AUTHOR GUIDELINES

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTSAs of January 1, 2006, all new manuscripts should be submitted to oursubmission/peer review website by using the ‘‘Submit Manuscript’’ linkat http://www.jamda.com. The website guides authors stepwise throughthe creation and uploading of the various files. NOTE: It is important tosubmit a clean manuscript that does not have evidence of trackchanges or comments in the margins. Please turn those features offprior to submission. Authors are requested to submit the text, tables,and artwork in electronic form (not as a PDF) to this address. In anaccompanying letter, authors should state that the manuscript, or partsof it, have not been and will not be submitted elsewhere for publication.Authors are highly encouraged to include a list of three ormore potentialreviewers for their manuscript, with complete contact information.

Submission items include a cover letter (save as a separate file forupload), suggested reviewers, title page (saved separately from themanuscript main text), the manuscript (including abstract,manuscript text, references, and table/figure legends, without anyauthor identifiers). Revised manuscripts should also be accompaniedby a unique file (separate from the covering letter) with responses toreviewers’ comments. The preferred order of files is as follows: coverletter, response to reviewers (revised manuscripts only), title page,manuscript file(s), table(s), figure(s). Files should be labeled withappropriate and descriptive file names (e.g., Text.doc, Fig1.eps,Table3.doc). Do not use an underscore (_) in the file name. Uploadtext, tables and graphics as separate files. Do not import figures ortables into the text document and do not upload your text as a PDF.Complete instructions for electronic artwork submission can befound on http://ees.elsevier.com/jamda, under the link for ArtworkGuidelines, which is located in the Author Information section.

REVIEW PROCESSSubmissions are reviewed by the editor, and are usually sent to twoexternal reviewers. The typical turnaround time from submission toauthors receiving the reviewers’ comments is less than 6 weeks;however, at times there are delays.

CRITERIAEvaluation of an article’s suitability for publication is based on: theoriginality of the material, the clarity of the writing, theappropriateness of the study methods, validity of the data, and howwell the conclusions are supported by the data. The informationmust be important and of long-term care and geriatric interest.

COVER LETTERBriefly describe the contributions of each author. Financialdisclosure and any information regarding conflict of interest shouldbe addressed in a cover letter at the time of first submission.

ASSURANCESAcknowledgment of support should be reported in an appropriatepart of the text as well or as a footnote on the first page.When humansubjects are involved, the article should also include a statement thatthe research protocol was approved by the relevant institutionalreview boards or ethics committees and that written consent wasobtained from all participants. Alternatively, author(s) shouldindicate when a waiver of consent was obtained from the IRB.

TITLE PAGEList all authors, indicating title and affiliation for each. Everyindividual who contributed to the article in any way should be

acknowledged. Provide a mailing address and phone/fax/emailinformation for the corresponding author and an alternatecorrespondent, if possible. Please provide 3e4 key words forindexing, and a running title of no more than 45 characters.

FORMATPlease double-space the entire manuscript and number the pages.The structure to be used is listed below in the individual categories.

TEXTThe entire text should be free of any author identification.

REFERENCESFull references should be used. List the first four authors’ last namesand initials; if more than four, insert ‘‘et al.’’ after the third name.References should be annotated in the text with superscripts and listedat the end of the article in the order in which they appear. Medlineabbreviations should be used for journal titles. Style:

JournaldSmith J, Jones A, Doe J, et al. Title of article. J AmMed Dir Assoc 2000;6:1-10.Book ChapterdSmith J. Title of Chapter. In: Jones A, Doe J,eds. Title of Book, 3rd Ed. New York: Churchill Livingstone,2006.BookdSmith J, Jones A, Doe J. Title of Book, 2nd Ed., NewYork: Churchill Livingstone, 2005.Websitedhttp://www.websiteaddress. Accessed on January1, 2006.

ILLUSTRATIONSGraphs and charts can usually be recreated by the ProductionDepartment. Permission to reproduce illustrations that werepublished elsewhere must be included. The cost of colorillustrations must be borne by the authors.

CATEGORIES

ORIGINAL STUDIESPlease provide a structured abstract using the following headings:Objectives, design, setting, participants, intervention (if any),measurements, results, and conclusion.

Text should be approximately 8e10 double-spaced pages in length,using the following format:

Introductiondshould describe the question posed that theresearch was designed to answer.Methodsdshould describe the design, how it was carriedout, selection and assignment of subjects, treatment,outcome measurements and statistical methods.Resultsdshould be listed in order of importance, andinclude any adverse effects.Discussiondshould provide a brief synopsis of the findings,limitations of the study, and a comparison with relevantfindings from other studies.Conclusiondshould provide a brief summary of theimplications of the study findings.

Meta-analyses will be considered original research.

Brief Reports are a condensed version of Original Studies, limitedto 6e8 double-spaced pages including title page, abstract, text,references, tables and figures. This category is ideal for reportingpreliminary results of a study or reporting a small study.

