The following types of manuscripts are not accepted for consideration by PDM:

1. Survey, interview, focus group, or quantitative studies based upon convenience, quota, or snowball sampling (non-random sampling).

2. Studies using subjective purposeful sampling (non-random sampling) recruitment of study subjects (participants).

3. Retrospective or prospective human subject research that has not been submitted to a formal human research subjects ethics review committee.

4. Manuscripts that fail to follow format and style guidelines as described in this section and “Submitting Your Materials” of the Author Instructions for this Journal.

5. Manuscripts that have been published previously or that are substantially similar to previously published papers, blogs, or online sites.

6. Case reports and Letters to the Editor.

7. Manuscripts in which there is excessive self-citation, churning of previously published data, and that originate from an apparent papermill.

Article Types and Format Style

General Format Style

With exceptions for format styles listed below for each submission category, general information on manuscript preparation and  format using the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors style is available at: www.icmje.org (Click on “Recommendations” and “Preparing for Submission”)

File Format — Please submit manuscripts as WORD files. DO NOT SUBMIT AS PDFs.

Language — All manuscripts must be submitted in standard English. Do not use “I,” “We,” or “Our” within the manuscript when referring to the authors. The fact that the research was conducted by the authors is implicit. For example, rather than “We found a significant change,” the preferred language style is “The study showed a significant change.”

Human and Animal Subjects

All types of studies listed below that include human or animal research must be approved by an independent Human or Animal Research Subjects Ethics Committee.  Human subject studies include interview, survey, medical record reviews, and patient database analysis.  The name of the Ethics Committee and the protocol or research tracking number must be stated in the Methods section of the manuscript. 

Article Categories

1. Original Research* — manuscripts published as original research are structured research that uses quantitative and/or qualitative data collection methods and analyses to establish a hypothesis, association(s), or prove a cause-and-effect relationship.  Randomized controlled trials should adhere to the CONSORT Statement available at: www.consort-statement.org (Click checklist and flow diagram).  The CONSORT checklist must be submitted as supplemental material when a randomized trial is submitted for consideration.  Diagnostic studies should follow the STARD Guidelines available at: http://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/stard/. 

The Abstract must be limited to 375 words.  Abstract format should follow the sequence of  Introduction/Study Objective/Methods/Results/Conclusion. 

The main manuscript text cannot exceed 4,000 words (not including title, abstract, references, acknowledgments, or listed abbreviations). Important is a concise statement of the study hypothesis or objective in the last paragraph of the Introduction section of the main manuscript.  Limitations of the study must be discussed, preferably as a separate section, following the end of the Discussion section.  The Conclusion statement must be a concise summary of the study findings without subjective statements, editorialization or further discussion and should be placed as a final stand-alone section following the limitations discussion at the end of the main text.

Preferred Original Research manuscript format is as follows:

1. Title page (this page is not made available to peer reviewers of a submission)
2. List of abbreviations and symbols used and the meaning of each
3. Abstract
4. Introduction with statement of study objective at end
5. Methods with study design and data source stated in the first paragraph
6. Results
7. Discussion
8. Limitations
9. Conclusion(s) that answers the study objective by presenting the primary study      findings.  Statements that are subjective and based upon opinion should not be included in the Conclusion
10. References (correct formats are provided below)
11. Tables / Charts / Figures in order referenced in main text
12. Units of measure list or statement (when applicable)

2. Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses*— a structured, rigorous review of published and “grey” literature to be used to clarify areas in which there seems to be lack of consensus. The format for submission should be the same as that described above for Original Research.  Systematic Review or Meta-Analyses main text should not exceed 4,000 words (Abstract 375 words).  Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses must adhere to the PRISMA method, available at: www.prisma-statement.org . The PRISMA Guidelines Checklist for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses must be attached as supplemental material when the manuscript is submitted for consideration.

Reviews that are designed as scoping reviews should be submitted as Research Reports and not Systematic Reviews or Meta-Analyses.  Narrative and unstructured reviews are discouraged for submission to PDM.

3. Research Report* — a structured report that describes preliminary research findings, activities or aspects of science that provide information for the progression of knowledge or understanding in the areas of focus for the Journal.   Conference reports should follow the STROBE format, available at: www.strobe-statement.org . Research Report main text should not exceed 3,000 words (not including the Abstract which is limited to 375 words or the References list).

Scoping Reviews should be submitted in this category and must follow the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR).  Scoping Reviews must include the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews checklist as supplemental material with submission or the manuscript. Research based upon analysis of databases that include data collected by convenience sample techniques may be considered in this category.           

Research Report Format:

Title Page (this page is not made available to peer reviewers)

List of abbreviations and symbols used with the meaning of each

Abstract—concise summary (not to exceed 375 words)

Introduction— highlight the problem or issue of interest being addressed and the reason(s) that it needs to be addressed.

Report or Methods—describe design for information gathering, setting, review literature or population of interest, study participants (provide detailed information), variables measured, statistical or observational methods, and findings or results. Any stand-alone subsections should be subtitled ( example: Methods, Results). Include citations (using format described below) for sources of factual or authoritative material presented.

