Submissions

Author Guidelines

Revista Ustasalud is an biannual publication of the Health Sciences Division of the Universidad Santo Tomás, Bucaramanga whose objective is the local, national and international dissemination of the intellectual production of research results of the area of health and related sciences. In the same way, it works as a channel for the exchange of knowledge and experiences among students, researchers and health professionals.

Published articles are previously approved by the Editorial Committee and meet the requirements of the international standards contained in: Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, developed by members of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and updated December 2019.  These recommendations could be seen in http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf

In the Revista Ustasalud the publication of errata is allowed, likewise, the authors are responsible for the retraction of their articles.

Submitted articles by the authors to Ustasalud will be submitted to an approving evaluation by the Editorial and Scientific Committee.

The author must present a digital version of the article (Word 2007 or superior, arial font, size 12, 1,5 lines); must include all the referenced material and annexes outlined in the body of the article (tables, figures, photographs). Authors should also add a cover letter stating that they are not considering to publish the article in another journal and authorizing Ustasalud to use the article partially or totally for special publications. The authors will be totally responsible for the concepts stated in his work. 

Authors must declare the following aspects related to their work:  

• Type of financing received.
• Existence or not of conflict of interest.
• Approval of the Ethics Committee, which must also be mentioned in the Materials and Methods section.
• Name, institutional affiliation, and email of two possible reviewers. These must be external to the institution where the authors work and possess expertise on the subject.
• Name, telephone, and electronic address of the author responsible for correspondence.
• Responsibility of the authors for the concepts stated in their work.

It is suggested that the same or similar paragraphs be included in this letter:
"All the authors certify that we have participated substantially in the conception, design, and writing of this manuscript and likewise, we confirm that we have approved its submission for evaluation for publication in the journal Ustasalud. We declare that this work has not been published in any other printed or digital medium, nor has it been submitted for consideration in another journal. We are responsible for the concepts mentioned in the attached text. Likewise, we are aware that Ustasalud must initiate a review and editing process, so we agree on the transfer of economic rights if this work is published.”

To receive the articles, authors can contact the following email address: ustasalud@ustabuca.edu.co

It is suggested to review the following guides according to the type of article sent:
CONSORT: report quality assessment list for clinical trials.
STARD: report quality evaluation list for diagnostic technology evaluation studies.
PRISMA: report quality assessment list for systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
STROBE: report quality assessment list for observational studies.
CARE: report quality assessment list for case reports.
SQRQ: report quality assessment list for qualitative studies.

The publication receives articles that meet the following typology and that are unpublished and original (without partial or total publication).

1.  Article of scientific or technological research.The original results of completed research projects are presented in detail. The structure contains four parts: Introduction (includes the most relevant theoretical foundations for the compression of the research problem), Methods, Results and Discussion.

2.  Review Article .Manuscript resulting from a completed research where the results of published or unpublished research are analyzed, systematized and integrated, on a field in science or technology, in order to account for the advances and the development trends.It is characterized by presenting a careful bibliographical review of at least 50 references.

3.  Reflection Article: Document that presents results derived from a completed research, from an analytical, interpretative or critical perspective of the author, on a specific topic, using original sources.

4.  Topic review article: Document resulting from the critical review of the literature on a particular topic.

5.  Case study reports

6.  Letters to the editor: critical, analytical or interpretative positions on the documents published in the journal, which in the opinion of the Editorial Committee constitute an important contribution to the discussion of the topic by the scientific community of reference.

Technical requirements 

The presentation of the article includes in order: Title (in Spanish and English), author(s) with their respective title(s) and institutional credits, abstract (in Spanish and in English), keywords (in English and Spanish), introduction, methods, results, discussion, bibliography.

Address and email of the responsible author.

Support material such as tables, illustrations, photographs, graphics, layouts or other similar material must be identified and appended separately in both printed and magnetic media. It must relate very well to the content of the paper, the place or order of appearance that would be included in such material.

If self-supporting or other publication's material is included, the source should be noted and, where possible, permission to use such material should be added.

Articles should be written in generic language; avoid idioms and regionalisms that may distort the interpretation of the information presented.

The author's letter of commitment that makes them responsible for the information, concepts and material presented in the publication and that states that Ustasalud acts simply as an editor of such concepts should be added.

