Guidelines for contributors
1. Scope and editorial policy
1.1 Content
The mission of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization is “to publish and disseminate scientifically rigorous public health information of international significance that enables policy-makers, researchers and practitioners to be more effective; it aims to improve health, particularly among vulnerable populations”. The Bulletin is fully open-access and charges no author fees.
The Bulletin welcomes a variety of unsolicited manuscripts (see below, 1.1.1.). These are initially screened in-house for originality, relevance to an international public health audience and scientific rigour. If they pass the initial screening, they are sent to peer reviewers whose opinions are considered by the journal’s editorial advisers when they decide whether to accept a manuscript for publication. Accepted papers are subject to editorial revision, which may involve substantive changes, shortening or restructuring the text and deleting superfluous tables and figures. The word limits given for each type of contribution do not include the abstract (where applicable), tables, boxes, figures and references or appendices, if any. Authors of accepted papers must upload any supplementary material to a data repository that provides a digital object identifier (doi). The principal types of manuscripts are outlined below.
1.1.1. Unsolicited manuscripts
We welcome unsolicited submissions to the Research, Systematic reviews, Policy & practice, Lessons from the field and Perspectives sections of the Bulletin. All manuscripts destined for the first four of these sections must include two paragraphs indicating what they add to the literature. The paragraphs should briefly explain what was already known about the topic concerned, and what new knowledge the manuscript contributes.
We only consider unpublished manuscripts. However, an exception is made for pre-prints of research papers in the context of a public health emergency of international concern.
Research
Research, methodologically rigorous, of relevance to international public health. Formal scientific presentations having not more than 3000 words and 50 references, plus a structured abstract (see below, 2.7); peer reviewed. As clear reporting is needed for readers and reviewers when judging the quality of research, studies should comply with the relevant reporting guidelines, available on the EQUATOR Network website, at: http://www.equator-network.org/about-us/uk-equator-centre/equator-publications/equator-network-publications-2010/. Approval or exemption by the relevant ethical review committee must be reported in the manuscript. Operational and implementation research should be reported in compliance with the guidelines (available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26769997/). Intervention trials as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) (i.e. “any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes”) require registration in a public trials registry acceptable to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) before submission, and the registration number must be provided at the end of the abstract. Acceptable registries are listed at: https://www.who.int/clinical-trials-registry-platform/network. If primary research, there must be at least one author working at an institution in the country in which the primary research was conducted. Results from human subject research should be disaggregated by age and sex, and if not feasible an explanation should be provided.
Systematic reviews
Exhaustive, critical assessments of published and unpublished studies on research questions concerning interventions, policies or practices in public health, with meta-analysis when feasible. The systematic review protocol should be registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) Not more than 3000 words plus a structured abstract (see below, 2.7); the number of references in accordance with the scope of the review; peer reviewed. How studies were included and excluded should be illustrated in a flow diagram. The full electronic search strategy should be provided in a box. Authors should strictly follow the reporting guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) available at: http://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/prisma/. The Bulletin expects no language restrictions on searches and the search must have been done within 6 months of the date of submission.
Policy & practice
Analytical assessments, critical policy analysis, debates or hypothesis-generating papers on public health topics; not more than 3000 words and 50 references, plus a non-structured abstract (see below, 2.7); peer reviewed.
Lessons from the field
Papers that capture experiences and practice gained in solving specific public health problems in low- and middle-income countries. Convincing evidence of effect should be provided. Not more than 1500 words and 15 references, plus a structured abstract (see below, 2.7); not more than one table and one figure; must include one box listing three lessons learnt; peer reviewed (see: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2626521/). Operational and implementation research reports should follow the specifications described above for the research section.
Perspectives
Views, hypotheses or discussions (with a clear message) surrounding an issue of public health interest. No abstract, up to 1500 words, no more than 12 references; peer reviewed.
1.1.2. Commissioned manuscripts
The categories of articles shown below are normally commissioned by the editors. Authors wishing to submit an unsolicited manuscript for one of these categories should first contact the editorial office (see below, 2.1).
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https://www.who.int/publications/journals/bulletin/contributors/guidelines-for-contributors
