceed 4000 words. Abstract should not exceed of 250 words. Provide a brief summary of the review question addressed and rationale for the review in the introduction section. Maximum reference number is 60.

D) Short Report: Short reports are useful for the preliminary/brief of research findings. Short reports should have the same format as original articles, but not exceed 2500 words, and contain a maximum of two tables/figures. The maximum number of references is 10. Abstract should not exceed of 250 words.

E) Letter: Reactions relating to previously published articles/documents in Turk J Public Health or to nationally and internationally relevant issues concerning public health. Text format is free, abstract is not required.

F) Commentaries: Present the author’s viewpoint on the interpretation, analysis, or methods used in a particular study. Text format is free, abstract is not required. Maximum word count is 1200 with a maximum of 5 references.

G) Notes (from the field): Highlighting practice based programs, initiatives of widespread interest, experiences to share with the public health community (maximum 1500 words). Text format is free. Abstract is required and should not exceed of 250 words. Maximum reference number is 5.

H) Reports: Current documents on relevant issues concerning public health. Text format is free with a maximum of 4000 words. Abstract is required and should not exceed of 250 words. Maximum reference number is 50.

I) Technical Brief-Methodology: Papers reporting innovative, interesting and practical recommendations regarding both quantitative and qualitative research methods in Public Health science (questionnaire development, question writing, increasing the response rate, sampling, presentation of study results etc.). These articles present a new experimental method, test or procedure Abstract should not exceed of 250 words. Maximum word count is 2000 with maximum of 10 references.

Contact to the editors for other types of manuscript that is not indicated above.

Submissions will be considered on the understanding that they comprise original, unpublished material and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere. A cover letter to this effect should be enclosed with each submission, signed by all authors of the paper. Official languages of the journal are Turkish and English. Submissions undergo a two-tiered review process. The Editor in Chief and Editorial Board screens them for overall quality and interest initially. Papers accepted for formal review will be sent anonymously to at least two independent referees.

Authorship

We adhere to the criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (JAMA. 1997; 277:927-934). For manuscripts with two or more authors, each author must qualify by having participated actively and sufficiently in the study that is being carried out and reported on. The inclusion of each author in the authorship list of a manuscript is based only;

a. On substantial contributions to (1) concepts and design, or analysis and interpretation of data and (2) drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content;and; b. On final approval by each author of the submitted version of the manuscript.

Conditions “a” (1 and 2) and “b” must both be met. Others contributing to the work should be recognized separately in an Acknowledgement. In the covering letter that accompanies the submitted manuscripts, it must be confirmed that all authors fulfilled both conditions.

 Manuscript Preparation

General: Submission should be made online through “User Home” / “Author”. Text should written double spaced 12 point font in plain format.

Following four documents should be uploaded in separate pages:

1. Cover letter: All authors must sign the letter, with one named correspondent (give postal and e-mail addresses and telephone numbers). Disclose all possible conflicts of interest (e.g. funding sources for consultancies of studies of products). A brief indication of the importance of the paper to the field of public health is helpful. You may suggest up to 4 knowledgeable reviewers (include postal and e-mail addresses and telephone numbers).

2. First title page includes:

1. The title of the manuscript,

2. A short running title 40 characters,

3. Full names, degrees and institutional affiliations of all authors, postal and e-mail addresses, ORCID numbers of all authors, telephone numbers for correspondence

4. Word count for the main text (without abstract, references and tables),

5. Number of tables and figures.

3. Main Text: The main text should not include the names, affiliations of the authors. It should start with the full title of manuscript and should be prepared according to the type of manuscript. All tables and figures should be shown as embedded into the main text.  

Figures: All figures (photographs, drawings, diagrams, charts) should be clear, easily legible, and should be included within the main text. Legends should contain sufficient detail to permit figure interpretation without reference to the text. Units should be indicated in the figures and the title should be placed under the figure. All line graphs and their respective data points should accompany charts so that they can be replicated on the journal's computers.

Tables: Tables must be concise, as simple as possible and should be included in the main text. The title of each table should clearly indicate the nature of the contents and should be placed above the table. Sufficient detail should be included in the table footnote to facilitate interpretation.

Contribution of all authors should be explained, Example: Öztürk A: (Surname and the initials of other names):Study desing

References: Cite references in numerical order and as superscripts in the main text. List all authors when there are six or fewer; when there are seven or more, list only the first three and add “et al". Use Index Medicus (abridged) abbreviations for journal names. Do not reference papers that are "submitted"; these can be mentioned in the body of the text. Cite personal communications in text only, giving source, date, and type (if e-mail, provide sender's address). References should follow the style described by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

The following are sample styles

Journal article

Speedling EJ, Rose DN. Building an effective doctor-patient relationship: From patient satisfaction to patient participation. Soc Sci Med 1985;21(2):115-120.

Book

UNICEF. State of the World's Children. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Chapter in a book

Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. p. 465-478.

Online book or web site

Garrow A, Winhouse G. Anoxic brain injury: assessment and prognosis. In: Up To Date Cardiovascular Medicine [online]. Available at: www.UpToDateInc.com/card. Accessed February 22, 2000.

Acknowledgements Prepare acknowledgments on a separate page. Upon acceptance, you will be asked to certify that you have listed all persons who have contributed substantially to the work but who do not fulfill authorship criteria and that you have obtained permission for listing them. Also required is disclosure of all financial and material support. You must report if approval by an institutional review board was taken.

4. Copyright form: Copyright form must be signed by all authors and sent as an attachment of this submission.  Download Copyright Form.

