Submissions

Author Guidelines

1. Scope and Submission Process

The Ethiopian Journal of Health and Biomedical Sciences (EJHBS) publishes original, peer-reviewed research in all areas of health and biomedical sciences.

Submission Method: All manuscripts must be submitted through our Online Submission System. Note: While e-mail submissions are accepted during technical transitions (EJHBS@uog.edu.et), the online portal is the preferred route for tracking.

2. Manuscript Preparation & "Double-Blind" Compliance

To ensure an unbiased review, EJHBS uses a Double-Blind Peer Review process. Authors must submit the following separate files:

✅ Title Page (Required): Contains title of the article, author names (with affiliations), and corresponding author’s email, and ORCID iDs (if available).

✅ Main Manuscript (Required): Submit as a Word document (.doc or .docx) formatted in Times New Roman (12 pt), A4 page size, 1.5-line spacing throughout, and continuous line numbering. This single file should be organized logically and include the Title, Structured Abstract (maximum 300 words), Keywords (3–5), Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results (with Tables and Figures embedded), Discussion, Acknowledgments, Declarations, Authors’ Contributions, and References. The manuscript must be anonymized and should not include author names, affiliations, or any identifying information.

✅ Cover Letter to the Editor-in-Chief (Required): The corresponding author must confirm that the manuscript is original and not under consideration elsewhere, that all authors have approved the final version and meet the ICMJE authorship criteria, and that all conflicts of interest and institutional affiliations have been fully disclosed.

✅ Ethical Approval Document (Required, if applicable): Provide official ethical clearance from the relevant institutional review board or ethics committee.
✅ Conflict of Interest Declaration (Required, if submitted separately): Submit a completed disclosure form for all authors, if not included in the manuscript.
✅ Supplementary Materials / Appendices (Optional): Include any additional supporting data, tables, figures, or methodological details.

All files must be clearly labeled using the format: Manuscript Title + Corresponding Author Name.

3. Institutional Neutrality ("The Firewall")

In accordance with our commitment to editorial independence, manuscripts submitted by authors from the University of Gondar are managed via a strict "Firewall" protocol. These papers are assigned to external editors and reviewed by experts outside the host institution to ensure objective evaluation and prevent institutional bias.

4. Research Integrity & Plagiarism Policy

EJHBS maintains a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism.

• Similarity Threshold: All manuscripts are screened for originality. A Similarity Index exceeding 15% (excluding common terminology and references) may result in immediate rejection.
• Ethical Standards: Authors must state that the study received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. Research involving human subjects must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki.

5. Tables, Figures, and Nomenclature

• Placement: Tables and figures should be placed in their respective positions within the text, not at the end.
• Quality: Figures must be high-resolution (300 dpi) and legible.
• Nomenclature: Use standard International Codes for biological names (italics) and Chemical Abstracts for compounds. Use only standard abbreviations; define them at first use.

6. References (Vancouver Style)

Follow the Vancouver referencing style, numbered sequentially, and formatted correctly.  References must be numbered in the order they appear in the text using parentheses, e.g., (1).

• Journal Example: Kassu A, Fujino F, et al. Molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in north Ethiopia. AIDS Res Hum Retrovir. 2007;23:564-568.
• Book Example: Assefa S, Berhan W. Health laboratory quality assurance. 2007, Master Printing Press, Addis Ababa.

7. Article Types at a Glance

Type	Max Word Count	Abstract	Key Requirement
Original Research	Unlimited	Structured	Complete IMRAD structure
Systematic Review	Unlimited	Structured	PRISMA guidelines followed
Case Report	1,500	Unstructured	Unique clinical insights
Brief Communication	1,200	Unstructured	Max 10 pages total

Authors must include the sections below (8-14) at the end of their manuscript, immediately before the References.

8. Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate

The study was approved by the [Insert Name of Institutional Review Board/Ethics Committee] (Protocol Number: [Insert Number]). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

9. Consent for Publication

Not applicable. (Or: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and any accompanying images.)

10. Availability of Data and Materials

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. (Or: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.)

11. Competing Interests

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

12. Funding

This research was supported by [Insert Funding Agency Name] (Grant No. [Insert Number]). (Or: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.)

13. Authors' Contributions

Submissions must specify the contribution of every author using CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) roles by the following format:

Conceptualization: [Initials]

Methodology: [Initials]

Data Collection & Investigation: [Initials]

Formal Analysis: [Initials]

Writing – Original Draft: [Initials]

Writing – Review & Editing: [All authors]

Supervision: [Initials]

All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Not all roles will apply to every manuscript and some authors may contribute through multiple roles.

14. Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank [Insert Names/Organizations] for their technical support or general assistance during this research.