Guidelines
The African Journal of Health Sciences (AJHS) is dedicated to fostering and disseminating high-quality research in health sciences and related fields, thus contributing to the global knowledge base. To facilitate a seamless submission process and uphold high standards of academic publishing, please adhere to the following guidelines when preparing and submitting your manuscript for consideration.
Manuscript Submission Requirements
Manuscripts will only enter the peer-review process once they fully adhere to the style and format specified in the Guidelines. Additionally, submissions must be written in proper English grammar and syntax to ensure clarity and professionalism. Authors are granted two opportunities to revise their manuscripts to align with the journal's guidelines. Failure to meet these standards after two revisions will result in an automatic desk rejection.
Scope of the Journal
The AJHS is dedicated to advancing health and healthcare delivery in Africa through high-quality research, reviews, and articles. Our scope includes: Molecular Biology, Microbiology, AMR, Virology, Biotechnology, Epidemiology, Clinical Research, Public Health, Healthcare Systems, Medical Innovations, Infectious and Non-communicable Diseases, Maternal and Child Health, Healthcare Education, Policy, Environmental Health, Nutrition, One Health, Drug Development, Parasitology, Mycology and Pharmacy. By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and disseminating impactful findings, we aim to improve health outcomes across the continent and beyond.
Frequency of Publication: The African Journal of Health Sciences publishes four (4) Issues per year.
Types of Manuscripts: The Journal publishes the following categories of manuscripts:
Submission
Manuscript submissions to the African Journal of Health Sciences are made only electronically through the online publication management platform accessible here: https://ojs.ajhsjournal.or.ke
All revisions made to any document as part of the publication package (including revisions of the manuscript), should not be sent by email but uploaded on the same portal under the same submission. New submissions should only be of a different title.
The submission package should include:
- A cover letter addressed to the Editor in Chief. It should explicitly state that the authors are submitting your work for publication and explain significance of your work, including its novelty and impact to science.
- Title Page: Write a separate title page with the following:
- Title: Write a comprehensive title reflecting the contents of the article.
- Author by-line: present authors names in order of seniority. Indicate the corresponding author by applying an asterisk (*) next to their name. Indicate a superscript number corresponding with the authors affiliation, next to their names. Include an ORCID number for each author.
- Institutional affiliation: present a detailed institutional affiliation for each author. E.g. for universities indicate [Department], [School], [College], [University], [City], [Country].
- Corresponding author: Write the name of one corresponding author and an active contact email. The corresponding author must be one of the authors of the manuscript. All communication with the authors’ team will be channelled through the corresponding author who in turn will ensure communication from the journal reaches the rest of the authors’ team.
- A soft copy of an original manuscript written in UK English. It should be written clearly and concisely to promote effective communication of your research. If your manuscript is based on previously published work, provide proper citations and references. All formatting should adhere to the guidelines of the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th edition for manuscript formatting. See APA 7th Edition (American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Assoc). Please note that authors’ names, institutional affiliation or other uniquely identifying information such as ORCID numbers should only be included in the separate title page and not in the manuscript.
- A copy of the written informed consent from participants whose photographs have been used in the manuscript.
- Written permission from authors whose copyright material has been used in the manuscript.
- A payment receipt for the article processing charge (APC). Authors will be required to pay the APC only after the manuscript has passed the submission screening stage. Payment details will be sent to the corresponding author’s email address at this point.
- An Ownership Declaration Form signed by ALL the authors following the example in the provided link.
Manuscript Preparation
All new submissions must not have been previously published or be under consideration elsewhere (provide an explanation in Comments to the Editor if applicable); files should be in Microsoft Word format; text should be single-spaced, in a 12-point font, and use italics instead of underlining (except for URLs); illustrations, figures, and tables should be embedded within the text at appropriate points, not at the end. Manuscripts should adhere to the following format and not add any other subtitles not listed here:
- Title: A comprehensive title reflecting the contents of the article.
- Abstract: Provide a structured abstract (Background, Methodology, Results, Conclusions, Recommendations) for original research articles and systematic reviews. Short communications should feature a non-structured abstract. Abstracts to contain minimum 250 words but not exceeding 350 words.
- Keywords: List a set of 3-5 keywords that accurately represent the content of your manuscript. This will aid in discoverability of the article on the internet.
