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Introduction



The aim of the journal is to promote excellence, inform practice and encourage debate in the care of the critically ill patient by specialist nurses and healthcare professionals. It provides an international forum for the dissemination and exchange of research findings, experience and ideas. We also welcome manuscripts from other members of the multidisciplinary team providing the content is relevant to critical care nursing.

Intensive and Critical Care Nursing: the international journal of practice and research has, as the sub-title indicates, an international audience. Therefore the manuscript should be placed in a global context e.g. if local demographic statistics are used these should be compared with international trends/statistics. In the literature review and discussion similarities and differences in approach and evidence should be described at an international level. In the same vein it is also important that the context in which a research study took place is described fully so that readers may compare and judge the relevance of the findings to their own environment. The use of parochial English should be avoided.

Here is a pictorial representation of the peer review process.

Types of contributions

The Editors of the journal welcome contributions for publication from the following categories:
  • Research Article
  • Quality Improvement Reports
  • Systematic reviews with/without meta-analysis
  • Narrative , Integrative, Rapid and Scoping Reviews
  • Editorials Current Insights in Intensive and Critical Care Nursing
  • Case studies
  • Letter to the Editor and Correspondence

Research Article These can either be quantitative or qualitative research articles. They should report new findings relevant to the field of critical care nursing supported by research evidence. These should be original, previously unpublished works and contain discussion of their implications for an international audience. Research articles should be reported in accordance with guidelines of the EQUATOR Network(http://www.equator-network.org). A structured abstract of up to 300 words(incliding implication section) should accompany original research articles. Please supply 5-10 keywords, ideally utilising MeSH terms where suitable (https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/MeSHonDemand). Quantitative research studies should not exceed 3000 words, while reports on qualitative research studies may contain a maximum of 4000 words. Authors requiring a greater word limit for qualitative papers may request this, highlighting their justification in the accompanying letter.

Quality improvement reports Quality improvement papers should report evaluations of service improvement initiatives with reference to their implications for an international audience. Papers should include a clear rationale for the quality initiative, which should be based on a robust literature review. They should include detailed justification for their methodological choices, with reference to an underlying improvement or implementation science theory or theories. Evidence of appropriate approval is mandatory for publication. Important learning that can be translated to the wider critical care community and practice areas should be evident. Quality improvement papers should be reported in accordance with guidelines of the EQUATOR Network and should, as such, be accompanied by a SQUIRE statement (http://www.equator-network.org). A structured abstract, to include the Implications for clinical practice of up to 300 words should accompany quality improvement reports and these submissions may contain a maximum of 4000 words. Please supply 5-10 keywords, ideally utilising MeSH terms where suitable (https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/MeSHonDemand).

Systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis Systematic reviews seek to summarise or draw conclusions from the established literature. They can involve quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods studies. Transparency regarding the search strategy, search results, and the process of excluding articles is of key importance. All systematic reviews must include a flow diagram illustrating the search results and selection (http://prisma-statement.org/PRISMAStatement/FlowDiagram). All selected studies must be assessed for bias by means of an appropriate tool. If the data extraction from the selected studies is suitable for being summarised by a meta-analysis, this is encouraged. Systematic reviews should be reported in accordance with guidelines of the EQUATOR Network and should be accompanied by a PRISMA statement (http://www.equator-network.org). A structured abstract, to include the Implications for clinical practice, of up to 300 words should accompany systematic reviews and these submissions may contain a maximum of 4000 words.Please supply 5-10 keywords, ideally utilising MeSH terms where suitable (https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/MeSHonDemand).


Narrative, integrative, rapid and scoping reviews.These reviews should take a focused and purposeful approach to the review of the literature for a specific topic. For example, 'health technology assessments' involving an intervention or therapeutic area, 'landscape reviews' taking a rapid review of key topics of interest and 'gap analyses' summarising clinically important areas in which evidence is scarce or non-existent. A structured abstract, to include the Implications for clinical practice, of up to 300 words and these submissions may contain up to 4000 words. Please supply 5-10 keywords, ideally utilising MeSH terms where suitable (https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/MeSHonDemand).