REVIEW ARTICLESReviewsA review article is a systematic, critical assessment of the literatureand data sources relevant to clinical topics (including treatment)that are commonly encountered in long-term care settings. Authorsshould emphasize factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis,prevention, or therapeutic intervention(s). All articles and datesources reviewed should include information about a specific type ofstudy (eg, case study, double-blind, randomized trial), population,intervention, and outcomes. Articles or data sources should beselected systematically for inclusion in the review and criticallyevaluated. The selection process should be described in the paper.The typical length is 12e15 double-spaced pages, not includingtables, figures and references). Submission of a textbook replicationis discouraged. The review section also includes brief reviews. Thesearticles are narrow in scope, answering a single clinical question, suchas: What is an effective intervention for prevention of injurious falls?All review articles should be formatted using the following headings:Objectives/Introduction; Methods (data sources, type of study);Results; Discussion, Conclusion. Review articles should have a briefabstract with or without subheadings.

ControversiesThese articles will deal with behaviors or practices in long-term caresettings that lack an evidence base, but rather are guided by opinionsof local leaders and/or regulations without a clearly tested processthat leads to a beneficial outcome. The following structure should beused: Problem, Significance of the Problem, Discussion, Conclusion.These articles should include a brief abstract without subheadings.

Clinical Practice in Long-Term CareBased on the AMDA Curriculum on Geriatric Clinical Practice inLong-Term Care, this section provides articles of interest to thepracticing, long-term care medical provider. Each article isa systematic, critical review of the literature relevant to a geriatric,clinical topic commonly encountered in long-term care settings.These articles should include a brief abstract without subheadings.

MEDICAL MANAGEMENTThese articles deal with existing or new clinical practice guidelines,ways to implement them, and experiences derived from using them.It will include empiric information of the work process in thelong-term care setting that applies research-derived informationto the workplace. Examples: Prompted voiding to reduce wetnessor Tai Chi as an intervention to reduce the rate of falls. Thesearticles should include a brief abstract without subheadings.

Clinical experience reports should address the use of assessmentand/or intervention methods in the long-term care setting (home,assisted living, and nursing facilities), which have the potential toimprove quality of care or quality of life. Examples: Algorithms,clinical practice guidelines, the impact of regulatory requirements onpractice or policy, and procedure implementation. These reportsmay describe a clinical experience or an investigation that ispreliminary but that may be of clinical or scientific interest. Themanuscript should include a short introduction and rationale,amethods section to include subjects and approach, and an outcomesor results section. In the case results are not available, some mentionshould be made of methods to be employed to measure outcome ofthe work process. The reports are limited to 10 double-spacednarrative manuscript pages with 1e2 tables and/or figures, plus

a brief, structured abstract using the headings above. Forms andchecklists are welcome as tables or appendices.

Case reports should be approximately 3e5 double-spaced,typewritten pages and contain instructional value, such as those ofsuccessful interventions in managing uncommon syndromes orunsuccessful ones where a diagnosis was made after the fact. Thesearticles should include a brief abstract without subheadings.

QUALITY IMPROVEMENTThese articles are case-based presentations of nursing homebehavior/practice that led to an adverse regulatory or legaloutcome. The discussant should review state-of-the-artpractice/clinical guidelines that, if applied, would have resultedin a satisfactory conclusion. The format to use is: Casepresentation, comments, recommendations. These articlesshould include a brief abstract without subheadings.

LONG-TERM CARE AROUND THE GLOBEThis section reports on long-term care services in different countriesand health systems aimed to educate and exchange information.When feasible, these articles should include a brief structuredabstract stating objectives, design, methods, results andconclusion.

SPECIAL ARTICLESSpecial articles are usually solicited by the editor. Topics of interest tothe readers, which do not easily fit into any of the regular categories,will appear in this section. These articles should include a briefabstract without subheadings.

IN TOUCHThis section affords authors the opportunity to share personalexperiences with the readers. They are generally 3e5 double-spacedpages, non-clinical in nature, and should pertain, in some way, tolong-term care issues. Appropriate topics include: compassion,quality of life, human value, dignity of death and the sanctity of life.A short story format, fact or fiction, is acceptable.

IN THE TRENCHESDebuted in the June issue of 2008, page 291 (T.R. Cote), this providesan opportunity for authors to share with other long term careproviders tools they have developed to advance better care for theirpatients. It can be a one-page ‘‘how-to’’ illustration or a two-to-threepage description followed by a figure that illustrates the procedure orinstrument.

LETTERSLetters should be double-spaced and approximately 1e3 pages inlength. Those referring to an article published in the journal shouldbe submitted within 1 month of the article’s appearance and may besent to the author of the paper for a response. References and a smallillustration are acceptable.

If you have questions for the editorial office contact Valerie Tanner,Managing Editor; email: tannerv@slu.edu; phone: 11 314-977-8464(US).

If you need technical support while working in the onlinesubmission system, click the support link to send an e-mail, orcall: for the Americas (toll-free for US & Canada)11 888-834-7287;for Asia & Pacific 181 3 5561 5032; for Europe & the rest of theworld 1353 61 709190.