- Introduction: An introduction describing the magnitude of the health problem with the study rationale adequately described. Articulate the research question or hypothesis clearly, underlining its significance within the field concerned.
- Methodology: Describe the research methodology in detail and structured with relevant subtitles, including information about:
- An appropriate study design for the objectives
- An appropriate and adequately justified sample size
- An appropriate and adequately described sampling technique
- A description of the methods and instruments of data collection
- Documentation of the techniques to minimize bias/errors that were applied
- Ethical Considerations: A description of how issues related to ethics were addressed in the conduct of the study.
- Results: Findings should be presented logically and comprehensibly, utilizing tables, figures, and charts for clarity. Authors should ensure that not more than 4 tables and not more than 8 figures are presented per article.
- Discussion: Interpret your key results, discuss their implications, and relate them to existing literature. Avoid undue repetition of results.
- Study Limitations: Authors must transparently discuss any constraints affecting their study's validity, generalizability, or reproducibility, including sample size, study design, and potential biases. Clearly acknowledge these limitations and suggest directions for future research to address them.
- Conclusion: Succinctly summarize your key findings and emphasize their relevance. Highlight the study's contribution to the field.
- Recommendations: Authors should provide clear, actionable recommendations based on their study findings, addressing practical implications and potential policy changes. Highlight areas for further research to build on the current study's results.
- Acknowledgement: It is suggested that authors acknowledge individuals or organizations that contributed to the study but did not meet the criteria for authorship. This can include funding sources, institutional support, and assistance from colleagues or mentors.
- Conflict of interest statement: Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, including financial, personal, or professional affiliations that could influence their study's results or interpretation.
- Source of funding: Authors must disclose all sources of funding that supported their study, including grants, institutional support, and any other financial contributions.
- References: Accurately cite all sources following the Vancouver style for citation and referencing. Ensure that all works cited as current and relevant. URLs and DOIs for references must be included where available.
A word limit of 5000 words for original research papers and 5500 words for systematic reviews should not be exceeded. Word count includes references, tables and figures.
Formatting Tables and Figures
To maintain clarity and improve readability, tables and figures should be used judiciously. Only essential tables and figures should be included in the main manuscript, and any additional materials submitted separately as supplementary material. In total tables and figures presented in the manuscripts should not exceed 4-6 combined. For systematic reviews, this limit may extend to a maximum of 10; however, the Editor-in-Chief may approve additional content for complex reviews on a case-by-case basis. Tables should remain concise, relevant, and easy to interpret, without overwhelming the article’s structure with excessively large or lengthy tables:
- Tables: Format tables according to the APA 7th Edition style, sequentially numbering them with clear titles. See Table formatting
- Figures: Submit figures in JPEG, PNG, TIFF, or PDF format with a minimum resolution of 300 DPI. Sequentially number figures and provide clear and concise captions. See Figure formatting
- Supplementary Data: Supplementary data, where applicable, are attached separately from the manuscript. Supplementary data should adhere to the Journal’s guidelines
Peer Review Process
AJHS maintains a stringent peer-review process to uphold the scholarly integrity and quality of published research. Our peer review process is blinded to maintain impartiality. The selection of peer reviewers is conducted confidentially by the editorial board, ensuring impartial evaluation. Authors are encouraged to consult our reviewer guidelines on our website to gain insights into the peer-review process.
Manuscript revisions. Revised manuscripts at all stages, including screening, peer review, and proofreading, should be submitted with changes clearly indicated by highlighting in yellow.
Detailed rebuttal. Authors must provide a detailed rebuttal, at all stages, addressing reviewer comments alongside their revised manuscripts. This transparency helps clarify how feedback has been addressed to enhance the manuscript.
Article Processing Charges and Refunds
An article processing charge is applied to each submission. The fee is KES 10,000 from Kenyan-based authors and USD 120 from authors based in other countries. The fee will only be made through direct transfer to a bank account provided by the journal. There will be no other money transfer options unless provided by the journal’s secretariat upon assessing the need. The journal will not refund any APC paid by authors, even if the manuscript is not published, hence APC will only be paid once a manuscript successfully passes the screening stage. Moreover, payment of the APC is not guarantee of publication since the APC covers the costs associated with the editorial and peer review processes, which are incurred regardless of the publication outcome. No other fees are required of the authors after this.
Ethical Misconduct
Any form of ethical misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, or multiple submissions, will lead to immediate rejection of the manuscript. Authors are encouraged to ensure transparency and honesty in their work, and violations will be addressed in line with established publication ethics.