Case studies Case studies usually document the management of one patient, with an emphasis on presentations that are unusual, rare or where there was an unexpected response to treatment (e.g. an unexpected side effect). Not every case study contains educational value. Therefore, case studies can only be submitted following consultation and approval by the Editor-in-Chief (contact: [email protected]). Case studies can have a maximum three authors, maximum 800 words, maximum 15 references and may include one table or figure. Please supply 5-10 keywords, ideally utilising MeSH terms where suitable (https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/MeSHonDemand). No abstract is required.

Editorials Editorials are commissioned by the editors. They generally provide discussion on an article in the corresponding issue of Intensive & Critical Care Nursing or alternatively, reflect upon a highly relevant trend or controversy in the field. Authors who have ideas for editorials which address issues of substantive concern to the discipline, should contact the Editor-in-Chief (contact: [email protected]). Editorials should be formatted to include a maximum of three authors, 1000 words, 15 references and may include one table or figure. No abstract is required.

Current insights in intensive & critical care nursing ""Current insights"" articles are commissioned by the editors. They are written by expert clinicians or researchers on an important topic in the field. They reflect on state-of-the-art insights in a concise way with direct advice for clinical practice. Current insights articles have a strict format including maximum three authors, 1000 words, 15 references and may include one table or figure. No abstract is required.

Letters to the Editor The Editorial Board welcomes critical responses to any aspect of the journal. In particular, letters that point out deficiencies and that add to, or further clarify points made in a recently published work, are welcomed. Not all letters will be published, the editorial decision is final. The Editorial Board reserves the right to offer authors of papers a chance to respond; responses will be published with the letter and are required to utilise the same format. Letters to the editor have a maximum of five authors, 500 words and five references and commence with 'Dear Editor'.

Correspondence These submissions offer the opportunity to present results of original research in a concise format. Often, but not exclusively, these involve limited case series, pilot studies, preliminary data or study results presented using a simple methodological approach. Correspondence articles will contain a maximum of five authors, 500 words and five references and may include one table or figure and commence with 'Dear Editor'.

Submission checklist

The following list will be useful during the final checking of an article prior to sending it to the journal for review. Please consult this Guide for Authors for further details of any item.

Files required for uploading - authors are advised to save the following files to their desktop ready for uploading during the submission process:

Mandatory files for all articles:
Title Page

Authors are also encouraged to include their personal Twitter handles on the Title Page if they wish for these to be published.

Manuscript file
Cover Letter
Ethics Statement
Declaration of interest files

Files for Research papers and Review articles:
Supporting File - Author Checklist

Optional files
If Supplementary material, images and tables are submitted these should also be uploaded as separate files. Supplementary material should be labelled as "e-component" files.

Ensure that the following items are present:

One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address

All necessary files have been uploaded:
Manuscript:
• Include keywords
• All figures (include relevant captions)
• All tables (including titles, description, footnotes)
• Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided
• Indicate clearly if color should be used for any figures in print
Graphical Abstracts / Highlights files (where applicable)
Supplemental files (where applicable)

Further considerations
• Manuscript has been 'spell checked' and 'grammar checked'
• All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa. For transparency, all References must be available in English.
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet)
• Relevant declarations of interest have been made
• Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed
• Referee suggestions and contact details provided, based on journal requirements

For further information, visit our Support Center

Before you begin

Author checklist
All authors submitting papers will be required to complete Part 1 of the Author Checklist during the submission process to assist them in ensuring that the basic requirements of manuscript submission are met, including details of the roles of funding sources and any conflicts of interest. Completion of Part 2 is optional. The Author Checklist is designed to be a self-assessment checklist to assist authors in preparing their manuscript. The completed Author Checklist should be uploaded at submission as a "Supporting File".

Ethics in publishing

Please see our information on Ethics in publishing.

Studies in humans and animals

If the work involves the use of human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans. The manuscript should be in line with the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals and aim for the inclusion of representative human populations (sex, age and ethnicity) as per those recommendations. The terms sex and gender should be used correctly.

The author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and have been approved by the appropriate institutional committee(s). This statement should contain the date and reference number of the ethical approval(s) obtained. Authors should also include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.

