Submissions

 Submissions to Medwave are done through an online platform called Kriyadocs (access here). You must upload the manuscript and all other documents into the system. We do not accept any other form of submission.

Kriyadocs is a bilingual peer-review platform. You can choose either English or Spanish as the language of submission. 

Publication ethics and reporting guidelines

Medwave complies with international publication ethics standards and that have been adopted by a great majority of mainstream biomedical journals.

Firstly, we endorse the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), also known as the Vancouver style or system.

Secondly, Medwave strongly recommends that submitted manuscripts are prepared in accordance with the corresponding reporting guideline depending on the study design. We endorse reporting guidelines and we make every effort to enforce them in our peer review process. We were one of the first journals to endorse The EQUATOR Network (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) (see here under Endorsements). If in doubt, please go to this resource and find the relevant reporting guideline that applies to your research. Do this before submitting your manuscript.

Lastly, we are very careful about what we do in our journal, as we feel responsible for what we publish. We care about research integrity and about our reputation within the scientific community and among scientific journal editors. For this reason, we may require authors to provide us with signed forms and other documents if we deem it necesssary. The main purpose of these forms is to ensure that authors are complying with the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity of medical research.

We reserve the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with our requisites.

Article structure and word count by article type

Medwave sets word count limits that must be complied with because the journal translates the accepted manuscripts submitted in Spanish into English, with no additional cost to authors.

If a manuscript exceeds the word limit, the authors are asked to explain why in the cover letter and declare that they are willing to pay an additional fee to cover the additional translating costs (USD 200).

Authors should declare the manuscript word count in the cover letter excluding tables with numerical values, figures, references, abstract, and notes. Authors should not discount any text contained in boxes or text-based tables.

We are currently not setting caps for tables, figures, and references. Notwithstanding, at any stage of the editorial review, we may request that authors reduce their number if we deem that they do not add clarity and completeness at the expense of brevity.

Original papers

• Word count: 4000.
• Structured abstract (Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusions): up to 300 words
• Article structure: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Notes, References.
• Please submit your manuscript as "Research" in the online submission system.
• Include the CONSORT (randomized controlled trial) or STROBE (observational studies) reporting guideline checklist.

Case reports

• Word count: up to 3000.
• Non-structured abstract: up to 250 words.
• Article structure: Introduction, Clinical presentation, Discussion, Conclusions, Notes, References.
• Please submit your manuscript as "Case reports" in the online submission system.
• Include the CARE reporting guideline checklist.

Economic evaluations

• Word count: 3500.
• Structured abstract (Objectives, Perspective, Setting, Methods, Results, Conclusions): up to 300 words.
• Article structure: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Notes, References.
• Please submit your manuscript as "Economic evaluation studies" in the online submission system.
• Include the CHEERS reporting guideline checklist.

Research protocols

• Word count: up to 3000.
• Structured abstract (Introduction, Objectives, Methods, Expected results): up to 250 words.
• Article structure: Introduction, Objectives, Methods, Expected results, Notes, References.
• Please submit your manuscript as "Other types of articles" in the online submission system.
• Include the extension for study protocols of the corresponding reporting guideline checklist.

Systematic reviews

• Word count: up to 4500.
• Structured abstract (Objectives, Methods, Results, Interpretation): up to 300 words.
• Article structure: Introduction, Methods, Results (including a narrative synthesis and a meta-analysis if applicable), Discussion, Conclusions, Notes, References.
• Please submit your manuscript as "Research" in the online submission system.
• Include the PRISMA reporting guideline checklist.

The journal publishes review articles. Review articles may be included in any one of the following thematic subsections: Analysis, Clinical reviews, Review articles, Methodological notes.

Narrative review articles

• Word count: up to 4500.
• Non-structured abstract: up to 300 words.
• Please submit your manuscript as "Reviews" in the online submission system.

The journal publishes articles in the Features sections, which includes Short communications, Current topics, Public health problems, Essays, Health policy.

