Instructions for authors

Submission guidelines

All manuscripts submitted to the journal must fully meet the following technical and editorial requirements:

  1. Originality and novelty: the contribution must be original, novel and not being subjected to simultaneous evaluation by any other journal.
  2. Submission system: the submission must be made exclusively via the Open Journal Systems (OJS) system, by means of previous registration with login and password. Submissions sent via email or ordinary mail will not be accepted.
  3. File format: all manuscripts must be submitted in editable format (.doc), compatible with Microsoft Word 2007 or later versions.
  4. Authors' identification: in order to ensure a double-blind peer review process, the authors must not be identified in any way in the text body or in the file properties. The authors' data (full name, ORCID, institutional affiliation and email address) must be included only in the system metadata.
  5. Text format: all manuscripts must present 1.5-line spacing, with Times New Roman font, size 12. Italics must be used instead of underscore (except for URLs).
  6. Tables and figures:
    • Tables must be included in the text body, close to their first mention;
    • Figures must be included in the text and sent as supplementary documents.
  7. References: all references must rigorously follow the standards set forth in the Guidelines for authors. Whenever available, active DOIs or URLs must be included.
  8. Editorial standardization: all texts must fully meet the style, structure and bibliographic requirements described in the journal's Guidelines for authors.
  9. Blind evaluation integrity: no manuscript must contain any information that allows identifying the study authors, institutions or origin.
  10. Limit regarding number of authors: a maximum of six authors per manuscript is recommended. Any and all cases exceeding that number will have to be duly justified at submission.

Not meeting any of these criteria may result in immediate refusal of a manuscript in the editorial screening stage.

How to prepare a manuscript

All manuscripts must be presented in a single document, in editable format (.doc or .docx) written in Microsoft Word (2003 or later) and including all the elements pertaining to the article, as specified below. All texts must be in Times New Roman font, size 12, 1.5-line spacing, justified, unpaginated and with no page/section breaks.

All manuscripts must include the following at submission:

Title of the manuscript

The title of the manuscript must be concise, clear, representative of the study content and limited to a maximum of 15 words. It is not allowed to use acronyms, abbreviations or geographical locations. It must be written in the submission language (Portuguese, English or Spanish).

Abstracts and descriptors

Abstracts must be structured in a single paragraph and include objectives, methods, results and conclusion, with a maximum limit of 200 words and written in the submission language (Portuguese, English or Spanish).

The descriptors must include from 3 to 6 terms, separated by full stops and presented in the three languages. They must be selected according to the DeCS (Descritores em Ciências da Saúde) and/or MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) controlled vocabularies, with the recommendation to include the term "Estomaterapia" ("Stomatherapy").

Structure of the text

All manuscripts must follow the organization described below:

  • Introduction
  • Objectives
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion (including limitations and recommendations)
  • Conclusion
  • References

Tables and figures

A maximum of five tables and/or figures shall be allowed; they must be:

  • Included in the text body, immediately after their first mention;
  • Numbered consecutively;
  • Have clear titles, including information such as data locus and year, when applicable;
  • Be in Times New Roman font, size 10, with single-line spacing;
  • Follow the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute guidelines (1993) for table format presentation.

All elements must be mentioned in the text, and keys and titles accurately describing their content and context must be included. Readers should be able to understand the content of all figures and tables by simply reading their titles (with no need to consult the text); in other words, all titles must be complete.

Acronyms and abbreviations for titles of figures and tables shall not be accepted. In case it is necessary to use acronyms and abbreviations in a figure or table (for the sake of improving format), they must be explained in full in a key below the corresponding table or figure.

Images and Figures

  • They can be incorporated to the Word file, but they must also be sent in separate JPEG, TIFF or EPS files.
  • They must be at least 22 cm wide and have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.
  • Keys must be incorporated to the Word text, not to the images.
  • For figures related to microscopic findings (histopathological results), a scale must be included in the image to indicate the zoom used. Any and all coloring agents must be specified in the figure key.

Tables, Graphs and Flowcharts

They must be incorporated to the Word file but must also be delivered in their original file formats (Excel, PowerPoint or compatible software). They must be in Times New Roman font, size 9.

Citations and references

The references must be presented according to the Vancouver style at the end of the manuscript. Save for reviews, each article can have up to 25 references, recommending for 75% to be from journals published in the last five years.

  • DOIs or access links must be informed at the end of all references;
  • All links must be active and accessible;
  • Multilingual articles must be referenced in English;
  • Grey Literature materials (theses, dissertations, official documents, annals and websites) must be limited to a maximum of three citations per manuscript.

Accuracy of the references is the authors' entire responsibility.

Reporting research results

It is recommended to use the Equator Network guidelines to prepare and submit manuscripts, according to the following types of study:

  • Randomized clinical trials: CONSORT.
  • Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: PRISMA.
  • Scoping reviews: PRISMA-SR.
  • Observational studies on epidemiology: STROBE.
  • Qualitative studies: COREQ.
  • Case studies: CARE.
  • Implementation, innovation, prospection and/or technological development research studies: SQUIRE 2.0

Documents for submission

Financial support

The authors must clearly, precisely and transparently state all financial support sources related to developing the research and writing the manuscript. The full names of the funding agencies and institutions must be informed, as well as all process, edict or grant numbers when applicable, in addition to the type of support received (for example: scholarships, aids or institutional funding, among others).

The following statement must be made explicit in the case of no funding: "The current study had no financial support."

Transparency in declaring funding is an essential requirement for scientific integrity and must comply with the current international recommendations.

All information about funding must be presented at the end of the manuscript. According to CAPES Ordinance No. 206/2018, it is mandatory to state total or partial funding support whenever it is the case.

Processing and publication fees

The Brazilian Journal of Enterostomal Therapy – Revista Estima acknowledges Open Science as a fundamental principle for knowledge democratization, transparency of scientific processes and expanded access to qualified information. In this context, the journal adopts a free and unrestricted access policy, committing itself to equality in scientific communication and to reducing publication barriers.

In consonance with these principles, the journal does not charge any fees for submission, evaluation or publication (APCs), ensuring that authors and readers alike may take part in and access scientific production free of charge and in an ethical and inclusive way.

Post-acceptance and translation

After a favorable editorial decision, the authors will be formally informed that their manuscript has been accepted. From that moment onwards, the article is automatically forwarded to the journal's publishing service, which is responsible for text review, scientific standardization and layout structuring according to the journal's editorial norms.

Once the editorial stage is over, the article galley proof will be sent to the authors for double-checking, content validation and final approval. The authors must carefully review the text in this phase, verifying formal aspects, consistency of all the information and eventual necessary adjustments. Save for duly justified exceptional situations, substantial content changes shall not be allowed in this stage.

Translation of the manuscript

All articles published in the journal must be available in two additional languages apart from the submission one. Thus, all manuscripts submitted in Portuguese shall have to be translated to English and Spanish; those submitted in Spanish shall have to be translated to Portuguese and English; and those submitted in English shall have to be translated to Portuguese and Spanish.

Responsibility for the translation is entirely up to the authors, including choice and hiring of the service. The journal will suggest accredited translators, but the final decision is the authors' responsibility. The authors shall bear all costs resulting from this process. All translated text materials must be submitted along with a translation certificate issued by a qualified professional or company, ensuring content quality and reliability.

After receiving and validating the translated versions, the manuscript will be forwarded to editorial completion and publication.