The journal will not accept manuscripts that contain data derived from unethically sourced organs or tissue, including from executed prisoners or prisoners of conscience, consistent with recommendations by Global Rights Compliance on Mitigating Human Rights Risks in Transplantation Medicine. For all studies that use human organs or tissues authors must provide sufficient evidence that they were procured in line with WHO Guiding Principles on Human Cell, Tissue and Organ Transplantation. The source of the organs or tissues used in clinical research must be transparent and traceable. Authors of manuscripts describing organ transplantation must additionally declare within the manuscript:

  1. that autonomous consent free from coercion was obtained from the donor(s) or their next of kin; and
  2. that organs/tissues were not sourced from executed prisoners or prisoners of conscience.

All animal experiments should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and should be carried out in accordance with the U.K. Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986 and associated guidelines, EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments, or the National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the authors should clearly indicate in the manuscript that such guidelines have been followed. The sex of animals must be indicated, and where appropriate, the influence (or association) of sex on the results of the study.

Informed consent and patient details

Studies on patients or volunteers (including organ/tissue donors) require informed consent, which should be documented in the paper. Appropriate consents, permissions and releases must be obtained where an author wishes to include case details or other personal information or images of patients and any other individuals in an Elsevier publication. Written consents must be retained by the author, but copies should not be provided to the journal.

Only if specifically requested by the journal in exceptional circumstances (for example if a legal issue arises) the author must provide copies of the consents or evidence that such consents have been obtained. For more information, please review the Elsevier Policy on the Use of Images or Personal Information of Patients or other Individuals.

Unless the author has written permission from the patient (or, where applicable, the next of kin), the personal details of any patient included in any part of the article and in any supplementary materials (including all illustrations and videos) must be removed before submission.

Declaration of interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work under a heading Conflict of Interest. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. If there are no conflicts of interest then please state this: 'Conflicts of interest: none'. More information.
The Conflict of Interest statement should be included on the title page of original submissions and only transferred to a section at the end of the main manuscript file for revisions.

Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing

The below guidance only refers to the writing process, and not to the use of AI tools to analyse and draw insights from data as part of the research process.

Where authors use generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, authors should only use these technologies to improve readability and language. Applying the technology should be done with human oversight and control, and authors should carefully review and edit the result, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. AI and AI-assisted technologies should not be listed as an author or co-author, or be cited as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans, as outlined in Elsevier’s AI policy for authors.

Authors should disclose in their manuscript the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by following the instructions below. A statement will appear in the published work. Please note that authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work.

Disclosure instructions
Authors must disclose the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by adding a statement at the end of their manuscript in the core manuscript file, before the References list. The statement should be placed in a new section entitled ‘Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process’.

Statement: During the preparation of this work the author(s) used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.

This declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references etc. If there is nothing to disclose, there is no need to add a statement.

Contributors

All contributors who meet some but not all of the criteria for authors as defined above should be listed in an acknowledgements section under a heading Acknowledgements. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support. Authors should disclose whether they had any writing assistance and identify the entity that paid for this assistance.
The Acknowledgements should be included on the title page of original submissions and only transferred to a section at the end of the main manuscript file for revisions.

Submission declaration and verification

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture or academic thesis, see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyright-holder. To verify compliance, your article may be checked by Crossref Similarity Check and other originality or duplicate checking software.

Preprint posting on SSRN

In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service. Preprints provide early registration and dissemination of your research, which facilitates early citations and collaboration.

During submission to Editorial Manager, you can choose to release your manuscript publicly as a preprint on the preprint server SSRN once it enters peer-review with the journal. Your choice will have no effect on the editorial process or outcome with the journal. Please note that the corresponding author is expected to seek approval from all co-authors before agreeing to release the manuscript publicly on SSRN.

You will be notified via email when your preprint is posted online and a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is assigned. Your preprint will remain globally available free to read whether the journal accepts or rejects your manuscript.

For more information about posting to SSRN, please consult the SSRN Terms of Use and FAQs.

Use of inclusive language

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition; and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions. We advise to seek gender neutrality by using plural nouns ("clinicians, patients/clients") as default/wherever possible to avoid using "he, she," or "he/she." We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors that refer to personal attributes such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition unless they are relevant and valid. When coding terminology is used, we recommend to avoid offensive or exclusionary terms such as "master", "slave", "blacklist" and "whitelist". We suggest using alternatives that are more appropriate and (self-) explanatory such as "primary", "secondary", "blocklist" and "allowlist". These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive.