Special articles for Features section

• Word count: up to 1500
• Non-structured abstract: up to 250 words
• References: up to 10.
• Please submit your manuscript as "Other types of articles" in the online submission system

Short communications

• Word count: up to 1000.
• Non-structured abstract: up to 250 words
• References: up to 10.
• Please submit your manuscript as "Other types of articles" in the online submission system

The journal publishes letters and commentaries in the section called Perspectives. Comments may only be submitted upon invitation from the editors.

Letters

• Word count: up to 500.
• Do not include an abstract.
• Tables and figures: no more than 1.
• References: up to 6.
• Please submit your manuscript as "Letter and commentaries" in the online submission system.

Supplementary material, datasets and annexes

Please use open data repositories such as Figshare, Open Data Repository, Mendeley Data, Dryad Digital Repository, Open Science Framework, Zenodo, etc.

Please do not submit annexes and datasets with your manuscript. Please provide the active DOI to your supplemental material in the manuscript.

When your manuscript is undergoing double-blind peer review, please set up your open data repository with the private link functionality. This will ensure blinding during peer review.

Author identification

Full given and last name. The use of the maternal given name is a personal decision of each author. The author list must reflect the order in which the authors want to appear if their manuscript is accepted for publication. We recommend the inclusion of each author's ORCID id in the title page of the manuscript. We remind you that the way in which you enter your name into the system is the way it will appear in the final accepted manuscript and published article. It is also the name that will appear in MEDLINE/PubMed. Each author is responsible for ensuring that there are no errors in their name. Do not abbreviate the first and middle names (e.g., Smith AD).

Author institutional affiliation when the research or work was conducted. Medwave follows the Sixth Edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) definition and recommendation on institutional affiliation: "the affiliation identifies the location where the author or authors were when the research was conducted, which is usually an institution. Include a dual affiliation only if two institutions contributed substantial support to the study." Do not include more than two affiliations per author. 

It is important to clearly state the department or school that you belong to, and to clearly identify your institution. Do not use institutional acronyms as these may not be known in other countries. We recommend that you look at how institutional affiliations are published in our journal. Each affiliation must be followed by the corresponding city and country. Do not include your educational status or degrees.

Email addresses for each author. Each author must have his or her own distinctive email address. All communications between the editors and the authors will be copied to all listed authors.

Corresponding author’s mailing address. This mailing address should reflect the lead author’s main affiliation or the one related to the work submitted. It must be clearly and accurately reported. P.O. boxes will not be accepted.

Abstract, keywords, and main messages

Abstract

All research articles must have a structured abstract (see above). Narrative articles must also provide an abstract that clearly identifies the review question, the method used to develop the review, the importance of the topic covered by the review, and main conclusions.

For authors submitting only Spanish manuscripts, they must provide an abstract in English, as well as an English translation of the manuscript title. While this is a submission requisite, the editors may copyedit title and abstract before publication if need be.

Abstract in Spanish

An abstract in Spanish is required for manuscripts submitted in English.

Keywords

Authors must include keywords that should be selected from the list of U.S. National Library of Medicine's Medical Subjects Headings (see here). Keywords should only be submitted in English.

Main messages

Please provide main messages after the keywords and before the Introduction. Below we provide instructions regarding their content.

Official languages

Medwave publishes in two languages but under a single unique DOI (Digital Object Identifier). Authors may submit their work in Spanish, or in English.

Authors who submit in Spanish do not have to provide a translation of their manuscript. The journal will translate any accepted article into English. Authors from English-speaking countries are requested to submit their manuscript only in English.

Tables, figures, references and others

Tables

If your manuscript contains tables, you should number them consecutively and include a table caption or title that explains the content clearly, without having to search for it in the manuscript. You should include short column headings (you may use abbreviations here). If clarifying notes are needed, put them under the table. Explain abbreviations used in the table. Refer to the tables in your manuscript as they appear and cite them accordingly. You can place your tables as they are mentioned in the manuscript and you no not need to put them at the end of the manuscript.

