A. Appropriateness: The MSMR publishes reports of evidence-based estimates regarding the incidence, distribution, impact, or trends of illness and injuries among members of the United States Armed Forces and other beneficiaries of the Military Health System (MHS) (e.g., family members, retirees, civilian employees). All reports are based on data or public health information that is directly relevant to the health, safety, and well-being of MHS beneficiaries or the operational fitness of military members.

B. Quality: Reports are typically based on data analyzed using scientific methods. Results should yield actionable public health information or recommendations.

C. Originality: Updates of surveillance summaries previously published in the MSMR will be considered if they add significant new information.

D. Timeliness: Reports should contain the most currently available data from surveillance systems or studies.

A. Full Reports: These are summaries of data or the findings of original epidemiologic studies of military health importance. Authors should refer to previously published reports as a guideline for style and format.

1. Title: Brief and descriptive. A title page is not necessary.

2. Authors: Authors are individuals who make substantive contributions to the report and qualify for authorship credit according to ICMJE guidelines. For each author, list first name, middle initial, last name, highest academic degree(s), military rank and service. Examples: John Snow, MD, MPH (COL, USA, Ret.); Mary L. Archer, MD (LCDR, USN). If an author holds two doctoral degrees (e.g., MD and PhD), either or both may be used, in the order preferred by the author. List academic degrees below the highest degree held only when they represent a specialized field or a field different from that represented by the highest degree held (e.g., MPH, BSN).

3. Military Relevance: The MSMR aims to disseminate actionable medical surveillance information to military commanders in addition to their surgeons and medical staffs to enhance health, fitness, and readiness. As such, authors are asked to summarize what is novel about their findings and to describe how the findings can inform decisions and actions in support of readiness and force health protection.

What are the new findings? Please describe in plain English what are the findings of the analysis/report that either are new or provide needed confirmation of earlier reports, in 50 words or less. See MSMR November 2018 – Volume 25 / 11 for examples.

What is the impact on readiness and force health protection? Describe in 50 words or less and in plain English how the findings can be applied to decisions or actions on behalf of military operational readiness and/or force health protection. For examples, see MSMR November 2018 – Volume 25 / 11.

4. Abstract: Provide an unstructured abstract (no labeled sections) summarizing the report, with a focus on the main findings. Maximum 175 words.

5. Background: Introductory paragraphs should set the context (e.g., brief relevant literature review) and describe the relevance to U.S. military populations or operations. The last sentence(s) of the background section should state the objective or specific question(s) the report aims to answer.

6. Methods: As appropriate, specify the target population, time period, definitions, exposures, outcomes or endpoints, other characteristics of interest, the sources and methods of data collection, and approaches to data summarization and statistical analyses.

7. Results: Summarize the findings and results of analyses. Tables and graphs that clarify the results are encouraged. The Results narrative need not repeat numerical data already presented in tables and graphs except to emphasize important observations.

8. Editorial Comment:  All authors must include editorial comments for consideration for publication. Editorial comments should put the main findings of the report into broader military/general public health contexts; specify limitations (e.g., shortcomings of data sources, sources of bias); and state ramifications of findings in terms of current or desirable future policies and practices.

9. Author Affiliations: List current assignment/affiliation of each author. Example: U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Cairo, Egypt (LCDR Archer); Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (Dr. Snow, Dr. Smith, Dr. Jones).

10. Acknowledgements (optional): Recognize contributors who do not qualify as authors.

11. References: List references using AMA style (see examples). When listing articles with more than six authors, include three author names followed by "et al." Use journal title abbreviations as shown in PubMed and italicize them. Do not include URLs for references that are indexed in PubMed.

B. Brief Reports: These are similar to full reports but are less than 1,000 words in length. Brief reports should be structured in the same manner as full reports. An abstract is not required.

C. Outbreak Reports should include all of the sections listed above under "full reports." They may also include additional sections such as: Setting (follows the background and describes of the outbreak setting), Countermeasures (follows the results and describes actions taken to prevent continuation or spread of the outbreak). Example

D. Case Reports are brief descriptions of a case with an Editorial comment. Example

E. Surveillance Snapshots typically consist of a single chart with a caption or legend. They may also include 1-2 paragraphs of text. Example

F. Historical Snapshots describe events or persons that have shaped the history of military public health. They should include photographs or other images. Example

G. Historical Perspectives summarize the historical impact of a disease or condition on a specific military operation or the military overall. Example

H. Notice to Readers: Scientific notices to readers describe changes in recommended public health practices (e.g., vaccine recommendations) or the availability of clinical or surveillance resources (e.g., laboratory testing). The MSMR does not publish meeting announcements or summaries of past meetings. Example

I. Images in Health Surveillance are photographs, drawings or other images that depict militarily relevant public health information. Example

J. Editorials are usually invited, but may be proposed. Example

K. Other article types may be proposed in an email to the editor.

A. Suggested Length (excluding title, authors, abstract, author affiliations, acknowledgements and references): Full Reports: 2,000 words. Brief Reports: <1,000 words. Outbreak Reports: 1,500 words. Case Reports: 1,000 words. Surveillance Snapshots and Images in Health Surveillance: 500 words of text or captions (accompanying one or more figures). Notices to Readers: 500 words. Submissions that are longer than suggested in these guidelines will be considered on a case-by-case basis; longer articles should be justified by the authors in their e-mails of transmittal of the manuscripts.

