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Pacific Journal of Medical and Health Sciences (PJMHS), accessible online at www.medicaladvances.ac.in, is an open access, quarterly, international, peer-reviewed journal published by Pacific Medical University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
The journal is committed to publishing high-quality Research Papers, Case Reports, and Reviews. PJMHS invites articles from a wide range of contributors conducting research based on quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method approaches.
Ease of access to an expanding knowledge base is ensured through the journal's policy of free dissemination of its contents to all readers.
The key aims of the journal are to provide authoritative interpretations of emerging developments in medical knowledge by trusted experts in their respective fields, and to assist practitioners in incorporating not only evidence-based findings but also new conceptual frameworks and ways of thinking into their clinical practice.
The journal covers multidisciplinary subjects within medical and health sciences, including but not limited to:
Anatomy, Anaesthesia, Biochemistry, Biomedical Sciences, Physiology, Pharmacology, Oncology, Cardiology, Cardiovascular Diseases, Community Medicine, Dermatology and Venereal Diseases, Diabetes, Demography and Disease Burden, Endocrinology, Epidemiology and Public Health, Forensic Science, Gastroenterology, Geriatric Medicine, Gynaecological Disorders, Haematology, Health Informatics, Immunology, Infectious Diseases, Internal Medicine, Medical Education, Microbiology, Nephrology, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Occupational Safety and Health, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics, Otorhinolaryngology (ENT), Paediatrics, Parasitology, Pathology, Psychiatry, Pulmonary Medicine, Radiology, Reproductive and Child Health, Toxicology, Virology, Bacteriology, Basic and Laboratory Sciences, Biostatistics, Dentistry, Nursing, and Innovative Health Technologies.
All manuscripts submitted to PJMHS are initially subjected to in-house screening for scope, format, relevance, novelty, and originality.
Manuscripts that fall beyond the scope of the journal, those not addressing a relatively novel research question, and those with gross methodological errors will be rejected without initiating the peer-review process; authors will be notified within 48 to 72 hours.
Manuscripts with significant textual similarity are also rejected at this stage.
Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are subjected to a double-blind peer-review process.
These are typically sent to two or three technical reviewers and one statistical expert, based on the nature of the study.
Manuscripts are evaluated on the basis of originality, relevance, methodological rigour, scientific merit, ethical standards, and soundness of conclusions.
Following peer review, accepted manuscripts will be edited for language and style in accordance with PJMHS guidelines.
Where an Editorial Board Member is listed as an author or has any competing interest regarding a specific manuscript, another member of the Editorial Board will be assigned to oversee that submission.
All such manuscripts undergo the same review process as any other submission, irrespective of institutional affiliations.
PJMHS publishes manuscripts based on quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method investigation approaches in the following categories:
| # | Manuscript Type | Word Limit* | Abstract | Notes |
| 1 | Original Research Article | Up to 3,000 | Structured, 250 words | 4-point structured abstract; IMRAD format |
| 2 | Research Brief | 1,500 to 2,000 | Structured, 150 words | Limited methodology/sample; published as Original Article |
| 3 | Review Article | Up to 3,000 | Unstructured, 250 words | Rapid, mapping, scoping reviews; max. 100 references |
| 4 | Systematic Review / Meta-analysis | Up to 3,000 | Structured, 250 words | IMRAD format; 5-section structured abstract |
| 5 | Case Report | Up to 2,000 | Unstructured, 150 words | Patient consent mandatory |
| 6 | Health Technology Innovation | 1,500 to 2,000 | Structured, 200–250 words | Rapid revision and publication |
| 7 | Perspectives / Viewpoint / Commentary | Up to 1,500 | Unstructured, 150 words | Opinion pieces; peer reviewed |
* Word limits exclude Abstract and References.
Original research articles should be up to 3,000 words (excluding Abstract and References) and include a structured abstract of no more than 250 words under four subheadings: (i) Background and Objectives, (ii) Methods, (iii) Results, and (iv) Interpretation and Conclusions.