Reporting sex- and gender-based analyses

Reporting guidance
For research involving or pertaining to humans, animals or eukaryotic cells, investigators should integrate sex and gender-based analyses (SGBA) into their research design according to funder/sponsor requirements and best practices within a field. Authors should address the sex and/or gender dimensions of their research in their article. In cases where they cannot, they should discuss this as a limitation to their research's generalizability. Importantly, authors should explicitly state what definitions of sex and/or gender they are applying to enhance the precision, rigor and reproducibility of their research and to avoid ambiguity or conflation of terms and the constructs to which they refer (see Definitions section below). Authors can refer to the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines and the SAGER guidelines checklist. These offer systematic approaches to the use and editorial review of sex and gender information in study design, data analysis, outcome reporting and research interpretation - however, please note there is no single, universally agreed-upon set of guidelines for defining sex and gender.

Definitions
Sex generally refers to a set of biological attributes that are associated with physical and physiological features (e.g., chromosomal genotype, hormonal levels, internal and external anatomy). A binary sex categorization (male/female) is usually designated at birth (""sex assigned at birth""), most often based solely on the visible external anatomy of a newborn. Gender generally refers to socially constructed roles, behaviors, and identities of women, men and gender-diverse people that occur in a historical and cultural context and may vary across societies and over time. Gender influences how people view themselves and each other, how they behave and interact and how power is distributed in society. Sex and gender are often incorrectly portrayed as binary (female/male or woman/man) and unchanging whereas these constructs actually exist along a spectrum and include additional sex categorizations and gender identities such as people who are intersex/have differences of sex development (DSD) or identify as non-binary. Moreover, the terms ""sex"" and ""gender"" can be ambiguous—thus it is important for authors to define the manner in which they are used. In addition to this definition guidance and the SAGER guidelines, the resources on this page offer further insight around sex and gender in research studies.

Author contributions

For transparency, we require corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor’s specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Roles/Writing - original draft; and Writing - review & editing. Note that not all roles may apply to every manuscript, and authors may have contributed through multiple roles. More details and an example.

Authorship

All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following: (1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, (3) final approval of the version to be submitted.

For further criteria and guidance on authorship authors are asked to consult the ICMJE Recommendations
In the covering letter to the editorial office, we ask you make a true statement that all authors meet the criteria for authorship, have approved the final article and that all those entitled to authorship are listed as authors.
On the Title Page, authors are required to specify the individual contributions of all authors and contributors (including medical writers and editors). This information will be required to be transferred to an Acknowledgements section at the end of the main manuscript file for revisions. Written consent of any cited individual(s) noted in Acknowledgments should be submitted as a "Supporting File" type. Declarations must also be noted in Part 1 of the Author Checklist.

Changes to authorship

Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. To request such a change, the Editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason for the change in author list and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed.
Only in exceptional circumstances will the Editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication of the manuscript will be suspended. If the manuscript has already been published in an online issue, any requests approved by the Editor will result in a corrigendum.

Article transfer service
This journal uses the Elsevier Article Transfer Service to find the best home for your manuscript. This means that if an editor feels your manuscript is more suitable for an alternative journal, you might be asked to consider transferring the manuscript to such a journal. The recommendation might be provided by a Journal Editor, a dedicated Scientific Managing Editor, a tool assisted recommendation, or a combination. If you agree, your manuscript will be transferred, though you will have the opportunity to make changes to the manuscript before the submission is complete. Please note that your manuscript will be independently reviewed by the new journal. More information.

Copyright

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.

Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases.

For gold open access articles: Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'License Agreement' (more information). Permitted third party reuse of gold open access articles is determined by the author's choice of user license.

Author rights
As an author you (or your employer or institution) have certain rights to reuse your work. More information.

Elsevier supports responsible sharing
Find out how you can share your research published in Elsevier journals.

Role of the funding source
You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement then this should be stated. The declaration should be made under a heading Funding Source.

The Funding Source section should be included on the title page of original submissions and only transferred to a section at the end of the main manuscript file for revisions.

Formatting of funding sources
For Original Submissions list Funding Sources on the title page. For revised articles the Funding Sources should be transferred to the end of the article.

List funding sources in this standard way to facilitate compliance to funder's requirements:
Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA [grant number zzzz]; and the United States Institutes of Peace [grant number aaaa].

