Instructions for authors

The quartely journal Problemy Pielęgniarstwa/Nursing Problems accepts for publication original articles, reviews and case reports in the field of nursing and on related subjects. Submitted articles should cover the following areas:
• use of scientific research in nursing and obstetrics,
• a nursing or midwifery practice based on scientific evidence,
• management and organization of work in nursing and obstetrics,
• pre and postgraduate education for nurses and midwives,
• quality and satisfaction from nursing care,
• basics and theories in nursing and obstetrics,
• ethics in nursing and obstetrics practice,
• history of nursing and midwifery.
The journal also publishes reports from national and international meetings and conferences, book reviews, commentaries, personal remembrances and letters to the editor. The journal publishes editorial articles which are written upon special invitation of the editorial board and thus are not subject to review. Articles must be prepared in English. Authors for whom English is not their first language should seek the advice of an expert to make sure that their submission is linguistically and stylistically correct.
The journal is published in the paper original version as well as in electronic format on the website at http://www.termedia.pl/Czasopismo/Problemy_Pielęgniarstwa. Articles in the journal are published open access (OA).

SUBMISSION
Manuscripts should be sent electronically after logging in and setting up an account at https://www.editorialsystem.com/ppielen. Text requirements: 12 pt font, spacing of 1.5 cm between the lines, margins of 2.5 cm. The text should not be formatted. Tables and figures should not be placed in the text. Instead, appropriate information should be provided in the place proposed by the author, such as Table 1, Figure 3, etc.
The type of work, the authors and their affiliations, as well as the title, abstract and key words should be entered in appropriate fields in the electronic submission panel. Please do not provide data on the authors (personal information and affiliations) in the work content file. Tables and figures (charts, diagrams, photographs) should be attached in separate files (maximum number of tables and figures – 6).

ARTICULAR INSTRUCTIONS
The title of the paper should be given in English.
Abstract in English should consist of a minimum 250 words and a maximum of 300 words for original papers and from 100 to 150 words for reviews and case studies. An abstract of an original paper should be structured to include the aim, material and methods, results and conclusions.
Key words (3–4) in English, according to Index Medicus (Medical Subject Headings).
Text:
• original works should include an introduction and aim, material, methods (or material and methods), results, discussion/debate, conclusions;
• review articles may have a free-form layout;
• case reports should include an introduction (why the case is interesting), description of the case, discussion of characteristic symptoms, results of treatment, etc.
Acknowledgements and statements should be placed at the end of the article.
References: works cited in the text should be numbered in the order of their citation; references in the text should be placed in square brackets; the last names of the first three authors should be provided (if there are more authors, the abbreviation et al. should be added), and the title of the work and the abbreviated name of the journal (as per Index Medicus) should be given:
Bień A, Rzońca E, Kańczugowska A, et al. Factors affecting the quality of life and the illness acceptance of pregnant women with diabetes. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2016; 13: 1-13.
In the case of books, you must also provide the full title of the work, publisher, place and year of publication:
Butler JM. Sample collection, DNA extraction, and DNA quantitation. In: Butler JM. Forensic DNA typing: biology, technology, and genetics of STR markers. Elsevier, Burlington – London 2005; 33-62.
The number of references should not exceed 30 for original articles and case reports, and 60 for review articles.
The total volume of manuscripts including tables, figures, references and abstracts, may not exceed:
• for original articles and reviews – 15 pages;
• for case reports – 8 pages;
• personal remembrances – 3 pages.
A standard manuscript page contains 1800 characters.
Tables should be numbered using Roman numerals in the order in which they appear in the work. Information contained in tables should not be repeated in the body of the text. Explanations for tables, e.g. full forms of abbreviations, should be provided in footnotes below tables.
Figures and photographs should be numbered using Arabic numerals and attached in separate files. Figures should be saved in one of the following formats: .cdr, .tif, .jpg, .ai, .bmp or .eps. Photographs should have a resolution of 300 dpi and .tif or .jpg format. Please do not embed drawings and photographs in MS Office documents. The dimensions of figures (photographs) together with designations and legend should not exceed 16 cm × 12 cm.
Figures and photographs are placed in the article in the form in which they are supplied, so please make sure that they are prepared carefully. If a figure (photograph) has been published before, then its source should be provided, and written consent should be obtained from the copyright holder to publish it again. The submitted photos are published in printed version as a rule in the gray scale, unless it is detrimental to their substantive value. Editors inform that it is possible to print color photos for an additional fee. In the electronic version, photos are posted in color. Information on the willingness to use the photo print option for an additional fee should be entered in the Remarks field in the Editorial System. In order to publish photographs using the image of people (patients), the author of the article should obtain the consent of the subject and the author of the photographs.
Abbreviations should always be explained when used for the first time in the text (this rule also applies to abstracts). Abbreviations should not be used in the title of the manuscript.
Results of laboratory tests, as well as relevant norms and standard deviations, should be expressed in units adopted by the International System of Units (Systéme International d’Unités).

