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Instructions for Authors

For guidelines on BMJ Journals policy and submission please click on the links below.

Manuscript Formatting
Editorial policies
Patient consent forms
Licence forms
Peer Review Process
Online First process

Editorial Policies

Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care promotes the advancement of the field through coverage of related subjects such as contraception, abortion services, menopause, sexual/reproductive health, sexual dysfunction services, sexually transmitted infection testing/treatment, clinical practice, health education and training.  The Journal welcomes submissions of up to date research in sexual and reproductive health (SRH), up to the minute reviews of important topics in SRH and articles and commentaries relevant to all health care professionals working in SRH.  Through commentaries and editorials the Journal takes positions on issues arising from the research and may advocate for needed actions.

We aim to ensure a fair and independent peer review system where all articles are reviewed externally by at least two independent experts, as well as an Associate Editor assigned to each paper. 

Authors are requested to follow the Journal guidelines to enable the submission to go through more quickly. Any papers that do not conform will be returned for revision prior to review.

Policy decisions regarding content and related matters are made by the Editor, in consultation with members of the Editorial Board, who actively participate in the review process.

Open Access

Authors can choose to have their article published Open Access for a fee of £1950 (plus applicable VAT).

Colour

The journal does not charge authors for publication of colour images.

Article types and word counts

The types of articles accepted by the Journal are detailed below, together with preferred article extents in words and/or the equivalent in illustrative or tabular material. Authors should contact the Editorial Office/Editor in advance of submission should they feel the need to deviate greatly from the suggested article extents.

• Original article
• Short communication
• Review
• Case report
• Commentary
• Personal view
• Better way of working
• Letters to the Editor

 

Original article

Original articles are full-length reports of original quantitative or qualitative research studies or clinical investigations. Consensus statements and meta-analyses are included. Original articles should include a structured abstract and key message points.

The structured abstract should comprise no more than 250 words (additional to the words of the main body of the text) and ideally should be structured under the headings: Objectives, Methods, Results, Conclusions. In addition to an abstract, authors should include as part of the text a box containing key message points. This should comprise a maximum of three bullet points of no more than 25 words each, highlighting the main features of, and lessons to be learned from, the paper.

Word count: up to 3000 words
Illustrations/Tables: maximum of 5 tables or figures
References: maximum of 50 references

Short communication

Short communications are ideal for audit reports, pilot studies, preliminary reports of a clinical study, and follow-up reports from previously published papers. A short communication should be written as concisely as possible, including a structured abstract and key message points. Ideally it should contain the same headings as for original articles.

Word count: up to 2000 words
Illustrations/Tables: maximum of 2 tables or figures
References: maximum of 20 references

Review

A comprehensive, evidence-based review of the literature relating to an important, major clinical area, with a critical analysis and conclusions. The literature review methodology, including databases searched, search terms and dates, should be detailed. Reviews should include up to three key message points. Authors are advised to refer to the article by Bruce and Mollison for guidance.

Word count: up to 6000 words
Illustrations/Tables: maximum of 5 tables or figures
References: maximum of 100 references

Case report

The Journal occasionally publishes individual case reports, but only if they convey an important or novel learning point for our community of health professionals (e.g. cases involving a new manifestation of a disease or condition, or important diagnostic or management issues). It is therefore vital that authors make absolutely clear in their covering letter, as well as in the case report itself, why they see the lessons of the case to be important for other people's practice.

For those submitted case reports that the editorial panel deems to be of insufficient importance for publication in the Journal, resubmission in the form of a Letter to the Editor (see below) is often advised.

Please note that patient permission is required for the use of images (see electronic submission system for consent form).
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Word count: up to 1000 words
Illustrations/Tables: maximum of 1 table or figure
References: maximum of 5 references

Commentary

Commentaries should be knowledge-based and express objective perspectives, opinions or experiences on a clinical area. They may focus on an original article published in the same issue of the Journal.

Word count: 1000-1500 words
Illustrations/Tables: maximum of 2 tables or figures
References: maximum of 10 references

Personal view

Personal views differ from commentaries in that they provide authors with an opportunity to express their own personal views and opinions on a specific topic or theme, which may of course differ greatly from commonly held views and may thus be controversial.

Word count: 500-1500 words
Illustrations/Tables: maximum of 2 tables or figures
References: maximum of 10 references

Better way of working

The Journal publishes occasional Better Way of Working articles, the purpose of which is to disseminate service delivery suggestions likely to be of interest and relevance to readers. Contributions should not normally exceed 1000 words, and ideally should be submitted in a "question and answer" format addressing questions such as: Why was change needed? How did you go about implementing change? What advice would you give to others who might be considering a similar course of action? What outcome(s) resulted from the change in practice?

Word count: maximum of 500-1000 words
Illustrations/Tables: maximum of 2 tables or figures
References: maximum of 10 references

Letters to the Editor

The Journal publishes Letters to the Editor, including short research papers, rapid responses to published papers, and contributions to a controversy or debate. If commenting on material published in the most recent issue of the Journal, correspondence should be received within 6 weeks of dispatch of that Journal to be in time for inclusion in the next issue. Correspondents should state their qualifications, full contact details and competing interests.

Word count: maximum of 600 words
Illustrations/Tables: maximum of 1 table or figure
References: maximum of 5 references

Supplements

The BMJ Publishing Group journals are willing to consider publishing supplements to regular issues. Supplement proposals may be made at the request of:

1. The journal editor, an editorial board member or a learned society may wish to organise a meeting, sponsorship may be sought and the proceedings published as a supplement.
2. The journal editor, editorial board member or learned society may wish to commission a supplement on a particular theme or topic. Again, sponsorship may be sought.
3. The BMJPG itself may have proposals for supplements where sponsorship may be necessary.
4. A sponsoring organisation, often a pharmaceutical company or a charitable foundation, that wishes to arrange a meeting, the proceedings of which will be published as a supplement.

In all cases, it is vital that the journal's integrity, independence and academic reputation is not compromised in any way.

When contacting us regarding a potential supplement, please include as much of the information below as possible.

• Journal in which you would like the supplement published
• Title of supplement and/or meeting on which it is based
• Date of meeting on which it is based
• Proposed table of contents with provisional article titles and proposed authors
• An indication of whether authors have agreed to participate
• Sponsor information including any relevant deadlines
• An indication of the expected length of each paper Guest Editor proposals if appropriate

For further information on criteria that must be fulfilled, download the supplements guidelines (PDF).

Plagiarism detection

BMJ Group is a member of CrossCheck by CrossRef and iThenticate. iThenticate is a plagiarism screening service that verifies the originality of content submitted before publication. iThenticate checks submissions against millions of published research papers, and billions of web content. Authors, researchers and freelancers can also use iThenticate to screen their work before submission by visiting www.ithenticate.com.

 

 

 

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