Information For Authors

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

Technical Requirements

Prepare the manuscript in the following order: Title, author identification, affiliation, corresponding author, abstract (structured), keywords, abstract (in English), keywords (in English), text, and references. The entire article must be written in Arial 9 font with single spacing. Prepare the conflict of interest and originality declaration (this will be requested during the editorial process). Include authorization to reproduce previously published material or for the use of illustrations that may identify individuals.

Preparation of the Manuscript

The text of articles on observations and experiments should be structured in the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions. For lengthy articles, it may be helpful to subdivide some sections (especially Results and Discussion) for greater clarity. Other types of articles, such as clinical cases and reviews, may need a different structure. Authors should consult the journal Enfermería Investiga for more information.

The text of the article should be in a single column, letter size with 25 mm margins on all sides (1 inch), in Arial 9 font. Single spacing should be used throughout the article, including the title page, abstract, keywords, text, acknowledgments, references, tables, and figure legends.

Undergraduate thesis-format articles are not accepted; they must be submitted in the journal’s format.

First Two Pages

Title: Should be concise but informative in both Spanish and English (all in uppercase, bold, and justified).

Authors: The name of each author identified with a superscript number at the end (only the first letter of each name capitalized), along with their complete ORCID code, separated by commas ",". In terms of authorship, all individuals listed as authors must meet certain criteria to receive that designation. Each author must have participated sufficiently to take public responsibility for the content of the work. One or more authors should be responsible for the entire work from inception to publication.

Institutional Affiliation: Should include the position in the institution, department name, and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed (do not include academic degrees).

Corresponding Author: The name and surname, the abbreviation of the highest academic degree, and the email of the responsible author.

Abstract: The abstract should be structured, including introduction, objectives, methods, results, conclusions (maximum 250 words), and keywords, in both Spanish and English. If the article is in Portuguese, it should be in all three languages. The abstract should outline the study's objectives, basic procedures (selection of study subjects or laboratory animals, observational and analytical methods), the most significant results (with concrete data and statistical significance if possible), and main conclusions. Emphasize the most novel or important aspects of the study.

Keywords: Following the abstract, authors must present and identify 3 to 10 keywords in both Spanish and English that facilitate the document analysis of the article and will be published with the abstract. It is recommended to use the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS). Keywords should be separated by commas "," and all in lowercase.

Text

The rest of the manuscript should follow continuously after the keywords in English, consisting of: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, and References (these subtitles should be in uppercase, bold, and left-aligned).

Methods: Clearly describe the selection of subjects observed or participants in the experiments (patients or laboratory animals, including controls). Specify the age, sex, and other significant characteristics of the subjects. Clearly explain why the study was conducted in a certain way. For example, articles must justify why only subjects of certain ages are included or why women are excluded. Avoid terms like "race," which lack precise biological meaning, and instead use "ethnicity" or "ethnic group." Detail how data were collected and any methods, equipment (including manufacturer name and city in parentheses), and procedures used with sufficient detail for other researchers to reproduce the study and compare findings. Provide references for well-known methods, including statistical ones; give references and brief descriptions of less well-known methods and techniques; and describe new or substantially modified methods with justification for their use and an evaluation of their limitations. Accurately identify all drugs and chemicals used, including generic names, doses, and routes of administration. For review articles, include a section describing methods used to locate, select, gather, and synthesize data, which should also be described in the abstract.

Ethical Aspects: Should be included in the methods section. For experimental studies involving humans, indicate whether the ethical standards of the responsible committee (institutional or regional) overseeing human trials and the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, revised in 2004, were followed. Do not use patient names, initials, or hospital numbers, especially in illustrations. For animal experiments, state whether guidelines from the institution or a national research council or law on animal care and use were followed. Always attach the institutional ethics committee's approval. For research conducted in Ecuador, present approval from a Human Research Ethics Committee approved by the Ministry of Public Health. Ensure informed consent, entity authorization, and anonymized patient data are maintained where applicable. Observational studies must have authorization from the Ministry of Public Health if they meet specific criteria, such as using biological samples, receiving public funds, involving vulnerable populations, being conducted by international promoters, aiming to define public policy, or involving five or more health establishments of the Ministry of Public Health (MSP).

Statistics: Should be in the methods section. Describe statistical methods in detail, allowing a knowledgeable reader to verify the reported findings. Whenever possible, quantify and present data with appropriate indicators of measurement error (such as confidence intervals). Avoid relying solely on hypothesis testing statistics, such as p-values, which provide no important quantitative information. Detail the criteria for experimental subject inclusion and the process followed for randomization. Describe blinding methods, complications of treatment, and specify the number of observations made. Mention any commonly used computer programs.

Results: Present results in a logical sequence in the text, tables, and figures. Do not duplicate data in tables or illustrations; highlight or summarize only the most important observations.

Discussion: Emphasize new and important aspects of the study and conclusions derived from them. Do not repeat detailed data already presented in the Introduction and Results sections. Explain the significance of the results, study limitations, and implications for future research. Compare findings with those of other relevant studies. Relate conclusions to study objectives, avoiding unsupported statements and conclusions. Avoid making economic claims unless the article includes data and economic analyses. Do not cite incomplete works. Recommendations may be included where appropriate.