Presentation 

1.    Original articles 

They must have the following components, well differentiated and presented in the following order:

Title of the article in Spanish and English. As short as possible, affirmatively without questions or exclamations. It is recommended to write it with a maximum of 15 words; in case it can not be done this way, it is necessary to divide it in title and subtitle, separated by colon. It must describe the subject and provide information about the conclusion.

Authors. It includes the full name of all authors, date of birth, identity document, academic titles, electronic address and institutional affiliation. An author to whom the mail is addressed and to whom copies of the journal are to be sent should be designated, indicating their address, telephone number, e-mail address or postal box. The order of the authors should be related to the contribution that each made to the work.

Abstract The summary constitutes an overview of the most relevant aspects considered in the article. It must be structured (objective, methods, results, conclusion) and presented in both Spanish and English; it should be written in a practical and attractive language to invite the reader to learn about the topic discussed in more detail. The abstract must be included on the second page of the presentation without exceeding two hundred and fifty (250) words. Attached to the abstract, three to five keywords that allow cross-referencing should be included (Medical Subject Headings <MeSH> Index Medicus).

It is recommended to standardize keywords that are accepted by international databases. They can be checked in the following links:

Descriptors in health sciences, through the DeCS-Terminology about health link, available at: http://decs.bvs.br/E/homepagee.htm

For English words: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh

Article Body 

Introduction 

The introduction of the article presents the frame of reference, the influential elements and the objectives that frame the realization of the study or of the investigation. It will be brief and should provide only the necessary explanation so that the reader can understand the text that will be presented next. It should not contain tables or figures, unless they are essential for the understanding of the text. 

Methods 

The Methods section should only include information that was available at the time of writing the study plan or protocol. All information obtained during the study belongs to the Results section. The applied methodological aspects should be considered as follows:

• Type of study.
• Selection and description of participants: Describe clearly your selection of research participants (patients or laboratory animals, including controls). Describe the inclusion and exclusion criteria and the population from which the subjects come from.
• Technical information: Specify how data was collected.Reference will be made to the type of study and type of analysis used (descriptive, epidemiological, experimental, clinical trial, etc.), the allocation system of the subjects. Identify the methods, evaluation instruments, treatments, drugs or chemical products, indicating their generic name, dosage and route of administration.
• The instruments, measures, procedures and methods applied to the study, especially those with little knowledge, should be clearly outlined in a brief description, in such a way as to permit, if necessary, its faithful reproduction.
• A brief description of the indicators and variables considered should be presented, so that they are understandable by a reader with a moderate level of knowledge of the area.
• Describe the analytical methodology used for the management of information and the presentation of results.Describe the statistical methods used in sufficient detail so that readers can access the original data in order to verify the reported data.

In general, the articles of qualitative studies must follow the organization scheme indicated above. However, it may be necessary to specify the study participants and their selection or identification criteria, study scenarios or environments, observational criteria, methods used (eg., interviews or focus groups) and sources of Secondary information.

Ethical and legal aspects 

In studies involving the participation of humans or animals, it should be certified that the procedures applied to them conform to the ethical standards of the institutional, regional or national committee responsible for experimentation with humans or the Declaration of Helsinki or the local animal experimentation regulations established by the corresponding Protective Society.  For Colombian authors, the Resolution 008430/93 of the Ministry of Health must be declared. 

When including photographs of patients, written authorization must be annexed by them to allow their publication, refraining from using names, initials or identification numbers of these or institutions in which they have been seen.

Results 

Results should be presented in a logical sequence, in texts supported by tables and figures that clearly express the results of the study. Do not repeat in the text all the data of the tables and figures, only the most important. Emphasize and summarize only the most important observations. Give the main or most important finds first. Supplementary materials and technical details may be included in an appendix, where they will be available without interrupting the flow of the text.

Restrict the use of tables and figures to those that are necessary to explain the argument of the article and evaluate the data that support it. Use charts instead of tables with many items.

Discussion 

In this section the interpretation of data or observations of the study must be carried out. Emphasize the novel and important aspects and the conclusions that comes from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other information given in the Introduction or Results. The implications of the findings as well as their limitations and the relationships that the obtained results may have regarding other similar studies should be included. Relevant recommendations for future studies must also be included.

Tables  

The tables included as support material must have a consecutive number for their subsequent relationship, the title must be clear and the subtitles will be necessary for the understanding of their data. The numerical units used should be written in homologous form, ie in the same units and the same numerical expression either decimal, fractional, or imaginary. The clarity of the data should be obvious without it being necessary to annex complementary explanations.