The abstract should be followed by 4 to 6 keywords arranged alphabetically.
The main article must include sections in the following order: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements (if any), References, Tables, Legends to Figures, and Figures.
Ethical clearance from an Institutional Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB) is mandatory for all studies involving human participants or animals and must be mentioned in the Methods section.
Registration of clinical trials is mandatory and the registration number or CTRI number must be stated.
Original research manuscripts with a well-defined study design and sample size, or submissions with preliminary investigative data with limited methodology but important clinical implications, may be submitted as Research Briefs.
These should be between 1,500 and 2,000 words and contain a 4-point structured abstract of no more than 150 words, consistent with the format for Original Articles.
A Research Brief may include one or two Tables or Figures.
Research Briefs will be published under the category of Original Articles.
Various types of review articles are published in PJMHS, including but not limited to rapid, mapping and scoping reviews.
Review articles written by scientists or experts who have published quality original research in the relevant area will be considered.
The article should be up to 3,000 words (excluding Abstract and References), with no more than 100 recent and relevant references.
A clear description of the search strategy employed must be included.
An unstructured abstract of approximately 250 words is required.
Tables and Figures may be included as required.
Copyright permission must be obtained from the copyright holder in advance if a published Table or Figure is reproduced in part or whole.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should be critical appraisals of studies on important topics of clinical or public health significance, aimed at obtaining an unbiased quantitative estimate of the overall effect of an intervention or variable for a defined outcome.
These should be written in the IMRAD format, with a maximum of 3,000 words and a minimum number of Tables and Figures.
A structured abstract of 250 words is required, covering the following sections: Context (clinical question and its significance), Objective, Evidence Acquisition (data sources, search strategies, years searched), Results (major findings with emphasis on highest quality evidence), and Conclusions.
Case reports should present clinically significant or unusual cases with clear educational value.
Manuscripts should be up to 2,000 words with an unstructured abstract of no more than 150 words.
Written informed consent from the patient or guardian must be obtained and confirmed in the manuscript.
Patient identifiers must not appear anywhere in the text or illustrative material.
Articles under this category should present research evaluating innovative, indigenous, low-cost health technologies with clinical validation that are seeking regulatory approval or are being recommended for adoption by national health programmes.
Manuscripts found suitable by the Editors will undergo peer review and rapid revision by the authors within seven days.
Accepted manuscripts will be published online within six weeks of submission.
These manuscripts should be between 1,500 and 2,000 words (excluding Title, Abstract and References) and contain a 4-point structured abstract of 200 to 250 words.
A combined Results and Discussion section should not exceed 500 words.
A maximum of 25 references and one Figure or one to two Tables may be included.
Preference will be given to work completed within six months of manuscript submission.
Articles under this category should address current, controversial and challenging topics in healthcare, including intersections between medicine and society.
These are primarily opinion pieces written by senior scientists, public health experts or policymakers with substantial credible experience on the subject.
Such papers will generally be authored by a single contributor, should not exceed 1,500 words and must include an unstructured abstract of approximately 150 words.
All submissions under this category are subject to peer review.
Views must be supported by evidence and references.
Submitted manuscripts must represent original work that has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere in any form, including as an abstract or as part of another article.
All source material must be fully acknowledged and appropriately referenced.
As part of its commitment to research integrity, PJMHS screens all accepted manuscripts for plagiarism using Turnitin software.
Plagiarism, including duplicate publication of the author's own work in whole or in part without proper citation, will not be accepted under any circumstances.
Manuscripts must be typed in portrait layout, with 1.5 line spacing, 2.5 cm (approximately 1 inch) margins on all sides, 12-point Times New Roman font, and justified alignment.
Pages must be numbered at the bottom centre.
British (UK) English must be used throughout.
All abbreviations used in the text must be expanded upon first use, with the acronym in parentheses, in the title, abstract and main text separately, unless the abbreviation is a standard unit of measurement.
The use of acronyms and abbreviations should be kept to a minimum.
Non-proprietary names of drugs, devices and other products should be used throughout the manuscript.