It is not necessary to include detailed descriptions on the program or type of grants and awards. When funding is from a block grant or other resources available to a university, college, or other research institution, submit the name of the institute or organization that provided the funding.

If no funding has been provided for the research, please include the following sentence:
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Open access

Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.

Elsevier Researcher Academy
Researcher Academy is a free e-learning platform designed to support early and mid-career researchers throughout their research journey. The "Learn" environment at Researcher Academy offers several interactive modules, webinars, downloadable guides and resources to guide you through the process of writing for research and going through peer review. Feel free to use these free resources to improve your submission and navigate the publication process with ease.

Language (usage and editing services)
Please write your text in good English (British spelling is preferred). Authors who feel their English language manuscript may require editing to eliminate possible grammatical or spelling errors and to conform to correct scientific English may wish to use the English Language Editing service available from Elsevier's WebShop.

Submission

Our online submission system guides you stepwise through the process of entering your article details and uploading your files. The system converts your article files to a single PDF file used in the peer-review process. Editable files (e.g., Word, LaTeX) are required to typeset your article for final publication. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, is sent by e-mail.

Submit your article
Please submit your article via https://www.editorialmanager.com/iccn/default.aspx

Preparation

Double-blind review

The decision to publish a paper is based on an editorial assessment and peer review. Initially all papers are assessed by an editorial committee consisting of 2 or more me.mbers of the editorial team. The prime purpose is to decide whether to send a paper for peer review and to give a rapid decision on those that are not. Manuscripts going forward to the review process are reviewed by members of an international expert panel. The Editors reserve the right to the final decision regarding acceptance. This journal uses double-blind review, which means that both the reviewer and author name(s) are not allowed to be revealed to one another for a manuscript under review. The identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa. For more information please refer to https://www.elsevier.com/reviewers/peer-review.

To facilitate this, please include the following separately:

Title page (with author details): This should include the title, authors' names and affiliations, and a complete address for the corresponding author including telephone and e-mail address. For Original Submissions only the title page should also include Funding Source information, Acknowledgments, Conflict of Interest statement and Clinical Trial registration number (if applicable). These should be transferred to the manuscript file for Revised articles.

Blinded manuscript (no author details): The main body of the paper (including the references, figures, tables) should not include any identifying information, such as the authors' names or affiliations. Only revised papers should contain statements of Conflict of Interest, Acknowledgements, Funding Sources or Clinical Trial information.

Within the manuscript authors should also ensure that the place of origin of the work or study, and/or the organization(s) that have been involved in the study/development are not revealed in the manuscript – “X” can be used in the manuscript and details can be completed if the manuscript is processed further through the publication process.

Queries

For questions about the editorial process (including the status of manuscripts under review) or for technical support on submissions, please visit our Support Center.

Peer review

This journal operates a double anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor's decision is final. Editors are not involved in decisions about papers which they have written themselves or have been written by family members or colleagues or which relate to products or services in which the editor has an interest. Any such submission is subject to all of the journal's usual procedures, with peer review handled independently of the relevant editor and their research groups. More information on types of peer review.

Double anonymized review

This journal uses double anonymized review, which means the identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa. More information is available on our website. To facilitate this, please include the following separately:
Title page (with author details): This should include the title, authors' names, affiliations, acknowledgements and any Declaration of Interest statement, and a complete address for the corresponding author including an e-mail address.
Anonymized manuscript (no author details): The main body of the paper (including the references, figures, tables and any acknowledgements) should not include any identifying information, such as the authors' names or affiliations.

Use of word processing software
It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the word processor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do not use the word processor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also the Guide to Publishing with Elsevier). Note that source files of figures, tables and text graphics will be required whether or not you embed your figures in the text. See also the section on Electronic artwork.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the 'spell-check' and 'grammar-check' functions of your word processor.

Article structure

The following files are required to be uploaded separately during the submission process so authors are requested to save these as individual files on their PC prior to the submission process ready for upload:

Title page with author details, and statements of Funding Source, Conflict of Interest, Clinical Trial information (where applicable) and Acknowledgements for Original submissions.

Manuscript without author details. Statements of Funding Source, Conflict of Interest, Clinical Trial information (where applicable) and Acknowledgements should only appear in the manuscript file for revised submissions.

Depending on the paper type the manuscript should include abstract, keywords and references.