B. Text: Submit in Microsoft Word. Do not embed tables or charts in the Word text.

C. Tables and Figures: Tables and figures must be submitted in Microsoft Excel and not embedded in text. The data used to create a figure must be included in tabular form and link to the figure. Place titles and legends within the figure. Format all tables and figures to Arial font, size 8. Use lowercase superscripted letters (e.g., a,b,c) for footnotes in tables and figures.

D. Photographs: Photographs that illustrate a prevention intervention, risk factor, or outbreak setting are encouraged. Only submit photographs that are in the public domain; if a photo credit is required, submit the name with the photo.

A. Services and Agencies                                                                                                                                            Prior to submission, authors must initiate clearance processes from their respective Services/agencies and from human subjects review boards, as appropriate. Manuscripts pending clearance may be submitted to the MSMR for consideration, but publication will be deferred indefinitely until ALL clearance documentation is received by the MSMR staff. Authors should check with their individual departments to ascertain if additional clearances need to be obtained from agencies outside their normal chain of command. Clearance documentation is required for all named authors on the manuscript, not just the corresponding author.

B. Consent of co-authors                                                                                                                                                Corresponding authors must obtain written approval from all co-authors consenting to publish the report with their names listed as an author. Written consent may be obtained in the form of e-mail messages from each author saying that they approve publication of the report.

Authors submitting to the MSMR are expected to observe high standards of publication ethics as set out by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). Falsification or fabrication of data, plagiarism, misappropriation of work, and ghost writing are all unacceptable. Cases of ethical misconduct are treated very seriously and will be dealt with in accordance with ICMJE guidelines.

• Authorship: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the reported study. Individuals claiming authorship should meet all 4 criteria specified in the ICMJE author guidelines. Upon submission, authors will be asked to sign the Authorship Criteria Form outlining each authors’ contribution and designating a single corresponding author. In addition, all authors are required to submit written statements of approval indicating that they have seen and approved the manuscript.
• Originality: By submitting a manuscript to the MSMR, the authors affirm that it is an original manuscript, is unpublished work, and is not under review by another journal. Previous publication of an abstract as part of the proceedings of meetings does not preclude subsequent submission for publication in the MSMR. Publication as an academic thesis or as an electronic preprint also is not viewed as prior publication. However, full disclosure should be made to the MSMR editorial staff at the time of submission.
• Plagiarism: The MSMR will treat plagiarism (using the language, ideas, or thoughts of another as your own without attribution or permission) very seriously.
• Conflict of interest and financial disclosure: Authors must notify MSMR editorial staff of any potential conflict of interest. This includes, but is not limited to, financial (e.g., grants or funding from other sources) and material (e.g., equipment) support for the research. Conflicts of interest will not necessarily disqualify a paper or an author; however, full disclosure will allow the MSMR editorial staff to make an informed and reasonable decision. Please contact the MSMR Editor with any questions regarding a possible conflict of interest. 
• Data access and retention: The raw data used for the analysis may be needed for editorial review and authors should be prepared to provide access to such data.
• Acknowledgement of sources: The work of others must always be properly acknowledged.
• Fundamental errors in published works: Authors must promptly notify the MSMR of any significant errors or inaccuracies in the published work and must cooperate with the editorial staff to retract or correct the paper.
• Reporting standards: Authors should present an accurate account of any original research and an objective discussion of its significance.
• Hazards and human or animal subjects: Compliance statements are needed if the research involves animal or human subjects or if it involves chemicals, procedures, or equipment that have unusual hazards inherent to their use.
• Use of patient images or case details: Ethics committee approval and informed consent for research on patients or volunteers should be included in the paper.

Managing Allegations of Misconduct

Authors bear sole responsibility for the content and opinions expressed in their paper. Allegations of possible misconduct will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Allegations regarding manuscripts in progress will result in the manuscript being halted while a review is performed to determine if there is enough evidence to lead a reasonable person to believe there is possible misconduct. Published manuscripts will also be reviewed if such allegations are raised, and MSMR editorial staff will take any indicated actions to inform readers, correct the published literature, or issue a retraction as needed.

Acknowledgments 

This document is based on similar documents developed by the ICMJE and WAME, among others. 

A. Submit to the editor via email. Submit text, tables/figures and photographs as separate attachments.

B. Peer Reviewer nominations: Authors are asked to nominate 1 to 3 external referees to review their manuscript. Please provide their name and email address in the email submission to the editor. To avoid conflict of interest, the suggested referee should not be from the same department or division as any one of the authors.

C. MSMR staff will confirm receipt of the report by email.

D. MSMR staff will review the submission and send it for peer review by subject matter experts as appropriate. One of the following decisions will be made:

• Accept the submission for publication and enter it into the editing and production cycle
• Tentatively accept it pending revision
• Return it for revision and subsequent consideration
• Reject the submission

E. Submitting a revised manuscript: When submitting a revised manuscript, the authors’ revisions to the original text should be clearly indicated using the Track Changes feature of Word. The authors should respond to the reviewers’ comments by providing a point by point response to each reviewer comments. If the author accepts the reviewer’s comment, please describe how and where the revision was made. If the reviewer’s comment cannot be revised, please provide a rebuttal. Suggested editorial revisions involving grammar, spelling, or sentence structure do not need to be addressed in the point by point response.

F. Accepted reports are typically published within 60 days of the date of acceptance.

G. Authors who wish to discuss a proposal or concept with the MSMR Editor prior to writing a report are encouraged (but not required) to do so. Submit proposals via email.