Please:

• Do not place the table title/caption as a header row. This information must be provided separately from the table.
• Do not imbed tables as objects – it must be possible to edit them.
• Do not upload tables as a separate file, unless specifically asked to do so, in which case you should upload as an Excel file.
• Make sure that the table is cited in the manuscript.
• For footnotes that are cited in the table only use numbers. Do not use symbols.
• Footnotes should be arranged in the following manner: Abbreviations, Cited footnotes, General footnotes.
• Provide absolute numbers with proportions, unless the denominator (n, sample size) is always the same. In this case, please include the sample size in the table caption/title.
• Use the table menu in the software program used to prepare the text using the Insert Table command or can be copied from a spreadsheet.
• Avoid using tabs, spaces, and hard turns to design a table. Always use columns and rows. Do not leave empty rows or columns.
• Use a minimum of table formatting or styling.
• Each piece of data should be contained in its own cell (e.g., percentage in one cell, absolute number in another).
• Subtitles in a table can be light-colored and shown in bold. Avoid merging cells.
• Table heading can be shown in bold.

Figures

“Figure” is any illustration that is not a table, e.g. graphics, images, EKGs, sonograms, etc. Images must be of high quality. Letters, numbers, arrows or any kind of symbol must be clearly visible with high resolution so as to be able to reduce the size of the figure upon publication and still be able to see the figure adequately. Any of these symbols must be clearly distinguishable from the surrounding and background image.

You must cite the figure within the text in consecutive order and independently from the tables. If a figure is the reproduction of an already published figure, you must mention the source and prove that you have written permission to reuse the figure from both the author and editor in charge of the source publication.

Patient photographs must cover or blur out the face in order to preserve anonymity. Written informed consent to publish in the journal from the patient or his or her tutor must have been obtained.

Please:

• Do not include the figure title in the figure. This information must be provided separately from the figure.
• Do not imbed the figure in the manuscript. Upload figures as separate files.
• Provide high-resolution PNG files (300 dpi) or export files in digital vector formats.
• For footnotes, use numbers, not symbols.
• Be creative, use colors, and try to make your figures pleasing and easy to interpret and understand.
• Make sure each figure is cited in the manuscript.

Measurement units

In tables, text and figures, only use the decimal metric system. Abbreviations and unit symbols must follow international conventions and standards.

Numbers

In Spanish, write numbers in accordance with the Real Academia de la Lengua Española. In Spanish, fractions are written with a decimal comma; in English, fractions are written with a decimal point. Please be careful with this. Do not use commas or decimal points to separate thousands or millions, just leave a space, e.g. 2 345 678. If the number has four digits, do not insert spaces, e.g. 2345.

In the text, when a number is under 10, please spell out the word. This applies to both Spanish and English.

References

In your manuscript, only include essential bibliographic references. Number the references as they are mentioned in the text. At the end of each appropriate sentence or paragraph, identify the reference with numbers in brackets. We stronly advise you to use reference managers, such as Mendeley or Zotero. Please use the PLOS style in your reference manager.

When available, always include the DOI, a link and the PubMed ID number in your list of references.

Abbreviations

Do not use abbreviations in the text, or just use few that are very well known, such as WHO or UN. The first time you mention them, spell out the name in full followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis. You may use abbreviations for biological substances when they are only know by the abbreviated name.