Submitted papers should be relevant to an international audience and authors should not assume knowledge of national practices, policies, law, etc. Since the journal is distributed all over the world, and as English is a second language for many readers, authors are requested to write in plain English and use terminology which is internationally acceptable.

Your article should be typed on A4 paper, double-spaced with margins of at least 3cm. Number all pages consecutively beginning with the title page.

Revised manuscripts

When revising your manuscript take note of the following:

  • Consider all issues mentioned in the editor's and reviewers' comments carefully: please outline every change made in response to their comments and provide suitable rebuttals for any comments not addressed. Comments and respective responses to editor and reviewers must be uploaded as a separate file.
  • Prepare a revised manuscript with all changes marked by using another font color (i.e., "marked version"). Do NOT use 'track changes'. If any text needs to be deleted, do NOT use 'strike trough'. Simply delete these parts of the manuscript.
  • Prepare a revised manuscript without marked changes (i.e., "clean version"). Please note that your revised submission may need to be re-reviewed.

Essential title page information

Title. Concise, informative, no abbreviations. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.
Author names and affiliations. Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. You can add your name between parentheses in your own script behind the English transliteration. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and, if available, the e-mail address of each author.
Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about Methodology and Materials. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author.
Present/permanent address. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a 'Present address' (or 'Permanent address') may be indicated as a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.
    Acknowledgements (for original submissions, transferred to main manuscript in revised papers)
  • Role of the Funding Source
  • (for original submissions, transferred to main manuscript in revised papers)
  • Conflict of Interest
  • (for original submissions, transferred to main manuscript in revised papers)
  • Clinical Trial registration number
  • (if applicable) (for original submissions, transferred to main manuscript in revised papers)

Abstract

Abstracts should be a maximum of 300 words and should not include abbreviations. The abstract should summarise the content and should be provided on a separate sheet following the title page. If a research study is the subject of the manuscript then it should follow the following format: Objectives, Research Methodology/Design, Setting, Main Outcome Measures, Results (for Qualitative studies use "Findings"), Conclusion, Implications for Clinical Practice.
The Implications for Clinical Practice section should contain a short description of how this work impacts clinical practice for the bedside nurse. **Note: Please include this as text and not as bullet points.

Keywords

For Research Paper, Review Articles and Case Study, Keywords are required. Immediately after the abstract, provide between four and ten keywords in alphabetical order and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). These keywords will be used for indexing purpose.

Headings

The content of your paper should determine the headings which you use. Research and Clinical papers should follow the usual layout, for example Introduction, Methods (Research Questions and /or Objectives; Setting; Ethical Approval; Participants; Data Collection; Data Analysis), Results, (for Qualitative papers use "Findings"), Discussion, Limitations, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, Funding Source, Conflict of Interest, Clinical Trial registration number (if applicable).

If your paper takes another form you should use the appropriate headings, but do bear in mind that headings should facilitate reading and understanding. Normally only two kinds of headings; major headings should be indicated by underlined capital letters in the centre of the page. Minor headings should be underlined, have lower-case letters (beginning with a capital) and begin at the left hand margin.

Acknowledgements
Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.).

Statistics

Standard methods of presenting statistical material should be used. Where methods used are not widely recognized explanation and full reference to widely accessible sources must be given.

Permissions

Permission to reproduce previously published material must be obtained in writing from the copyright holder (usually the publisher) and acknowledged in the manuscript.

Artwork

Electronic artwork
General points
• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
• Embed the used fonts if the application provides that option.
• Aim to use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, Symbol, or use fonts that look similar.
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Provide captions to illustrations separately.
• Size the illustrations close to the desired dimensions of the published version.
• Submit each illustration as a separate file.
• Ensure that color images are accessible to all, including those with impaired color vision.

A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available.
You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
Formats
If your electronic artwork is created in a Microsoft Office application (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) then please supply 'as is' in the native document format.
Regardless of the application used other than Microsoft Office, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please 'Save as' or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):
EPS (or PDF): Vector drawings, embed all used fonts.
TIFF (or JPEG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones), keep to a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF (or JPEG): Bitmapped (pure black & white pixels) line drawings, keep to a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF (or JPEG): Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale), keep to a minimum of 500 dpi.
Please do not:
• Supply files that are optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); these typically have a low number of pixels and limited set of colors;
• Supply files that are too low in resolution;
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Color artwork
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF (or JPEG), EPS (or PDF), or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable color figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color online (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. For color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for color: in print or online only. Further information on the preparation of electronic artwork.

