IOSPress

The International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine is concerned with rendering the practice of medicine as safe as it can be; that involves promoting the highest possible quality of care, but also examining how those risks which are inevitable can be contained and managed. This is not exclusively a drugs journal. Recently it was decided to include in the subtitle of the journal three items to better indicate the scope of the journal, i.e. patient safety, pharmacovigilance and liability and the Editorial Board was adjusted accordingly. For each of these sections an Associate Editor was invited. We especially want to emphasize patient safety. Our journal wants to publish high quality interdisciplinary papers related to patient safety, not the ones for domain specialists. For quite some time we have also been devoting some pages in every issue to what we simply call WHO news. This affinity with WHO underlines both the International character of the journal and the subject matter we want to cover. Basic research, reports of clinical experience and overviews will all be considered for publication, but since major reviews of the literature are often written at the invitation of the Editorial Board it is generally advisable to consult with the Editor in advance. Submission of news items will be appreciated, as will be the contribution of letters on topics which have been dealt with in the journal.

Submit to:
C.J. Van Boxtel
Gustav Mahlerplein 145
1082 MS Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Tel.: +31 20 6448009
Email: jrs@upcmail.nl

Submission of an article is understood to imply that the article is original and unpublished and is not being considered for publication elsewhere.

Required files
The following electronic files are required:
- a word processor file of the tekst, such as Word, WordPerfect, LateX (If using LaTeX, please use the standard article.sty as a style file and also send a pdf version of the LaTeX file)
- separate files of all figures (if any); see "Preparation of manuscripts" for the required file formats.

Colour figures
It is possible to have figures printed in colour, provided the cost of their reproduction is paid for by the author. See Preparation of Manuscripts for the required file formats.

PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTS

Organization of the paper and style of presentation
Manuscripts must be written in English. Authors whose native language is not English are advised to seek the advice of a native English speaker, before submitting their manuscripts.

You can also visit www.internationalscienceediting.com. International Science Editing offers a language and copyediting service to all scientists who want to publish their manuscript in scientific peer-reviewed periodicals and books.

Manuscripts should be prepared with wide margins and double spacing throughout, including the abstract, footnotes and references. Every page of the manuscript, including the title page, references, tables, etc., should be numbered. However, in the text no reference should be made to page numbers; if necessary, one may refer to sections. Try to avoid the excessive use of italics and bold face.

Manuscripts should be organized in the following order:

Headings and subheadings should be numbered and typed on a separate line, without indentation.

SI units should be used, i.e., the units based on the metre, kilogramme, second, etc.

Title page
The title page should provide the following information:

Abstract
The abstract should be clear, descriptive, self-explanatory and not longer than 200 words, it should also be suitable for publication in abstracting services.
The abstract for research papers should follow the “structured abstract” format. Section labels should be in bold uppercase letters followed by a colon, and each section will begin on a new line.
BACKGROUND:
OBJECTIVE:
METHODS:
RESULTS:
CONCLUSIONS:

Tables
Number as Table 1, Table 2 etc, and refer to all of them in the text.

Each table should be provided on a separate page of the manuscript. Tables should not be included in the text.

Each table should have a brief and self-explanatory title.

Column headings should be brief, but sufficiently explanatory. Standard abbreviations of units of measurement should be added between parentheses.

Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Leave some extra space between the columns instead.

Any explanations essential to the understanding of the table should be given in footnotes at the bottom of the table.

Figures

Number figures as Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc and refer to all of them in the text.

Each figure should be provided on a separate sheet. Figures should not be included in the text.

Colour figures can be included, provided the cost of their reproduction is paid for by the author.

For the file formats of the figures please take the following into account:

Figures should be designed with the format of the page of the journal in mind. They should be of such a size as to allow a reduction of 50%.

On maps and other figures where a scale is needed, use bar scales rather than numerical ones, i.e., do not use scales of the type 1:10,000. This avoids problems if the figures need to be reduced.

Each figure should have a self-explanatory caption. The captions to all figures should be typed on a separate sheet of the manuscript.

Photographs are only acceptable if they have good contrast and intensity.

Abstracts

Abstract should be formatted (if possible) according to these headings:

3 to 5 Keywords should be added.

Conflict of Interest Statement

A Conflict of Interest Statement asks authors to disclose four types of information:

(1) Associations with commercial entities that provided support for the work reported in the submitted manuscript (the timeframe for disclosure in this section of the form is the lifespanof the work being reported).
(2) Associations with commercial entities that could be viewed as having an interest in the general area of the submitted manuscript (in the 36 months before submission of the manuscript).
(3) Any similar financial associations involving authors’ spouses, partners, their children under 18 years.
(4) Non-financial associations that may be relevant to the submitted manuscript.

Informed Consent Statement

For research, statements are needed regarding ethics approval (or a statement that it was not required) and of seeking informed consent from participants; funding; the role of the study sponsor in study design and the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and the writing of the article and the decision to submit it for publication; the independence of researchers from funders and sponsors; and the access of researchers to all the data.

REFERENCES
1. Place citations as numbers in square brackets in the text. All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. Only articles published or accepted for publication should be listed in the reference list. Submitted articles can be listed in the text as (author(s), unpublished data).

2. All authors should be listed in the reference list.

3. References must be listed in Vancouver style:

[1] 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): 406.
[2] Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2002.
[3] Berkow R, Fletcher AJ, editors. The Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy. 16th ed. Rahway (NJ): Merck Research Laboratories; 1992.
[4] Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGrawHill; 2002. p. 93113.
[5] Canadian Cancer Society [homepage on the Internet]. Toronto: The Society; 2006 [updated 2006 May 12; cited 2006 Oct 17]. Available from: http://www.cancer.ca/.

Footnotes
Footnotes should only be used if absolutely essential. In most cases it is possible to incorporate the information in the text.
If used, they should be numbered in the text, indicated by superscript numbers and kept as short as possible.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright of your article
Authors submitting a manuscript do so on the understanding that they have read and agreed to the terms of the IOS Press Author Copyright Agreement.

Quoting from other publications
An author, when quoting from someone else's work or when considering reproducing figures or table from a book or journal article, should make sure that he is not infringing a copyright. Although in general an author may quote from other published works, he should obtain permission from the holder of the copyright if he wishes to make substantial extracts or to reproduce tables, plates or other figures. If the copyright holder is not the author of the quoted or reproduced material, it is recommended that the permission of the author should also be sought. Material in unpublished letters and manuscripts is also protected and must not be published unless permission has been obtained. Submission of a paper will be interpreted as a statement that the author has obtained all the necessary permission. A suitable acknowledgement of any borrowed material must always be made.

PROOFS & PURCHASES

PDF Proofs
The corresponding author will receive a pdf proof and is asked to check this proof carefully (the publisher will execute a cursory check only). Corrections other than printer's errors, however, should be avoided. Costs arising from such corrections will be charged to the authors.

How to order reprints, a pdf file, journals, or IOS Press books
For each contribution the corresponding author will receive a complimentary Author’s Copy (watermarked) pdf of their published article. This pdf is for personal use only. Free copies will not be provided for conference proceedings and abstract issues. An order form for reprints, additional journal copies or a pdf file will be provided along with the pdf proof.

If you wish to order reprints of an earlier published article, please contact the publisher for a quotation. IOS Press, Fax: +31 20 6870039. Email: editorial@iospress.nl.

An author is entitled to 25 % discount on IOS Press books. See Author's Discount (25%) on all IOS Press book publications.