Formal manuscript requirements

Title page

1. The title of the manuscript must not (preferably) contain question marks, a concluding period, a semicolon or acronyms. The journal uses sentence case for capitalization of titles so please only capitalize the first word of the title and capitalize proper nouns.
2. Include the author list in the correct order considering publication. Mark the affiliation of each author with a superscripted letter (a, b, etc.).
3. Check that author names are spelled correctly and consistent with the name the authors use in their publications. Please use the full first name, not the initial.
4. Report the affiliation of each author. The affiliation must include the department, faculty, unit, etc., followed by the city and country (separated by a comma) of the institución or organization. If a second affiliation must be added, justify the contribution that the second institution made to the study or the manuscript in the cover letter. Each affiliation must include city and country. Please DO NOT include degrees.
5. Report the ORCID id for each author. If authors do not have one, we recommend that they register for an ORCID account, which is free of charge. List the ORCID separately from the author byline and from the affiliation.
6. Report postal address and email of corresponding author.
7. Keywords should be provided only in English and should be consistent with MeSH taxonomy. Please separate them with commas, not semicolon.

Second page

1. Make sure that the abstract is structured or non-structed according to article type (see above) and that the content of the abstract is entirely consistent with the contents of the main document. The abstract should contain roughly 250-300 words (see above) in order to reflect the main article accurately. Please be advised that the abstract is what readers and reviewers first see when they find an article in MEDLINE/PubMed, for example.
2. Do not use acronyms in the abstract.
3. Include a section after the abstract under the heading "Main messages" with 3-5 bullet points with particular emphasis on the problem, what the study adds, main limitations and main result.
4. Do not end headings with a colon (:).

Main document

1. Ensure that only single-spacing is used throughout the whole manuscript.
2. Use only two levels of headings: main heading for Introduction/Methods/Results/Discussion/Notes. Subheading to add clarity to the manuscript.
3. Capitalize only the first word of title and headings but make sure to capitalize proper nouns (names).
4. Make sure each reference is marked in brackets [1], and follows Vancouver style. When using a reference manager such as Zotero or Mendeley, please chose the PLOS style.
5. Include the DOI for each reference, or a URL address if the document does not have a DOI (grey literature).
6. Report both absolute and relative numbers and frequencies. Report confidence intervals when dealing with samples.
7. Make sure that confidence intervals are expressed throughout the manuscript as follows (e.g.): body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9 (relative risk: 0.44; 95% confidence interval: 0.39 to 0.50).
8. Include a space before and after mathematical symbols (e.g., n = 22 008). Do not place a space before the percentage symbol (e.g., 98%).
9. Do not use two decimals in reported values, unless this contributes substantially to the interpretation of the results. One decimal should suffice.
10. Remove all discipline-specific acronyms from the manuscript. The only acronyms allowed are cross-discipline ones (e.g., WHO) and must be explained at the first mention.
11. Revise the manuscript carefully for spelling mistakes. Use a spelling checker prior to submission.
12. Be sure to mention ethics committee approval (primary studies) or authorization to publish on behalf of patient or guardian (case report) in the Methods section.

In notes, before references

1. Contributor roles. State each author's contribution to the manuscript. We recommend the CRediT taxonomy or ICMJE.
2. Acknowledgments. Include acknowledgments, which must be duly authorized by whoever is mentioned.
3. Competing interests. Declare any potential competing interests for each author.
4. Funding. State sources of funding and ensure that the full, correct details of your funder(s) and any relevant grant numbers are included. If there was no funding, state this. Declare the funder's role in the study.
5. Protocol registry. If a clinical trial, state the trial registry number. It the manuscript is a systematic reviews, please indicate the PROSPERO registration number.
6. Ethics. If ethics approval is required, state the number of the ethics institutional report or letter. In any event, make an explicit statement on the ethical aspects of the work, or explain why no ethics approval was necessary (e.g., a study using secondary data).
7. Data sharing statement. Include the citation to a data-sharing repository, if any (e.g., Figshare, which is free-of-charge); or, declare willingness to share data.
8. Supplementary files. Any supplementary files should be made available through public data-sharing repositories (Figshare is one, but there are also others). The DOI and complete citation should be included here. Please avoid attaching files to your submission (e.g., questionnaires, ethics committee letters, datasets, search strategies, etc.).
9. Language of submission. Please state the language of submission, whether Spanish or English.