Figure captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

Illustrations and tables that have appeared elsewhere must be accompanied by written permission to reproduce them from the original publishers. This is necessary even if you are an author of the borrowed material. Borrowed material should be acknowledged in the captions in the exact wording required by the copyright holder. If not specified, use this style: 'Reproduced by kind permission of . . . (publishers) from . . . (reference).' Identifiable clinical photographs must be accompanied by written permission from the patient.

Tables
Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables can be placed either next to the relevant text in the article, or on separate page(s) at the end. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules.

Table titles should be sentence case sensitive eg. "Yield of four varieties of ginseng" and not "Yield of Four Varieties of Ginseng"

References

The accuracy of references is the responsibility of the author. Authors may find this link helpful https://endnote.com/style_download/intensive-critical-care-nursing/

Citation in text
Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full and or transparency, all References must be available in English. . Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication. Citation of material currently under consideration elsewhere (e.g. "under review" or "submitted") is not permitted.

Text : All citations in the text should refer to:

? Single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication;

? Two authors: both authors' names and the year of publication;

? Three or more authors; first author's name followed by 'et al.' and the year of publication.

Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references should be listed first alphabetically, then chronologically.

Examples: "'as demonstrated (Allan, 2000a, 2000b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1999). Kramer et al. (2010) have recently shown ....'

List: References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters "a", "b", "c", etc., placed after the year of publication.

Examples:

Reference to a journal publication:

Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J.A.J., Lupton, R.A., 2010. The art of writing a scientific article. J. Sci. Commun. 163, 51–59.

Reference to a book:

Strunk Jr., W., White, E.B., 2000. The Elements of Style, fourth ed. Longman, New York.

Reference to a chapter in an edited book:

Mettam, G.R., Adams, L.B., 2009. How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: Jones, B.S., Smith , R.Z. (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age. E-Publishing Inc., New York, pp. 281–304.

Reference to a website:

Cancer Research UK, 1975. Cancer statistics reports for the UK. http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/aboutcancer/statistics/cancerstatsreport/ (accessed 13.03.03).

[dataset] Oguro, M., Imahiro, S., Saito, S., Nakashizuka, T., 2015. Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions. Mendeley Data, v1. http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/xwj98nb39r.1.

Web references
As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.

Data references
This journal encourages you to cite underlying or relevant datasets in your manuscript by citing them in your text and including a data reference in your Reference List. Data references should include the following elements: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (where available), year, and global persistent identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before the reference so we can properly identify it as a data reference. The [dataset] identifier will not appear in your published article.

Preprint references
Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, the formal publication should be used as the reference. If there are preprints that are central to your work or that cover crucial developments in the topic, but are not yet formally published, these may be referenced. Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the name of the preprint server, as part of the reference. The preprint DOI should also be provided.

Reference management software
Most Elsevier journals have their reference template available in many of the most popular reference management software products. These include all products that support Citation Style Language styles, such as Mendeley. Using citation plug-ins from these products, authors only need to select the appropriate journal template when preparing their article, after which citations and bibliographies will be automatically formatted in the journal's style. If no template is yet available for this journal, please follow the format of the sample references and citations as shown in this Guide. If you use reference management software, please ensure that you remove all field codes before submitting the electronic manuscript. More information on how to remove field codes from different reference management software.

Journal abbreviations source
Journal names should be abbreviated according to the List of Title Word Abbreviations.

Video

Elsevier accepts video material and animation sequences to support and enhance your scientific research. Authors who have video or animation files that they wish to submit with their article are strongly encouraged to include links to these within the body of the article. This can be done in the same way as a figure or table by referring to the video or animation content and noting in the body text where it should be placed. All submitted files should be properly labeled so that they directly relate to the video file's content. In order to ensure that your video or animation material is directly usable, please provide the file in one of our recommended file formats with a preferred maximum size of 150 MB per file, 1 GB in total. Video and animation files supplied will be published online in the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect. Please supply 'stills' with your files: you can choose any frame from the video or animation or make a separate image. These will be used instead of standard icons and will personalize the link to your video data. For more detailed instructions please visit our video instruction pages. Note: since video and animation cannot be embedded in the print version of the journal, please provide text for both the electronic and the print version for the portions of the article that refer to this content.