Conclusions: Summarize the most relevant points, highlighting the knowledge gained from the research, avoiding repeating numbers from the results, and addressing the objectives. Do not introduce new information.

Funding: Authors must declare funding sources, grants, or economic support received for the study. If no external sources exist, declare the work as "self-funded" or "own funds."

Conflict of Interest: Authors must submit a conflict of interest declaration, signed by all, to the editorial committee. Conflicts may include employment, scientific advisory roles, services such as courses or lectures for compensation, funding from organizations, ownership of shares, etc. If none exist, declare: "No conflict of interest."

Acknowledgments: List all individuals who contributed but do not meet authorship criteria, such as technical assistance, manuscript writing help, or general support. Financial support and material means received should be included. Contributors not meeting authorship criteria should be cited as "clinical investigators" or "participating researchers," specifying their roles.

References: Number references consecutively as they first appear in the text, identified by Arabic numerals in parentheses in Arial 9. References in tables or figures should be numbered according to the first mention in the text. A minimum of 30 references from publications is required; avoid unpublished repositories. Use the NLM style in Index Medicus for references. Abbreviate journal titles as per Index Medicus. Avoid citing abstracts.

How to Cite References

  1. Electronic Journal Article

Author. Title. Abbreviated journal name. year; volume (number): pages or extent indicator. DOI or Available from: (URL)

Example:

Rose ME, Huerbin MB, Melick J, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK. Transmission of hepatitis C virus infection associated with infusion therapy for hemophilia. MMWR. 1997; 46 (26): 23-33. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrht/00048303.htm

If there are more than six authors, list the first six followed by et al.

Example:

Rose ME, Huerbin MB, Melick J, Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Regulation of interstitial excitatory amino acid concentrations after cortical contusion injury. Brain Res. 2002;935(12):23-33. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrht/00048303.htm

  1. Corporate Author

Example: WHO Consultation on Obesity. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic: report of a WHO Consultation [Internet]. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2000 [cited July 7, 2021]. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/42330

  1. Article in a Language Other Than Spanish

Reference in the original language or in English.

Example: Bonds JF, Suárez MC, Chuaire L. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). Response of the human erythrocyte and other cells to the decrease in their activity. Colomb Med. 2007; 38: 76-83.

  1. Supplement of a Volume

Bofil X. La medicina basada en la evidencia. La Colaboración Cochrane. Arch Bronconeumol. 1997; Supl 33 (1): 117.

  1. Supplement of a Number

Giménez R, Márquez M, Peñalver R. Efecto del zinc sobre el crecimiento y desarrollo del niño con bajo peso al nacer. Colomb Med. 2007; 38 (Supl 1): 6-13.

  1. Without Number or Volume

Bowell DA, Levine TW. Immunologic status of the cancer patient and the effects of blood transfusion on antitumor responses. Curr Opin Gen Surg. 1993; 325-333.

  1. Organization as Author and Editor

Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo. Plan de Salud 1995 y. Madrid: Ministerio de Sanidad Consumo; 1995. Available from:

  1. Book

Author(s) of the book. Title of the book. In: Editor/Compiler of the book. Title of the book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; year. Total pages.

Example:

Iverson C, Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, Glass RM, Glitman P, Lantz JC, Meyer HS, Smith JM, Winker MA, Young RK. American Medical Association Manual of Style. 9th ed. Baltimore (MD): Williams & Wilkins; c1998. 660 p.

  1. Book Chapter

Author(s) of the chapter. Title of the chapter. In: Editor/Compiler of the book. Title of the book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; year. Start page-end page of the chapter.

Example: Buti FM. Hepatitis vírica aguda. In: Rodés J, Guardia J (eds.). Medicina interna. Barcelona: Masson; 1997. p. 1520-35.

  1. Conference Proceedings

Kimura J, Shibasaki H, editors. Recent advances in clinical neurophysiology. Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of EMG and Clinical Neurophysiology; 1995 Oct 15-19; Kyoto. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 1996.

Tables, figures, and graphs should be numbered consecutively as they first appear in the text. If previously published, cite the original source and present written permission from the copyright holder for reproduction. This authorization is required regardless of the author or publisher; the only exception is for public domain documents.

Units of Measure

Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be expressed in metric units (meter, kilogram, liter) or decimal multiples. Temperature in degrees Celsius and blood pressure in millimeters of mercury. Hematological and biochemical values should be presented in metric units according to the International System of Units (SI).

Abbreviations and Symbols

Use only standardized abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. When an abbreviation is first used in the text, it should be preceded by the full term, unless it is a common unit of measurement.

Declaration on Clinical Trial Registration

If the written article refers to a clinical trial conducted in Ecuador, it must have the corresponding approval from the National Agency for Regulation, Control, and Sanitary Surveillance (ARCSA) and be registered in the ARCSA clinical trial registration form. Additionally, the trial registration number must be provided from one of the international registers approved by WHO.

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with acknowledgment of the authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors may enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as this can lead to productive exchanges and greater citation of the published work (see The Effect of Open Access).