Figures 

The figures included in the article must have consecutive Arabic numerals, clear, meaningful and short title; they must be attached in magnetic media to the printed material and contain the information necessary for their understanding.

In relation to digital images, a resolution between 240 and 300 pixels per inch is required. The camera should produce an image size of 3.900 x 5.400 pixels.

References

The journal is strictly ruled by the Vancouver International Standard and the references must always contain the DOI of every paper if available. Number the references consecutively in the order they are first mentioned in the text. These should be identified by Arabic numerals, as superscripts. The references, quotations in the tables or illustrations are numbered following the sequence established by the first mention made in the text.

The style of the examples given below will be used:

Journal articles: Full and initial surnames of the author(s) name(s). Full title of the article, abbreviated name of the journal if indexed or complete otherwise; Year of publication, volume and pages. Example:

Papageorgiou SN, Kloukos D, Petridis H, Pandis N. An assessment of the risk of bias in randomized controlled trial reports published in prosthodontic and implant dentistry journals. Int J Prosthodont. 2015;28(6):586-93. doi: 10.11607/ijp.4357.

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

Books: The name of all the authors in a similar way as it is reviewed in the articles of journals.Title of the book.Edition. Place of publication: Editorial; year. Example:

Wisen H. Immunology: Introduction to molecular and cellular principles of the immune response. 5ª. Ed. Nueva York: Harper & Row, 1974.

Book chapters: The name of the author(s) of the chapter similarly as outlined in journal articles.

Title of chapter. In: Director of the book. Title of the book. Edition. Place of publication: Editorial; year. P. Starting and ending page of chapter. Example:

Escobar A. Prevención y control de las infecciones de origen dento bacteriano. En: Cárdenas D. Fundamentos de Odontología: Odontología Pediátrica. Medellín: Corporación para Investigaciones Biológicas; 1996: p. 30-36.

It is not necessary to write the edition if it is the first one. The edition is written in Arabic numbers with an abbreviation: 2nd. Ed.

Web Page: Reference should be used similarly to other journals, including the URL or full address of the page that appears in the navigation bar of the program. Example:

Taylor SS. Factors in the occurrence of infectious diseases in a pediatric population. Emerg Infect Dis (serial online) 1998 May Jun (cited 1998 Jun 5); 1 (1). URL disponible en: http:// www.cdc.gov/ncidad/EID/eid.htm

Acknowledgments 

When deemed necessary, people, centers or entities that have collaborated or supported the performance of the work will be cited. Acknowledgments should be included as an attachment. Relate the name of the person or institution and the type of collaboration provided, could it be counseling, procedures, financial support, advertising. This inclusion is made with a letter of authorization from the person or institution to be included in the publication, which will be the sole responsibility of the person submitting the article .

2.    Review articles

They must contain a coherent analysis of the information and their presentation must be sequential and hierarchical. It must have a maximum length of 5000 words and a minimum of fifty bibliographic references.

3.    Clinical case report 

The clinical case report should consider the presentation of a generic patient, not including personal data or their signs. The presentation should include an introduction, diagnosis, more relevant data that led to such diagnosis, management,case evolution and discussion.The presentation should not contain all the data in the medical history, but those that are more important.

Article evaluation process 

After submitting the originals to the Editorial Committee, the author(s) will have four (4) weeks to verify compliance with the standards set forth. Once the form of presentation has been approved by the Editorial Committee, it will proceed to send the article for evaluation by two Scientific Advisors. The articles will be reviewed anonymously by experts in the object of study and/or the methodology used. 

Experts evaluations will decide to accept the article, to forward it to the author with minor or major comments, or to reject it. In the event that one pair rejects the article and the other does not, the option to send a third evaluator is considered or the Committee revises the article in detail again, makes new suggestions and sends it to the author(s) for review and adjustment.

The author of the article will receive response of acceptance, postponement for corrections and suggestions, or rejection. In case of being accepted, the article will be included in the next edition of the journal. In case of minor or major comments, the author will have sufficient time to perform them. In case of rejection, the work will be returned to the author.

A final PDF version will be sent to the authors in order to make a general revision to the article and return the same either with small or approved adjustments, giving a 7 days deadline after sending the PDF.