Guidelines for Author

General Requirements

Manuscripts must be submitted exclusively by one of the authors directly involved in the research and writing of the work. Third-party or agency submissions are not permitted. All manuscripts must be submitted through the NJHS online submission system. In exceptional circumstances where the online system is inaccessible, authors may submit their manuscripts via email at: publication@njhsciences.com

Registration of Systematic Review Articles

To promote transparency, methodological rigor, and research integrity, the National Journal of Health Sciences strongly encourages authors to prospectively register their systematic review protocols in recognized international registries, such as PROSPERO. The relevant registration number should be clearly reported at the conclusion of the abstract.

Authors are advised to adhere to the applicable guideline and submit the corresponding checklist with their manuscript, where appropriate, to facilitate peer review and ensure compliance with reporting standards.

Manuscripts must be written in clear, concise, and grammatically correct English. It is the responsibility of the authors to obtain and provide written permission for the reproduction of any previously published material (e.g., illustrations, tables, figures) included in the manuscript. Proper acknowledgment of copyright holders is mandatory.

Required Files for Submission

When submitting your manuscript online, please upload the following documents:

• Main Manuscript: A single Microsoft Word (.docx) file containing the full manuscript, including references, tables, and figure legends.
• Supplementary Material: Any additional supporting documents (e.g., datasets, extended tables, or appendices) in appropriate file formats (e.g., MS Word, Excel, SPSS).
• Figure Files: All figures must be uploaded separately as high-resolution JPEG or PNG files. Each file should be clearly labeled with the manuscript title or the lead author’s name.

Scaling and Resolution Requirements

Additional Documentation

The following forms must be completed, signed, and uploaded with the manuscript submission:

• Undertaking/Agreement Form (available here) — to be signed by the corresponding author and co-authors.
• Copyright Transfer and Authorship Agreement (available here).
• Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form (available here).

Important Declarations

Authors must affirm that:

• The manuscript, or any substantial part thereof, has not been previously published (either online or in print) and is not under consideration by any other journal.
• All ethical standards, including permissions for reproduced material and disclosure of conflicts of interest, have been fulfilled prior to submission.

To submit a manuscript, please follow these steps:

1. Register for an account on our online submission system (OJS) if you haven’t already.
2. Log in to your account and select the ‘Submit a Manuscript’ option.
3. Carefully review and follow the submission guidelines provided on our website.
4. Upload your manuscript along with required supporting files, such as figures, tables, and references.
5. Upload the following documents:
   1. Undertaking / Agreement
   2. Conflict of Interest – ICMJE
   3. Copyright Transfer and Authorship Agreement
   4. IRB / Ethical Approval
   5. IRB / Ethical Approval Waiver or Exemption Letter (if author/s consider ethical approval is not required then the Journal would require evidence of this too — once again, a letter of confirmation from an appropriate ethics approval committee.
   6. Figures and Tables (separately)

By submitting your manuscript through our online system, you will be able to track the progress of your submission and receive notifications regarding the review process.

Authorship Criteria (ICMJE):

The National Journal of Health Sciences adheres to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines for authorship. To be eligible for authorship, a contributor must have made significant contributions to the manuscript in one or more of the following areas:

Conception and design of the study: The author must have played a significant role in designing the study, including developing the research question, selecting the study design, and planning the methodology.
Acquisition of data: The author must have collected, analyzed, or interpreted the data, or have been responsible for the data management.
Analysis and interpretation of data: The author must have performed the statistical analysis, interpreted the results, and drawn conclusions from the data.
Drafting the manuscript: The author must have written the first draft of the manuscript or have made significant contributions to the writing.
Revising the manuscript: The author must have reviewed and revised the manuscript, including making significant contributions to the content, structure, and style.

In addition to these criteria, authors must also meet the following requirements:

• They must have approved the final version of the manuscript.
• They must have agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
• They must have disclosed any potential conflicts of interest.

Contributors who do not meet these criteria should be acknowledged in the manuscript as contributors, but not listed as authors. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all authors meet these criteria and for disclosing any potential conflicts of interest.

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Policy

The National Journal of Health Sciences (NJHS) upholds the highest standards of academic integrity and fully endorses the policies of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. NJHS strictly adheres to internationally recognized definitions of plagiarism and publication misconduct.

To maintain rigorous ethical standards, all submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism and redundancy using iThenticate®, a leading text-matching and AI detection software developed by Turnitin, LLC.

Manuscripts Derived from Academic Theses

Manuscripts based on an author’s M.Phil. or Ph.D. thesis must explicitly disclose the following information on the manuscript’s title page:

• Thesis title
• Supervisor’s name
• Department and university affiliation
• Year of thesis submission

Important Advisory

Authors are advised to adhere to the applicable guideline and submit the corresponding checklist with their manuscript, where appropriate, to facilitate peer review and ensure compliance with reporting standards.