Tables and figures

1. State the source of each figure. Example: Prepared by the authors from the study data.
2. Any text within the figures must be written in the same language as the accompanying manuscript.
3. The tables must be editable and not provided as embedded objects.
4. Figures must NOT be embedded in the manuscript and must be separately uploaded in PNG format with a resolution of 300 dpi. The legend and footnotes of figures must appear in the main body of the manuscript, not at the end of the document.
5. Embed all tables in the manuscript as they are referred to in the narrative.

Other file types that are allowed

1. When the submission is research, using either primary or secondary source data, the authors must attach the corresponding reporting guideline, indicating in which page the items can be found in the manuscript (e.g., CONSORT for clinical trials; STROBE for observational studies). Upload the file picking the corresponding type "Reporting guideline"
2. If the study results may be affected/modified by sex or gender, the authors must use SAGER guideline when writing out the final manuscript, even if the study design was qualitative.
3. Provide high-resolution PNG files of the figures.
4. A cover letter is always required that should address the following: importance of the manuscript, whether it has been previously submitted to congresses or meetings, that it has not been submitted for peer review to another journal, whether waivers or discounts on the publication fee apply, whether it has been previously published as a preprint article, word count, and any other topic or issue that the corresponding authors deems important for the editors to be aware of.

Commentaries

These are articles than can cover any area of the medical field, public health, research, ethics, health policies or medical law. Often they are linked to an issue theme or may be commissioned by the editor-in-chief. Commentaries are not peer reviewed.

Commentaries must convey a clear idea and must follow academic writing style, with no more than two co-authors.

Tables, figures, reference style, and son on, should follow the instructions provided for the other article types.

Analysis articles

Authors are to submit their analysis articles to the online submission system choosing the option “Review”.

Analysis articles are a type of narrative review that informs and promotes debate on medical, scientific and policy issues and topics. They have a national or international relevance and contain viewpoints about which there may or may not be consensus or uniformity.

The authors must not assume that readers are acquainted with country-specific organizations or practices, which is why we always urge authors to provide context and clarity. Avoid abbreviations, especially country-specific ones, and when using them, explain them at first mention.

Title. Short and catchy. Must include key words.

Style. Use subtitles for readability and understanding. Any specialized terminology should be explained and all acronyms and abbreviations should be spelled out.

Evidence. Important statements must be supported by references numbered in Vancouver style as they are mentioned. Authors must ensure that evidence is clear and sufficient, and must point out where it comes from and what study designs are involved (e.g. published clinical trials, official documents, systematic reviews, observational studies, expert opinion, etc.). References must be current.

Tables, figures, boxes may be included, as well as photographs, images, drawings, figures. Color is appreciated. Inserts and boxes with main touching points are even more appreciated.

Narrative reviews

Narrative reviews are also known as literature reviews and are different from systematic reviews. These are journal articles that provide update on clinical topics for practicing physicians and allied health professionals, regardless of where they practice.

Clinical reviews must include an introduction with an overall update on the topic with the most recent developments and how they can apply to clinical practice. They should provide readers with other resources if they need additional information, such as links to Cochrane reviews. The article should provide an overview of everything that general practitioners should know about the topic. Reviews can have more than one author, but all must declare competing interests.

The editors may commission review articles, or they may be unsolicited. All must undergo external peer review, regardless of provenance. Authors may include color photographs, tables, figures, and may imbed videos.

The review should include the following sections:

Abstract. The abstract should state what topic is being reviewed, why, and what the main conclusions are. It should provide a general idea of the article content and the sources that were used.

Introduction. The introduction should provide an explanation of what the review is about and why it is important for professionals that are not experts on the topic. At least one general objective should be stated.

Methods. Authors should provide information on the sources that were used to prepare the review. We do not expect a systematic review, but we do expect that you consult Cochrane or other evidence summaries. You must be explicit about your searching strategy; if you have personal references; or if you have consulted with experts in the field.

