Submission Guidelines

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Submission Guidelines

The purpose of this journal is to provide a forum for publication, discussion, narrative expression and dialogue regarding the human experience of patients, families and healthcare providers involved in therapy and rehabilitation. Our mission is to encourage dialogue among rehabilitation professionals, patients, families and caregivers that describe the human condition as it experiences the impact of illness or disability. We hope to highlight and illustrate the special relationship between the patient and rehabilitation provider, as well as provide a venue for scholarly discourse on topics that focus on rehabilitation from the uniquely human perspective that patients and providers share. Submissions may be in the genre of a perspectives piece, personal narrative, poetry, video or photo essay, personal blog/reflections, book or film review or an original research article. We publish bi-annually, with Spring and Fall issues.

Instructions for Submitting:

JHR Initial Submission Instructions

JHR Initial Submission Checklist

Instructions for Revisions:

JHR Author Revision Instructions

Publication Types

The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation publishes many different genres of scholarship including perspectives, research, teaching, patient/family reflections, narratives, presentations, poetry, literature and media reviews, photo and video essays and letters to the editor. The best way to determine if your work would be a good fit for our journal is to browse the kind of work we have published by following the links to these categories in the “Browse” section of the side-menu.

Perspectives

Perspectives papers expound on a specific clinical approach to patient care (on either a theoretical or practical basis), education-related content or address professional issues in the rehabilitation sciences. Perspectives are not classic literature reviews, but should impart new knowledge about clinical practice. Perspective papers are highly scholarly and should include evidence based practice with necessary references. Manuscripts should be no more than 4000 words with 75 or fewer references.

Research Reports

Original research submissions should follow a traditional approach with a hypothesis and statistical analysis to support conclusions. Manuscripts should be limited to 4000 words of text (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions) and include an abstract of no more than 250 words (Background, Objective, Method, Results and Conclusion). NB: if the submission is for the Critical Research and Perspectives section of the journal the guidelines are different (e.g. a higher word count is permitted) – see the Critical Research and Perspectives section below for more details. Submissions should include a separate title page with the title, titles and affiliations of all contributing authors, and the name and contact information for the corresponding author. All identifying details of authors must not be included in the manuscript.

Systematic Review submissions should systematically appraise relevant research related to a clearly formulated question in the rehabilitation sciences. Statistical methods (meta-analysis) may or may not be used to analyze and summarize the results of the chosen studies. Manuscripts should be limited to 4000 words of text (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions) and include an abstract of no more than 250 words (Background, Objective, Method, Results and Conclusion).

Case Study or Case Series submissions should report on a new or unusual condition, syndrome or occurrence in clinical practice of the rehabilitation sciences. A case study or case series should not draw conclusions about the effects of an intervention but should include a humanities based perspective or approach. Manuscripts should be no more than 2000 words in the text and should include an introduction, patient or event description, presentation of data collection and discussion. An abstract of less than 250 words should also be included.

Narrative Reflections

Narrative reflection submissions are personal vignettes that explore the dynamics of relationships that occur in the humanities and rehabilitation sciences. Narratives may be authored by a clinician, researcher, educator or student. A Narrative is more than a description of events. Instead, it demands a deeper level of intentional reflection that offers the author the opportunity to share his or her experience.

Personal narratives from the perspective of the clinician, researcher, or educator should reflect on specific events that have challenged their clinical decision making or enriched their understanding of their role on the rehabilitation team. This writing should incorporate learning experiences as they relate to future practice and personal growth.

Personal narratives from the perspective of the student should reflect on experiences had on clinical rotations or during other educational endeavors. This provides students the opportunity to implement narrative writing as a means to augment contextual knowledge gained from educational experiences. This writing should allow students to transition from observation to multidimensional meaning by encouraging analysis and evaluation of events.

Narrative manuscripts should be no longer than 1500 words in length.

For further explanation and expectations of a narrative piece, please refer to the following link:

Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle

Patient/Caregiver/Family Reflections

Reflections from the perspective of the patient, caregiver or family may be submitted in several different genres, including poetry, art, photography or a written narrative. Personal reflections of illness and disability in the form of a written narrative should share or demonstrate his or her story of growth, struggle, and/or triumph. Narrative manuscripts should be no longer than 1500 words in length.

For pieces of work that are not a written narrative, please see the sections on visual or performing arts. A brief reflective text should be included with such pieces to guide the audience to further understand the personal message and experience. Reflective manuscripts should be no longer than 1500 words in length.

Critical Research and Perspectives

Critical scholarship comes in numerous different forms, and is grounded in various disciplinary, theoretical and scientific traditions. Critical papers should consider the socio-political aspects of rehabilitation, and work to illuminate the assumptions that underpin practice, research, and/or education and their effects. Manuscripts should be limited to 6000 words, include an abstract of no more than 250 words. Critical research papers can include a range of methodologies, data sources and analytical approaches. Critical perspectives papers are essays or think pieces that can employ a range of creative and/or non-traditional formats. For more information, see the Spring 2018 introduction to this series.