STATEMENTS
Publishing contract
Manuscripts must be accompanied by a publishing contract signed by all authors transferring all copyrights and publishing rights to the Polish Nurses Association and stating that the work has not been published before (in whole or in part) or submitted to be simultaneously published in another journal and has been approved by all co-authors (if any), as well as by the responsible authorities at the institution where the work has been carried out. It is also required to submit a statement on the absence or existence of a conflict of interest and, if such a conflict exists, indicate its nature and identify sources of funding for publication (grants, scientific research institution, association, other entity), or a lack thereof. Templates for statement is available in the submission panel https://www.editorialsystem.com/ppielen. After completing and signing the statements, they must be appended (in the form of a scan, PDF format) when uploading the article in the electronic submission system.
At the same time, the editorial board assumes the obligation to ensure impartiality in qualifying the submission for publication.
Journal allow the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions but always with the consent obtained from the Owner of the journal. The author should ask the Editor-in-Chief for such consent.

Scope of work of the authors
The journal applies procedures ensuring the originality of scientific publications in accordance with ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) and WAME (World Association of Medical Editors) criteria. Therefore, it is also necessary to provide information on the scope of contribution made by each author to the publication, i.e. specify the author of the concept of the study, assumptions, methods, study protocol, and the like, as well as the affiliation of each of the authors. A template for the statement on the scope of work is available in the submission panel at https://www.editorialsystem.com/ppielen.
The editorial board observes the highest standards of scientific publication and the cooperation with authors is based on the transparency of information on the actual contribution of persons/institutions to the development of the publication. All cases of ghostwriting and guest authorship will be liable for customary penalty as an indication of scientific negligence.

Consent of the Commission on Ethics in Science
Such consent is required for works presenting results of studies involving patients or volunteers. The authors’ conduct must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki in its current version (currently 2008). The authors should obtain the consent of an appropriate Committee on Ethics in Science to conduct the study, and signed informed consent of each person involved in the study. Consent of the bioethics committee is also required for works on human biological material (also in retrospective studies). This information should be provided in the section “Material and methods”. Authors of works are obliged not to disclose personal information about the described patients.

MANUSCRIPT REVIEW
Manuscripts submitted to the editorial board are assessed by reviewers. The editorial board selects reviewers based on the subject of the submitted manuscript. A reviewer is a person whose competences in a given field are certified as scientific achievements. He is independent of the author of the reviewed work and does not depend on the editors of the journal. Each work is reviewed by a minimum of two independent reviewers in a model in which the author/authors and reviewers do not know their identity (the so-called double-blind review process). Reviewer reviews by the electronic system, assessing points according to the type of work:
• topicality of the subject,
• clarity of the purpose of the work,
• work structure,
• whether the topic corresponds to the content of the work,
• whether the goal of the work corresponds to the subject,
• description of the material and methods,
• correctness of statistical elaboration,
• whether the discussion and discussion are clear and comprehensive,
• correctness of quoting the literature,
and attach individual comments referring to the content of the article.
Suggestions of reviewers are presented to the author in writing via email. The review procedure is carried out in accordance with the rules of confidentiality. The work is accepted for publication after receiving the positive opinion of the experts by the Editor-in-Chief.
The rules of review are in conformity with the guidelines of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (www.nauka.gov.pl).

PUBLICATION CHARGES
This is to let you know that a fee will be charged for publication of an article in the Problemy Pielęgniarstwa/Nursing Problems:
• 300 PLN for members of Polish Nurses Association [Polskie Towarzystwo Pielęgniarskie],
• 400 PLN for authors who are not members of Polish Nurses Association [Polskie Towarzystwo Pielęgniarskie].
Payments should be made on receipt of information that an article has been accepted for publication. The fee is not refundable in case of cancellation of publication at a later stage.
Transfer should be marked with “fee for an article / Problems of Nursing / author's name / title of article”.
The transfer should be sent to the account:

Polskie Towarzystwo Pielęgniarskie
Al. Reymonta 8/12
01-842 Warszawa
Bank BGŻ BNP Paribas S.A.
11 1020 1156 00007202 0050 1601

Authors who are members of Polish Nurses Association [Polskie Towarzystwo Pielęgniarskie] should enclose in the editorial panel information from the Polish Nurses Association [Polskie Towarzystwo Pielęgniarskie] chairman or treasurer, whose first author is a member, about not paying membership fees.
The invoice data should be entered after accepting the work to be printed in the appropriate field in the Payment tab in the Editorial System.

FINAL REMARKS
The authors do not receive any fees for works published in the Problemy Pielęgniarstwa/Nursing Problems bi-monthly.
The editorial board reserves the right to make language corrections without consulting the author. Other changes are consulted with the authors. The editorial board sends manuscripts to their authors for authorization with a request to return them within three days. If the Publisher receives no response from the authors after seven days, it will be assumed that there are no errors to correct and the article will be published.
Compliance with the requirements presented above is a prerequisite for article publication in the journal. Articles that do not meet formal requirements cannot be reviewed and published.