Results. Present your results according to your objective. Key statements must be corroborated with evidence (clinical trials, systematic reviews, observational studies, expert opinion). Results should be worded along the lines of “Large randomized and well-designed clinical trials have shown that…” or “The findings from a small case series suggest that…” You should indicate if the evidence consulted is of poor quality or scarce. Try to avoid overly specialized terminology or abbreviations. Please remember that the journal’s readership is international, so if you have included country-specific recommendations, you must be explicit about this. The body of the text should contain easy-to-understand subtitles, preferably phrased as questions.

Discussion. This is optional.

Conclusions. At the end of the article you should try to finish off with concluding remarks.

Case reports

In the research section, Medwave also has a section for case reports. We think that case reports provide useful knowledge for professionals involved in clinical work. Case reports must include the following: abstract, introduction, case presentation, discussion and conclusions.

The abstract should summarize the case and its results.

The introduction should explicitly state why the case is important and why it should be published.

The case presentation should be as comprehensive as possible, including history, clinical and laboratory data, epidemiological information from patient family and social history. Rationale for obtaining tests should be provided and as well as information on their validity and reliability, if possible.

Remember to use international measurement units. Also mention how diagnosis was reached and what the differential diagnosis was. Refer to how treatment was decided, potential adverse reactions or treatment effects and what was defined as a successful treatment.

In the discussion include a brief review of similar published cases. We recommend also accounting for patient views and perspective.

The conclusions should include around three to five key learning points or take-home messages for clinical practice.

Case reports may include photographs or other illustrations about the case, but always remember to anonymize the patient.

Medwave does not accept case reports that have not followed CARE reporting guideline (see here).

Secondary research

Under this heading, Medwave includes reviews of the body of evidence that contain explicit search methods, inclusion criteria of selected studies, and critical analysis of included studies. This is the heading for systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis, economic evaluations, and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.

For:

• Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials: Medwave recommends that the study protocol be included in the submission as appendix and to follow PRISMA guideline.
• Meta-analysis of observational studies: authors should refer to STROBE.
• Economic evaluations: refer to CHEERS guideline.
• Clinical practice guidelines: use AGREE II and GRADE.

The abstracts of meta-analyses and systematic reviews should contain the following sections:

• Objective
• Design
• Data sources
• Methods used for the review
• Results
• Conclusions

Authors should use GRADE to define the quality of the evidence.

Primary research

Primary studies are conducted by obtaining data directly from the observation units (patients, healthy subjects, health care centers, etc.). We include under this heading mainly the “classic” epidemiological design:

• Randomized clinical trials and other therapy studies (e.g. quasi experimental studies or community interventions) that adjust covariables, time series.
• Cohort studies (prospective or retrospective).
• Case control studies.
• Diagnostic accuracy studies.
• Studies that validate scales and use questionnaires.
• Association studies.
• Studies that estimate prevalence (cross-sectional design).
• Studies that use qualitative methodologies or mix-methods studies.

All primary studies undergo peer review, which will be particularly strict and rigorous, and will include statistical review by a statistician. We strongly recommend authors to prepare their report in accordance to the most recent reporting guidelines, such as CONSORT, STROBE, SQUIRE, STARD, etc.

Manuscripts that report this type of studies must provide a structured abstract with the following subsections: introduction, objectives, methods, results and conclusions. Please ensure that your abstract is accurate, comprehensive and clearly stated, but not too long, and must have been approved by all listed authors.

Medwave suggests that the:

Title must provide a general and focused idea of the main objective of the study. The title must include the study design that was used.

Introduction must include a definition of the problem that gave rise to the need for the study, expressed as questions or hypothesis, including general characterization and importance. The introduction must contain the strictly necessary references to the literature, and must end with a description of the main objectives and secondary endpoints, consistent with the problem specific to the study. It must not contain any results or conclusions.