Presentations

Presentations include the media associated with the public presentations of scholarly work. Such presentations include lectures, conference papers and panels, and other scholarly events of interest to the critical study of humanities in rehabilitation.

Poetry

Poetry submissions may come from healthcare professionals, patients or family members/caregivers. Poems should be 50 to 500 words in length and should not include references.

Historical Perspectives in Art

The Historical Perspectives in Art Section is open to scholars and clinicians who are interested in researching art history as it broadly relates to rehabilitation medicine. Areas of interest include anatomy, disease, illness, health, the cultures of rehabilitation science and of the clinic, medical education, history of medicine, disability, physical limitations, trauma, and power relations as these are represented and interpreted in visual art. See past issues for content examples at: https://www.jhrehab.org/.

Articles submitted to the Historical Perspectives in Art Section of The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation undergo a rigorous peer review process; however, they will not undergo blinded reviews. After an author submits an article, two members of the editorial staff will review the submission and determine whether it might be an appropriate fit for the journal. The editorial staff will then send the article to two external peer reviewers (one who specializes in art history, and one who specializes in the rehabilitative sciences). Authors should verify the permissions status of any associated media. Authors are responsible for acquiring the rights to use all media.

Visual Arts

Visual arts submissions may be submitted in several different genres, including photos, videos, original painting or artwork. For example, photo or video submissions may include collections of original photography or other multimedia to portray or analyze real issues or relationships that represent the humanities in the rehabilitation sciences. A brief reflective text should be included with such pieces to guide the audience to further understand the personal message and experience. Reflective manuscripts should be no longer than 1500 words in length.

Performing Arts

Performing Arts submissions may be submitted in different genres, including dance or music. Such pieces should be original work that represents a personal experience in the humanities of rehabilitation. A brief reflective text should be included with such pieces to guide the audience to further understand the personal message and experience. Reflective manuscripts should be no longer than 1500 words in length.

Reviews

Review submissions are critical evaluations of recently published books, film, digital projects, music, events, and other art or scholarship that relate to the human experience of rehabilitation sciences. Reviews should be no more than 2000 words of text. Submissions should follow a general structure of the title of the review, the name of the reviewers and credentials, and the text of the review. Please include the following sections:

Summary: Begin the review with an objective summary of the piece, including title, author and general theme or purpose of the book/movie. Then highlight scenes, quotes, or events from the piece that were most impactful or stood out as illustrating the purpose or theme of the piece.

Commentary: Include a discussion on why this piece was chosen, and what is the relevance for healthcare professionals, patients, or caregivers in the context of the journal’s purpose.

Teaching Tool: If appropriate, please suggest ways that this piece may be used as a teaching tool for healthcare professionals or students, or patients and families during their rehabilitation journey.

Interview with author (if appropriate)

Awards (if appropriate)

Information regarding piece (appropriate referencing)

Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor submissions should provide timely, thoughtful dialogue on a recently published article in The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation. Letters are published at the discretion of the Editorial Board and the Board reserves the right to solicit a response from the author(s) of the cited article. Letters should be no more than 500 words in length with no more than 5 references.

Formatting

File Formats

For primarily textual submissions, please submit a Microsoft Word document (.docx, .doc) or, if your piece requires complex formatting, a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. Please send separate image, sound, and video files, even if the media should appear embedded in the text. Here is a chart of acceptable file types. For all media files, use the largest, highest quality version available.

For text files: .docx, .doc, .pdf, .rtf

For image files: .png, .tiff, .jpg

For sound files: .wav, .aiff, .mp3; we prefer uncompressed audio (.wav, .aiff)

For video files: .mov, .avi, .mp4

For digital projects, please submit in the best file format for the project.

Document Formatting

All manuscripts must be formatted double-spaced, with pages and lines numbered. Please use 12-point font.

For original research submissions, references should be 75 or fewer. References should be listed in the order of appearance in the manuscript, by numerical superscripts that appear consecutively in the text. If you use End Notes, please use version 6.0 or higher.

Tables should be formatted in Word, numbered consecutively, and placed together.

For peer-review purposes, figures can be attached to the manuscript after the figure legends; however, figures also should be submitted as separate, high-res graphic files in tif, jpg, eps, or pdf format, with the resolution set at a minimum of 300 dpi.

Appendixes should be numbered consecutively and placed at the very end of the manuscript. Use appendixes to provide essential material not suitable for figures, tables, or text.

For video or photograph submissions, patients should not be identifiable or they must give written permission to use the video or photograph.

Style

The Journal of Humanities and Rehabilitation Sciences follows the American Medical Association [AMA] Manual of Style, 10th ed, published by Williams & Wilkins (Baltimore, Md).

Editorial Policies

Ethics Statement

Authors are expected to observe established standards of publication ethics as set out by the Commission on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Any falsification/fabrication of data, plagiarism (including failure to properly cite the author’s own work) are not acceptable and warrant rejection of the submission. COPE guidelines will be used to address any ethical misconduct.

Authorship Guidelines

All authors listed on a manuscript submission must meet author qualification standards as set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) http://www.icmje.org/ which include the following conditions: 1) substantial contributions to the conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; 3) final approval of the version to be published, and 4) agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity or any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. [see “Who is an Author”http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html]

Contributors who do not meet those qualifications for authorship should be noted in the acknowledgement section and contributions specified.