Where proprietary names are provided, only the first letter should be capitalised, followed by the name of the manufacturer in parentheses.
Superscript symbols such as ©, TM or ® must not be used.
For example: Cifran (Ranbaxy Laboratories).
Authors must prepare their manuscripts in the following order:
The cover page must be submitted as a separate file and should include a covering letter, the title page, and the authors' contributions statement.
The covering letter should explain why the manuscript is appropriate for publication in PJMHS.
One author should be identified as the corresponding author, who will be responsible for the contents of the paper and for all communication with the Editorial Office.
The covering letter must include a declaration that the article has not been published previously and is not under consideration elsewhere, in part or in whole.
The title page must include the following:
Competing Interests: Authors must disclose any ties that could influence their judgement, including financial relationships with industry such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, grants, or expert testimony.
Funding: Authors must disclose all sources of financial and material support for the research, including grant numbers and funding agencies.
Since abstracts are often the only substantive portion of an article indexed in electronic databases, authors must ensure that the abstract accurately reflects the content of the manuscript.
All Original Research Articles and Research Briefs must have a 4-point structured abstract as specified above.
The abstract should be brief, indicate the scope and significant results of the study, and highlight only the principal findings and conclusions.
Conclusions and recommendations not found in the main text must not be inserted in the Abstract.
A set of 4 to 6 keywords should be provided in alphabetical order below the abstract to facilitate indexing.
Terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of the National Library of Medicine should preferably be used.
Keywords must not repeat words already included in the title.
The Introduction should be brief and include: what is known; what is not yet known (the gap in knowledge); and what is proposed to be done (the aim or objectives).
The review of literature should be restricted to reasons for undertaking the present study and provide only the most essential background.
The objective of the study must be stated clearly with adequate justification at the end of this section.
The Methods section should describe the study's design, execution, and data analysis in a logical sequence.
It should include, where applicable: study setting, study duration, study population, study design, participant selection, outcome variables, sample size calculation, intervention and follow-up, statistical analysis, and ethical considerations.
For standard methods, a reference suffices unless modifications have been made, in which case these must be described in full.
Complete details must be provided for any new methods or apparatus.
Clinical trials must include a CONSORT flow diagram showing patient progress throughout the trial.
The statistical methods and the significance of findings should be clearly stated.
P values should be expressed to three decimal places.
Standard and routine statistical methods require only authentic references; detailed descriptions are needed only when new or uncommon methods are employed.
For studies involving human participants, the procedures must conform to the ethical standards of the relevant national bodies.
For research conducted in India on human participants, the ICMR Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical and Health Research on Human Participants (2017) must be adhered to.
For experiments on laboratory animals, the applicable guidelines include ICMR's Use of Animals in Scientific Research (2006), INSA's Guidelines for Care and Use of Animals in Scientific Research (2000), and the guidelines of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA).
All research must also comply with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964, as revised in 2013.
All research studies must have written ethical clearance from an Institutional Ethics Committee, with the committee's name, date, and reference number stated on the title page and a statement of ethical clearance included in the Methods section.
Obtain written informed consent from all human participants.
For children over six years of age in clinical studies, assent must also be obtained.
Patient names, initials, or hospital numbers must not appear in the manuscript or illustrative material.
Only data essential for understanding the discussion and main conclusions should be included.
Data should be arranged in a unified and coherent sequence.
Data presented in Tables and Figures must not be repeated in the text.
The same data must not be presented in both tabular and graphic form.
Interpretation of data must be reserved for the Discussion section.
Numeric results should be reported not only as derivatives (such as percentages) but also as the absolute numbers from which they are derived.
Units of measurement: Length, height, weight and volume should be reported in metric units.
Laboratory values should be reported using the International System of Units (SI).
Blood pressure should be reported in millimetres of mercury (mmHg); temperatures in degrees Celsius.
P values should be expressed to three decimal places.
The Discussion should interpret the results without repeating information already presented in the Results section.
It should relate new findings to existing knowledge and include logical deductions.