Methods must report on all methods and procedures used to conduct the research and to process and analyze the data obtained. At a minimum, the methods sections should report the definition of the study population or universe (often expressed as inclusion and exclusion criteria), sample description, sample selection, context of study participants; a clear definition of the variables and how they were measured; a description of the techniques that were used to collect the information on the variables (data) and a description of the statistical analyses that were done.

Results should be reported in a logical order consistent with the study objectives, and should be referred to in the text and supported by tables and illustrations; should include summary statistics but always being careful to include as much data as possible (e.g. if providing relative frequencies, also include absolute numbers). For quantitative variables provide measures of center and dispersion. The information provided in the tables should not be duplicated in the explanatory text, only commented. Do not duplicate data presentation (e.g. table and graphic). As for statistical significance, the “p” values or any effect estimation should be reported with confidence intervals.

Discussion should highlight the most important results, compare them with the results of other authors and provide some plausible explanation. Results should not be repeated but in some cases a brief summary of the most important findings may be allowed if this facilitates an understanding of the results and their importance. The discussion should always address the limitations of the study and risk of bias. It should not provide incontrovertible conclusions, but rather inform how these results support the conclusions and suggest future lines of research.

In addition to these considerations, and so ensure transparency and accuracy of the study report, authors are advised to follow the Uniform Requirements of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and to use the appropriate study reporting guidelines (see The EQUATOR Network for the broad range of reporting guidelines).

Other types of articles

Medwave publishes brief reports on original studies, narrative and non-systematic reviews, brief reports on clinical cases, technical notes, among others. Please follow the appropriate EQUATOR guideline when preparing your submission. Short communications are peer reviewed. Please consider that novelty and importance will be required for acceptance.

We also accept historical reviews, essays (see above), etc.

If you have any doubts about the pertinence of your work, please feel free to write to the editor-in-chief, Dr. Vivienne C. Bachelet, at vbachelet@medwave.cl (Spanish or English).

Style (English)

Authors should be very careful with language, style, grammar and spelling. If you think your manuscript in English version needs a professional revision, please use a member of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE), as listed here.

COVID-19 Panamerican Memoirs: Call for Papers

The COVID-19 Panamerican Memoirs Special Issue

2020 was one of the most distressing years of recent decades. A year of death, disease and devastating economic and social consequences.

2021 can also be regarded as equally impacting, with variants bringing about new deadly waves of the SARS-CoV-2 infection across the planet. At the same time, the world rushes to bring the newly developed vaccines to the population before the virus spreads again among susceptible individuals.

The world has become increasingly aware of the profound inequalities in healthcare between continents and between countries. Poor living conditions compounded by the pandemic have given rise to a syndemic: biological and social interactions that increase susceptibility to harm or to worse health outcomes.

But countries have not fared alike. And governments have not responded alike. The preeminence of health or economy, zero COVID or mitigation strategies, has been at the core of the debate and how the pandemic has been tackled. 

• How has the Panamerican region done in the face and wake of the COVID-19 pandemic?
• What went wrong?
• What went right?
• What can we change in the future?
• What are the barriers or facilitators for resilient health?
• What are we not understanding?
• Which experiences are worth sharing?
• What lessons have the healthcare systems learned?

We invite you to submit your paper to Medwave to describe, analyze, and critique, how your country or region was impacted by COVID-19, and what policies were enacted to help people ride and survive the waves of this deadly virus; or how politics shifted the focus of our response from health to other priorities.

Let us critically review and write the chronicle of COVID-19 in The Americas as we know it to date when events are still fresh in our memory. We need to understand what we did right and what we did wrong to correct our public health response and our economic and social policies.

This special issue, to be published in 2022, calls on our leaders to engage in the best-coordinated response possible to prevent a recurrence of distressful events in the face of any new pandemic challenge.

Editors-in-charge: Vivienne C. Bachelet, Tania Herrera

Deadline for submission: March 31, 2022.

No submission or publication fees will be charged.

Last update

November 30, 2023