Data visualization

Include interactive data visualizations in your publication and let your readers interact and engage more closely with your research. Follow the instructions here to find out about available data visualization options and how to include them with your article.

Supplementary material

Supplementary material can support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more. Please note that such items are published online exactly as they are submitted; there is no typesetting involved (supplementary data supplied as an Excel file or as a PowerPoint slide will appear as such online). Please submit the material together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. If you wish to make any changes to supplementary data during any stage of the process, then please make sure to provide an updated file, and do not annotate any corrections on a previous version. Please also make sure to switch off the 'Track Changes' option in any Microsoft Office files as these will appear in the published supplementary file(s). For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages. Authors are requested to upload Supplementary Files labelled as "e-component" files at submission.

Research data

This journal encourages and enables you to share data that supports your research publication where appropriate, and enables you to interlink the data with your published articles. Research data refers to the results of observations or experimentation that validate research findings, which may also include software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials related to the project.

Below are a number of ways in which you can associate data with your article or make a statement about the availability of your data when submitting your manuscript. If you are sharing data in one of these ways, you are encouraged to cite the data in your manuscript and reference list. Please refer to the "References" section for more information about data citation. For more information on depositing, sharing and using research data and other relevant research materials, visit the research data page.

Data linking
If you have made your research data available in a data repository, you can link your article directly to the dataset. Elsevier collaborates with a number of repositories to link articles on ScienceDirect with relevant repositories, giving readers access to underlying data that gives them a better understanding of the research described.

There are different ways to link your datasets to your article. When available, you can directly link your dataset to your article by providing the relevant information in the submission system. For more information, visit the database linking page.

For supported data repositories a repository banner will automatically appear next to your published article on ScienceDirect.

In addition, you can link to relevant data or entities through identifiers within the text of your manuscript, using the following format: Database: xxxx (e.g., TAIR: AT1G01020; CCDC: 734053; PDB: 1XFN).

Research Elements

This journal enables you to publish research objects related to your original research – such as data, methods, protocols, software and hardware – as an additional paper in a Research Elements journal.

Research Elements is a suite of peer-reviewed, open access journals which make your research objects findable, accessible and reusable. Articles place research objects into context by providing detailed descriptions of objects and their application, and linking to the associated original research articles. Research Elements articles can be prepared by you, or by one of your collaborators.

During submission, you will be alerted to the opportunity to prepare and submit a manuscript to one of the Research Elements journals.

More information can be found on the Research Elements page.

Data statement
To foster transparency, we encourage you to state the availability of your data in your submission. This may be a requirement of your funding body or institution. If your data is unavailable to access or unsuitable to post, you will have the opportunity to indicate why during the submission process, for example by stating that the research data is confidential. The statement will appear with your published article on ScienceDirect. For more information, visit the Data Statement page.

After acceptance

Online proof correction

To ensure a fast publication process of the article, we kindly ask authors to provide us with their proof corrections within two days. Corresponding authors will receive an e-mail with a link to our online proofing system, allowing annotation and correction of proofs online. The environment is similar to MS Word: in addition to editing text, you can also comment on figures/tables and answer questions from the Copy Editor. Web-based proofing provides a faster and less error-prone process by allowing you to directly type your corrections, eliminating the potential introduction of errors.
If preferred, you can still choose to annotate and upload your edits on the PDF version. All instructions for proofing will be given in the e-mail we send to authors, including alternative methods to the online version and PDF.
We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. It is important to ensure that all corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility.

Offprints

The corresponding author will, at no cost, receive a customized Share Link providing 50 days free access to the final published version of the article on ScienceDirect. The Share Link can be used for sharing the article via any communication channel, including email and social media. For an extra charge, paper offprints can be ordered via the offprint order form which is sent once the article is accepted for publication. Corresponding authors who have published their article gold open access do not receive a Share Link as their final published version of the article is available open access on ScienceDirect and can be shared through the article DOI link.

Author inquiries



Visit the Elsevier Support Center to find the answers you need. Here you will find everything from Frequently Asked Questions to ways to get in touch.
You can also check the status of your submitted article or find out when your accepted article will be published.