Discussion—describes the significance of the report in terms of the science. Includes a discussion of any literature or guidelines pertinent to the report. 

Limitations - potential limits of validity for the report should be discussed in a section following the Discussion.

Conclusion—the findings in terms of implications for the practice of prehospital, emergency, nursing, and/or disaster (humanitarian) medicine should be summarized in a few sentences.

References—a numbered list of references in the order in which they appear in the text. References should not be formatted as footnotes.

4. Field Report* — Provides an analysis and provides direct observations of prehospital, emergency health, and disaster events. The main text of a field report submitted to PDM should be no more than 1,800 words in length (Abstract 250 words). Supporting maps, graphs, and tables are encouraged.

Field Report Format:

Include the following specific event identifiers as a list at the beginning of the report:

a. Event type (example: tropical storm, bombing, train crash, mass-gathering event);

b. Event onset date;

c. Location of event (geographic area from which report is being made);

d. Geographic coordinates in latitude, longitude, elevation;

e. Dates (or times) of observations reported; and

f. Response type (example: medical relief, humanitarian, public health surveillance).

Abstract—Summary of report with important findings.

Introduction—summary of event with specific data available, such as population density; detailed event description; and general damage that occurred. Include description of author response responsibilities and mission objectives.

Source(s) —for information and data used for the report.

Observations - describe in detail the observations made that are relevant to the report.

Analysis—of Observations with any recommendations.

References—a numbered list of references (if any used in analysis of observations) in the order in which they appear in the text. References should not be formatted as footnotes.

With exceptions for format styles listed above, general information on manuscript preparation and  format using the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors style is available at: www.icmje.org (Click on “Recommendations” and “Preparing for Submission”)

5. Article Commentary - Commentary on manuscripts published in Prehospital and Disaster Medicine or other peer reviewed journals are acceptable for publication consideration in this category (limit 1,500 words). Political statements and criticisms based upon individual opinion are not accepted. Preferred are commentaries that expand on the methods, findings, and interpretation of previously published articles. Self-citation and data churning are discouraged.

Commentary Format:

Submissions should be well focused and follow the general format guidelines described below in these Instructions. An open organization format is acceptable for submission in this category. References and one to two charts, graphs, or figures are acceptable.

6. Guest Editorial - Guest Editorial submissions are considered on the basis of space available within the print version of the Journal. Open format is acceptable for this category.  Political, biased criticisms and advertisement material is not accepted.

Tables and Figures

Only essential figures and tables should be included. Supplemental tables, figures, photographs, and appendices may be published as supplementary material with the online version of the manuscript. All tables and figures must be referred to in the manuscript text.

Tables—submit tables either at the end of the manuscript or as separate WORD or rich text format files. DO NOT SUBMIT AS PDFs. Tables should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text, using Arabic numerals. Include table title above each table. Tables should be black and white, with text in Times New Roman 12-point font. Do not use shading, and do not include spaces, tabs, or hard returns. Table footnotes should be indicated with superscript lowercase letters in alphabetical order. Tables should be no more than nine columns wide, and should fit on one printed page (portrait orientation).Tables longer or wider than a page should be split into two or more tables.

Data presented as numbers and/or percentages must add up to totals; any discrepancies must be explained in table footnotes. Numbers and corresponding percentages should be presented in the same cell, using the n (%) format. Mean and standard deviation should also be presented in the same cell, using the mean (SD) format rather than the ± format.  95% confidence intervals or 25%/75% interquartile ranges should be placed in a separate cell (column) next to the mean, percentage, or median data.

Figures—number all figures in the order they will appear in the text using Arabic numerals. Do not include place markers for figures in the text. Titles for figures should be included as text at the end of the manuscript, and should not be included in the figure itself. Legends should be included in the figure. Commonly used and accepted formats are TIFF, EPS, JPG, and PDF. Figures should be vector-based art (charts or graphs) or else the supplied raster art (pixel images) should be minimum 300 dpi with high quality. Figures can be submitted in color, though will appear in color for online publication only; they will appear in black and white/grayscale for print publication.

Please ensure that your figures are saved at final publication size (see the latest issue of the journal for column widths).

Even when your figure is saved as a 300-dpi file, it may not be of sufficient resolution for print publication. If your original figure was lower resolution, simply saving it as a higher resolution file may not be helpful. Try sizing your figure to 1/4 or 1/3 of a page, and printing it. Is all the text clear? Is there enough contrast between bar graphs or lines and the background? White or no background is usually best.

Permissions—illustrations or tables from other publications must be accompanied by written permission from the copyright holder (author or publisher) of the document.  Illustrations previously published without copyright must be accompanied by written permission from the original author.

Honorary authorship and including author names for persons who were not part of the research presented or participants in preparation of the manuscript is considered unethical (per COPE Guidelines) and may result in rejection or retraction of a manuscript.

The act of submission to Prehospital and Disaster Medicine indicates confirmation by the submitting author that they have sought and obtained the approval of all co-authors, and that the authorship is in accordance with the journal’s policy.