Instructions to authors of the Hygiena journal

Hygiena journal publishes contributions from public health, epidemiology, or other disciplines, which are dedicated to health protection and promotion and disease prevention and are up to date, are of relevance, and are in the scope of the journal. They should meet the following requirements in terms of their structure, content, and overall quality.

Ethical aspects of publication

The publication ethics of Hygiena journal are primarily based on recommendations by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). A brief summary of the minimum standards required by the Hygiena journal is here; the unabridged form is accessible on the websites of both of the above associations.

Submitted manuscripts are to be accompanied by a written declaration that the results therein have not been published previously and are not under submission elsewhere. The author is responsible for respecting the intellectual property rights of data taken from other publications or sources. All clinical studies must meet the requirements of basic ethical recommendations include personal data privacy regulations. By submitting a contribution authors give consent to its release on the Hygiena journal's website: access will be limited to subscription holders and on request by authors when published in a current issue, whereas selected articles will be freely available.

Types and extent of contributions

  1. Original articles - Original research (using original sets or material, 15 page limit)
  2. Review papers - Usually comprising commentary on current knowledge of specific issues (15 page limit)
  3. Short communications - 5 page limit
  4. Reports from practice
  5. Discussion - On any relevant topics, including commentaries and responses to articles
  6. News - From medical associations, conferences, personal news, announcements etc.
  7. Book reviews

Submissions to supplemental issues

Hygiena journal publishes supplemental issues on speciality subjects (special events or current themes) by arrangement with the editorial board.

Manuscript format and content

The manuscript can be in Czech or Slovak languages with the following content:

I. Front page

  1. Title (also in English language)
  2. Name of author (full name and surname)
  3. Affilliation of author(s)
  4. Name, address and email correspondence for main author

II. Summary

  1. Summary: no more than 250 words specifying aims, methods, results and conclusions. A structured summary is required for original research papers.
  2. Keywords (5–6), also in English.

III. Actual text - Original articles are to contain the following sections:

  1. Introduction - Brief review of subject matter in a global context and description of the aim of the submitted paper
  2. Method – Detailed description of methodology, materials, monitored sets or groups and statistical analyses
  3. Results – Containing only essential documentation with limited use of tables; unified presentation, either numerical or pictorial
  4. Discussion – Critical analysis of possible ambiguities in methods and results, comparison of yielded results with currently available information
  5. Conclusion – Brief summary of the submitted paper’s contribution to science and, if appropriate, clinical practice
  6. Pertinent grant information, references to prior lecture publication, acknowledgements

IV. References

Recommended range of references at original articles is up to 35 citations, at review articles up to 50 citations, and at short communications up to 10 citations.

Common guidelines

The extent of the submitted material (including figures, graphs and tables) should not exceed the parameters stipulated for specific categories, using 1.5 line spacing and 12 point Times New Roman font. All submissions are requested in Rich Text Format (.rtf) or MS Word (.doc or .docx). Please do not format your text files. Numbered tables and graphs, with key explanations as well as figures in graphic formats (.tif or .jpg, for instance) will be in printable size and resolution min. 300 DPI, and are to be sent in a separate files. Placement of figures, graphs and tables should only be indicated in the text, do not include it in the text as such. Consult the viability of coloured images with the editors.

Please try to avoid the most common mistakes such as providing an extensive introduction without setting up a clear objective, describing methods in a way that does not make it possible to see whether the results are reliable and comparable with those of other studies, using too extensive or double documentation, presenting results in the Discussion without providing critical comments and comparison with the literature, or repeating the summary in the conclusions.

Literature

Quote only the publications that are referred to in the text, with serial numbering in brackets and in the order of reference in the text. References to ‘personal communication’, ‘unpublished data’ or work that has not been published are unacceptable (with the exception of existing DOI documents). Essentially, all references must be readily accessible to readers.

Reference format: as advised by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors: Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Sample References, 2018. Various reference format requirements: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html.

Examples for the style to be used for the list of references are given below.

1. Standard journal article:

Prodinger WM, Polanecký V, Kozáková B, Müllerová M, Mezenský L, Kaustová J, et al. Molecular epidemiology of tuberculosis in the Czech Republic, 2004: analysis of M. tuberculosis complex isolates originating from the city of Prague, South Moravia and the Moravian-Silesian Region. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2006 Dec;14(4):168-74.

2. Books and Monographs:

Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2002.

3. Chapter in a book:

Philips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnossis, and management. New York: Raven Press; 1995. p. 465-7.

4. Electronic sources (journal article, database, monograph on the Internet, web page, and the like):

Jablonski S. Online Multiple Congenital Anomaly/Mental Retardation (MCA/MR) Syndromes [database on the Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US). c1999 [updated 2001 Nov 20; cited 2002 Aug 12]. Available from: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/20061212/mesh/jablonski/syndrome_toc/toc_a.html.

Method of submitting manuscripts

Manuscripts should be addressed to the Science information unit, by email or contact form.

National Institute of Public Health
Science Information Unit
©robárova 49/48
10000 Praha 10, Czech Republic
phone: +420 267 082 567, +420 267 082 889
e-mail: casopis-hygiena@szu.cz

Accepting papers and the peer-review procedure

The editors do not confirm the receipt of any paper. The editorial board decides about the acceptance or rejection of any article on the grounds of expert opinions from the independent peer-reviewers according to a prescribed set of criteria. In the case of a positive outcome and acceptance, the paper is included in a list of papers waiting to be published. The author is given notice of its acceptance and is asked for the final version of the manuscript as far as any amendments had been requested. The author is likewise given notice when the paper has been rejected.

Editing and proofs

One set of proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author. Corrections in the proofs are done by the author, however, no essential changes are allowed. Authors are requested to return the corrected proofs within 7 days after their delivery. Corrections of proofs will not be taken into consideration if they are not received in time. The editors reserve the right to make small formal amendments and final language adjustments in the text to be printed. By confirmation of proofs the author agrees that the accepted paper in revised form will be published and made accessible on the Hygiena journal's website. Manuscripts are not returned to the authors. No royalties are paid for the contributions printed; the corresponding author of a paper will receive an issue of the journal free of charge without ordering.

Fees for publishing contributions

Subject to a charge are articles and review papers that contain acknowledgements of grant agencies or other sponsors. The fee for publishing articles of said kind is 1000.- CZK. The authors can include that fee as part of their expenses in the fulfilling of the grant project. They should forward the amount to the editors' account upon receiving notice that upon a successful peer-reviewing procedure thier paper has been accepted for publication.

Publishing schedule 2023

IssueDeadlineDistribution
104.02.202311.03.2023
229.04.202310.06.2023
327.07.202309.09.2023
427.10.202312.12.2023

In view of that papers sent to the journal are peer-reviewed by more than one reviewer and then amended by their authors, the authors have to count with some delay in the publication of their paper. That may be influenced by a number of circumstances, i.e. also by the queue of manuscripts prepared for publication.