Conflict of interest

Responsible authors must declare conflicts of interests and disputes. Monetary and any kind of contributions, supports and funds received for the study that is the subject of the submitted article should be specified (including explanations of how and at which stage of the trial it has been obtained). It should be declared if any support has not been received either.

The handling editors and referees must also notify the editor in chief in the case of conflicts of interest that could affect their decision. All such notifications must be made written.

Authorship of editors

The peer review process is confidential to all parties in Turk J Public Health. Editors in chief are not allowed to submit their papers except editorials because the anonymity cannot be ensured for evaluation process. Section editors, on the other hand, can apply to TJPH for the publication of their manuscripts. The manuscripts of the section editors are subjected to anonymous peer review like the other authors' papers. Chief Editors and the section editors are required to notify the management of the Journal if there has been any conflicts of interest between them. Managers cannot make suggestions and/or pressure to the editors about the manuscripts submitted to the Turk J Public Health. Manuscripts should submitted for consideration only after consent is given in writing by all contributing authors. The list of authors should include all those, who can claim authorship in accordance with the authorship policies of ICMJE and COPE.

Ethics Committee Approval and Consents

Studies with the participation of human subjects should state both the ethical approval and the type of consent that was received in the methods section of MS. If ethical approval has not been obtained, that should also be explained.

Turk J Public Health does not accept any MS that has already been submitted to another journal for evaluation and/or articles previously published. Therefore, the authors must declare that the MS has not been submitted concomitantly to any other journal in the cover letter.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

1.    The manuscript has not been previously published, or still should not be sent to another journal for consideration (an explanation has been provided in Information for Authors).

2.    The submission file is in Microsoft Word document file format.

3.    The text is double-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses);

4.    All illustrations, figures, and tables should have relevant titles;

5.    The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, of the Journal.

6.    Copyright form must be signed by all authors and sent as an attachment of this submission.  Download Copyright Form.

7.    Main document should not include names and affiliations of the authors.

8.    A title page which includes the names, affiliations, e-mails and ORCID numbers of all authors and the corresponding author's name, e-mail, contact address should be provided. 

9.   Cover letter, title page, main text and copyright form submitted in separate files.

Feedbacks: The complaints about the journal are sent to the principal contact of the journal via e-mail. All complaints are examined carefully by journal management and complaints are answered within reasonable amount of time.

Turkish Journal of Public Health is a member of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and accepts its publication ethics principles and evaluates all submitted manuscripts within this scope. Readers and authors can access these rules and case samples via below links:


https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines , https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts
https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Case.
Main issues of publication ethics have been listed below:


Plagiarism and other violations


The quality of data and analysis presented are important issues for Turk J Public Health. The authors must provide the data sets upon the requests from the editors for review. Editors in Turk J Public Health check the text contents for plagiarism and duplication by using related software. By submitting your manuscript to this journal authors accept that the manuscript may be screened for plagiarism against previously published works. If plagiarism is detected before publication, manuscript will be rejected and would be subjected to institutional acknowledgment of the author(s). If plagiarism is detected after publication, the editor will retract the paper and publish a retraction in subsequent issues of the Turk J Public Health. This information might send to the institutions of the authors as well as the other relevant institutions. Turk J Public Health does not accept any manuscript that has already been submitted to another journal for evaluation and/or articles previously published. Therefore, the authors must be sure and declare that the manuscript has not been submitted concomitantly to any other journal in the cover letter.


Conflict of interest


Responsible authors must declare conflicts of interests and disputes. Monetary and any kind of contributions, supports and funds received for the study that is the subject of the submitted article should be specified (including explanations of how and at which stage of the trial it has been obtained). It should be declared if any support has not been received either.
The handling editors and referees must also notify the Editor in Chief in the case of conflicts of interest that could affect their decision. All such notifications must be made written.


Authorship and its declaration


We adhere to the criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (JAMA. 1997; 277:927-934). For manuscripts with two or more authors, each author must qualify by having participated actively and sufficiently in the study that is being carried out and reported on. The inclusion of each author in the authorship list of a manuscript is based only:
a. On substantial contributions to (1) concepts and design, or analysis and interpretation of data and (2) drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and; b. On final approval by each author of the submitted version of the manuscript.
Conditions “a” (1 and 2) and “b” must both be met. Others contributing to the work should be recognized separately in an Acknowledgement. In the covering letter that accompanies the submitted manuscripts, it must be confirmed that all authors fulfilled both conditions.


Authorship of Editors


The peer review process is confidential to all parties in Turk J Public Health. Editors in chief are not allowed to submit their papers except editorials because the anonymity cannot be ensured for evaluation process. Section editors, on the other hand, can submit their manuscript to Turk J Public Health . The manuscripts of the section editors are subjected to anonymous peer review like the other authors' papers. Chief Editors and the section editors are required to notify the management of the Journal if there have been any conflicts of interest between them. Managers cannot make suggestions and/or pressure to the editors about the manuscripts submitted to the Turk J Public Health. Manuscripts should be submitted for consideration only after written consent is given by all contributing authors. The list of authors should include all those, who can claim authorship in accordance with the authorship policies of ICMJE and COPE.

Ethics Committee Approval and Consents


Studies with the participation of human subjects should state both the ethical approval and the type of consent that was received in the methods section of manuscript. If ethical approval has not been obtained, that should also be declared.

All articles published in the Journal are open access and freely available online. Currently, Turkish Journal of Public Health charges no publication fee from the authors.