This section should generally not exceed one-quarter of the manuscript's total length.
The Discussion should include:
This section should end with a clear concluding remark.
In accordance with the updated ICMJE guidelines (2023), authors are required to declare any use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted writing tools in the preparation of their manuscript.
This declaration must appear in either the Methods section or the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and must clearly specify the name of the tool used and the nature of its application.
Examples include text drafting, language editing, data analysis, or literature searching.
AI tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors under any circumstances.
Responsibility for the accuracy, integrity and originality of the submitted work remains entirely with the human authors.
Where no AI tools have been used in the preparation of the manuscript, authors must include a statement to this effect.
Authors may acknowledge funding sources, institutional support, and contributions of individuals who do not qualify for authorship.
Authors should provide direct references to original research sources wherever possible.
References should be made to published articles rather than abstracts.
Authors should avoid citing articles published in predatory or pseudo-journals.
Information from manuscripts submitted but not yet accepted should be cited in text as 'unpublished observations' with written permission from the source.
A personal communication may be cited only when it provides information not publicly available.
References must be listed in numerical sequence according to their order of appearance in the text.
References should be identified in the text, tables and figure captions by Arabic numerals as superscripts.
Abstracts should not be used as references.
The journal follows Vancouver referencing style.
If a paper has more than six authors, list the first three followed by 'et al.'
Use abbreviated journal titles as listed in Index Medicus.
All hyperlinks must be removed from references.
Candis JH. Artificial joint materials. J Biomed Eng. 1994;45:54-78.
Paul KN, Smith ADF, Manners M, et al. Coagulation mechanisms. J Cell Biol. 1993;430:200-30.
Acorn AD. Management of rheumatoid arthritis. In: Brown CC, Davies GH, editors. Inflammatory diseases. 3rd ed. London: Apple; 1992. p. 203-30.
Dunlop E, David BC, Winston WDC, editors. Diabetes update. New York: Pullworth; 1983.
Public Health Laboratory Service. Antimicrobial resistance in 2000: England and Wales [Internet]. [cited 2004 Jan 7]. Available from: http://www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/antimicrobial_resistance/amr.pdf
Only standard abbreviations should be used.
SI (International System of Units) units must be used for laboratory values throughout the manuscript.
For clinical measurements, conventional metric units are preferred.
Length, area, mass and volume should be expressed in metric units.
Abbreviations should follow SI conventions throughout the text, tables and figures.
Year, month, week, day, hour, minute and second should be abbreviated as y, mo, wk, d, h, min and s respectively in tables and figures, but should be written out in full in the body text.
Non-proprietary names of drugs, devices and other products should be used throughout the manuscript.
Where a proprietary name is provided, only the first letter should be capitalised, followed by the name of the manufacturer in parentheses.
Superscript symbols such as ©, TM, or ® must not be used.
For example: Cifran (Ranbaxy Laboratories).
Tables must be included in the main manuscript file in Microsoft Word format and numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals (Table 1, Table 2, etc.).
A descriptive heading must be placed above each table.
Each column must be given a short heading; units of measurement should be abbreviated and placed below the column heading.
Tables should ideally have between three and five columns and between four and sixteen rows.
All non-standard abbreviations used within a table must be explained in footnotes.
Statistical measures of variation such as SD and SE must be identified.
Use footnote symbols (*, †, ‡, §) where needed.
In the text, tables should be referenced as Table 1, Table 2, and so on, and must not be referred to as "above table" or "below table".
Each table must be cited in the text.
The use of figures is strongly encouraged where they assist reader comprehension and can replace lengthy textual descriptions.
Figures must be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) according to the order in which they are first cited in the text.
Where figures are related, they should be numbered 1(a), 1(b), 1(c), and so on.
All images must be submitted in JPEG or TIFF format with a maximum file size of 20 MB.
Labels, numbers and symbols should be clear and of uniform size, and legible after reduction to the width of a printed column.
Titles and detailed explanations belong in the figure legends, not on the figure itself.