- Plagiarism: According to the Committee on Publication Ethics guidelines (COPE), plagiarism is defined as: " The appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit, including those obtained through confidential review of others' research proposals and manuscripts."
We maintain a strict stance against plagiarism (including self-plagiarism). Authors are strongly encouraged to ensure their work is original and properly cited to maintain the credibility and quality of scholarly publishing. All submissions will undergo a plagiarism check to assess both similarity and the use of AI-generated content. These checks will be conducted during the initial screening and after revision following peer review. Any manuscript with a similarity index exceeding 15% will be considered unacceptable, and the authors will be given two opportunities to revise and reduce the similarity score. Should the revised manuscript still exceed this threshold, it will be rejected.
In serious cases of plagiarism, including multiple submissions, further punitive measures will be enforced. Consequences for severe violations may include banning the author from submitting to the journal for a specified period, notifying the author’s affiliated institution, and retracting the paper if already published. Our aim is to foster a research environment that values honesty, transparency, and academic rigor.
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Authorship. All individuals listed in the byline as authors must meet the authorship criteria as prescribed by COPE. We strongly urge authors to familiarize themselves with these ethical guidelines to ensure adherence. The guidelines include, but not limited to:
1. Substantial contributions to the conception, design, acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
2. Drafting or critically revising the manuscript for intellectual content.
3. Approval of the final version to be published.
4. Agreement 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.
- Authorship disputes. The journal does not mediate authorship disputes. If disagreements arise, manuscript processing will be suspended until resolution is communicated in writing to the journal, through a document signed by all listed authors.
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Deliberate data fabrication. This refers to the act of intentionally falsifying or inventing data. This could be manipulating results, misrepresenting data, or creating nonexistent findings to support a hypothesis or claim that wasn't backed by actual evidence. This is a
direct violation of research integrity and is a severe form of academic misconduct. Fabricated data undermines the entire foundation of scientific research and can lead to misleading conclusions, which can harm public health, safety, and scientific progress. If detected, the consequences include retraction of published papers a permanent ban from submitting to the journal, and notification to the author's institution.
- Manipulated Illustrations. Manipulation of illustrations, including graphs, charts, diagrams, photographs, tables, and statistical representations, undermines the integrity of scientific research. Authors must ensure that all illustrations faithfully represent the original data without alteration intended to enhance or obscure outcomes. Acceptable minimal image processing includes adjustments for contrast and brightness, provided they do not obscure or misrepresent original data.
- Multiple Submissions. Involves submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time. This constitutes plagiarism because the submission is duplicated in multiple places without disclosure of prior submissions. The African Journal of Health Sciences requires that authors confirm the originality of their papers, and that the paper has not been submitted elsewhere, by signing and submitting an Ownership Declaration form. Should the Journal detect a case of multiple submission, the manuscript will be rejected. Additionally, the author could also be banned from submitting to the Journal in the future.
- Ethical Approval. Evidence of ethical approval for all studies involving recruitment of human participants or use of animals is required. The name of the approving Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the approval number should be presented in the methodology under subtitle ‘Ethical considerations’.
- Conflict of Interest. Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation of their work.
Authors are reminded of their responsibility to uphold ethical standards in scholarly publishing, ensuring transparency and accuracy in all findings presented. Adherence to these guidelines is essential to maintain the trust and credibility of scientific research within the academic community.
Open Access Policy Statement
The African Journal of Health Sciences (AJHS) is committed to open-access publishing, ensuring unrestricted access to all articles worldwide. Authors retain copyright of their work, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the work, even commercially, provided proper attribution to the authors and AJHS is given. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright
© 2024 The authors. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Journal Indexing
AJHS is indexed on African Journals Online (AJOL). You can find our profile at https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajhs/about. Additionally, our older issues are archived on Bioline, accessible through: http://www.bioline.org.br/toc?id=jh
Contact Information
For inquiries or further assistance, please reach out to the journal secretariat:
The African Journal of Health Sciences, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Mbagathi Road, Nairobi.
P.O Box 54840-00200,Nairobi, Kenya
Website: https://ojs.ajhsjournal.or.ke
We look forward to receiving your invaluable contributions to the African Journal of Health Sciences. Your dedication to advancing health research is highly valued and has the potential to create transformative impacts.