Author/Subscription Fees

The Journal of Humanities in the Rehabilitation is freely available to individuals and institutions and charges no fees for author submissions.

Complaints

Any complaints should be reported to the Editor-in-Chief, Sarah Blanton, PT, DPT, NCS
jhrsubmissions [at] listserv [dot] cc [dot] emory [dot] edu.

Intellectual Property

Copyright for contributions published in The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation is retained by the authors, with publication rights granted to the journal. Content is free to users. Any reproduction of original content from The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation not published under a Creative Commons license must a) seek copyright from authors and b) acknowledge The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation as the site of original publication.

However, The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation also offers our authors the option of distributing new work published in the journal under a Creative Commons license. Authors may elect to license their work under the following Creative Commons licenses.

Using a CC-BY (attribution) license, authors allow their work to be freely distributed, copied, and performed, as long as users give credit to the original work. A CC-BY license also allows for derivative works. An author might choose this license if she wants to provide the greatest opportunity for reuse.

Under a CC-BY-ND (attribution, no derivatives) license, users are free to copy, display, distribute, or perform the original work as long as they credit the original author. Users may not make any changes or modifications to the work. An author might choose this license if she wants to retain the exclusive right to make such modifications.

A CC-BY-NC (attribution, non-commercial) license allows for copies, distribution, display, or performances of a work by attribution (giving credit to original author), but only for non-commercial uses. This license also allows for derivative works. Authors might choose this license if they wish to prohibit commercial publishers from republishing their work without obtaining further explicit permission. Authors should be aware that since much academic publishing is commercial, this license may discourage the use of said work in an academic setting.

The CC-BY-NC-ND (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives) license is the most restrictive choice offered by The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation. Users may copy, distribute, display, or perform a work, but only for non-commercial purposes. No derivative works are permitted. Authors might choose this license if they wish to permit greater distribution of their work without permission than would be possible if retaining copyright, but restrict commercial entities from republishing their scholarship, and prohibit all from making modifications to their work without permission.

Please see the Creative Common License website for further explanations of the above.

Disclosure of Commercial/Financial Associations and Conflicts of Interest

All funding sources supporting the work should be acknowledged. During the submission process, authors will be required to submit this information. The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation has adopted the uniform format for disclosure of competing interest used in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) journals and will request that each author complete the ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form for Potential Conflicts of Interest at the time of submission.

Peer Review Process

All research report articles (original, systematic reviews and case study/series) submitted to The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation pass through a rigorous peer review. Our peer review process is designed to provide assurance to readers that all scholarship published in The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation has attained a standard of excellence, as judged by researchers, educators and clinicians who have expert knowledge in the pertinent field.

After an author submits a research report article, two members of the editorial staff will review it and determine whether it is an appropriate fit for the journal. At this point, the editorial staff may recommend rejection, revision, or proceeding directly to peer review. If an author receives a request for revision and chooses to revise and resubmit the submitted work, editorial staff members will reassess the revised piece to determine whether the author has addressed the reviewers’ concerns.

If the editorial staff determines that a submission is ready for peer review, the piece then proceeds to double-blind review by two scholars with expertise in fields relevant to the submitted work. Names of reviewers will not be released to authors, nor will reviewers know the identities of authors whose work they review. Reviewers are asked to evaluate the submission critically with respect to conformance to the journal’s scope. Other factors considered include an examination of the work’s significance, methods, academic rigor, responsiveness to the latest literature and debates, conclusions, references, and overall presentation. If revisions are called for, authors may review shared comments and have the option of resubmitting or withdrawing their submission from consideration. If an author chooses to resubmit, the editorial staff will reassess the piece in consultation with its peer reviewers to determine whether it has addressed the reviewers’ concerns.

Perspective papers will undergo a rigorous review; however authors of such pieces will not be blinded to the reviewers.

All other pieces of work submitted to The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation will still undergo a peer review process; however this will not be a blinded review. After an author submits work in one of the acceptable genres, two members of the editorial staff will review the submission and determine whether it is an appropriate fit for the journal. At this point, the editorial staff may recommend rejection, revision, or proceeding to publishing. If a piece is deemed appropriate for publishing, authors will consult with editorial staff or board members to maximize the effectiveness of the submission.

After a piece has been accepted for publication the editorial staff will provide line edits in consultation with the author to reach a layout-ready version of the work. At this stage, the editorial staff will also ask authors to verify the permissions status of any associated media. Authors are responsible for acquiring the rights to use all media. The editorial staff will then lay out and copyedit the article. Authors will have the opportunity to review the final version of the laid-out piece prior to publication.

The editorial staff of The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation will keep all authors informed as to the status of their submissions throughout the process. Published items will not be affiliated with a volume or issue but will be identified by date of publication.

Contact

For questions or additional information, please contact:

Sarah Blanton, PT, DPT, NCS

The Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation
jhrsubmissions [at] listserv [dot] cc [dot] emory [dot] edu

Or use the form on our Contact Page

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