Photographs must be of sufficiently high resolution with respect to detail, contrast and grain, and must be trimmed to remove all unwanted areas.
If photographs of individuals are used, written permission to use the photograph must be provided and the eyes must be covered.
Patient names and medical record numbers must be removed from all photographic material.
If a figure has been published elsewhere, the original source must be acknowledged and written permission from the copyright holder submitted to reproduce the material.
Electronic manipulation of images that materially alters the medical information must be identified and the nature of the alterations described.
Figures should be sent as separate files.
For charts and graphs, authors should prepare these in Microsoft Word and not paste from programmes such as PowerPoint or SPSS.
Editable files of figures should be provided as supplementary material.
Authors' names and affiliations must not appear anywhere on image files.
Captions should provide a brief description of each figure or illustration.
For example: Fig. 1. The diagram shows the distribution of...
Where relevant, captions must include definitions for all symbols used.
Photographs submitted must be of sufficiently high resolution and quality with respect to detail, contrast and grain.
Use portrait format for photographs intended to fit a single column.
Patient identifiers must be removed from all photographic material.
| File Format | Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) |
| Font | Times New Roman |
| Font Size | Title: 16pt, Bold. Section Headings: 14pt, Bold. Body Text: 12pt. |
| Line Spacing | 1.5 |
| Margins | 2.5 cm (approximately 1 inch) on all sides |
| Layout | Portrait, single column, justified alignment |
| Language | British (UK) English |
| Page Numbering | Arabic numerals, bottom-centre alignment |
| Title Page | Separate file. Must contain title, author names, designation, affiliation, email, phone number and postal address. |
| Abstract | Structured or unstructured as specified for manuscript type. |
| Keywords | 4 to 6, alphabetical order, MeSH terms preferred. |
| Tables and Figures | Each must have its own heading and be cited in the text. |
| References Style | Vancouver (numbered, superscript) |
Manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word format by email to:
info@medicaladvances.ac.in
All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter stating the full names of the authors, correspondence address, email address and contact numbers.
As the journal follows a double-blind peer-review process, the identity of the authors must not appear anywhere within the main manuscript document.
The editorial team will remove author details before sending the manuscript to referees.
Pacific Journal of Medical and Health Sciences operates a distinctive and generous distribution policy.
Upon publication, every article is made freely available online at www.medicaladvances.ac.in.
In addition, the journal dispatches a printed hard copy of the complete published issue to every contributing author, including those based internationally, by Registered Speed Post.
All costs associated with printing and dispatch are borne entirely by the publisher.
Printed copies of each issue, in full colour, are distributed free of charge to the libraries of medical colleges, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) across India.
This commitment to broad physical distribution ensures that the journal's published research reaches the widest possible readership across the academic and medical community.
Pacific Journal of Medical and Health Sciences is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity.
All accepted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using Turnitin software.
Only manuscripts with an acceptable similarity index will be considered for publication.
Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism and duplicate submission, in whole or in part, will result in immediate rejection.
Authors of articles published in Pacific Journal of Medical and Health Sciences retain the copyright of their work.
By submitting a manuscript, authors grant the journal the right of first publication and a non-exclusive licence to publish, distribute and archive the work in print and online formats.
All published articles are made freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0).
Under this licence, readers and researchers are permitted to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and to adapt, transform and build upon it for any purpose, including commercial use, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original authors, a link to the licence is provided, and any changes are clearly indicated.
Note: The submission of a manuscript implies that the work described is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere in any form.
Pacific Journal of Medical and Health Sciences is committed to maintaining editorial independence and diversity of authorship in accordance with internationally accepted standards for academic medical publishing.
The following policy applies to all submissions:
This policy is reviewed annually by the editorial team in accordance with COPE guidelines and the standards of relevant indexing bodies.
Pacific Journal of Medical and Health Sciences does not levy any charges on authors.
There are no submission fees, article processing charges, editorial processing charges, language editing fees, colour charges, page charges, membership fees, or any other supplementary charges.
Publication in this journal is entirely free of cost for authors.
