Original Articles

 

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

The Original Articles section of Colombia Médica is dedicated to publishing scientific research that significantly contributes to the advancement of knowledge in medicine and health sciences. Manuscripts must be original, high-quality, and adhere to internationally established ethical and scientific standards.

Objectives

  • Publish results of original research that promote the development of medicine and health sciences.
  • Disseminate studies of national and international interest that follow ethical and scientific principles.
  • Contribute to academic dialogue based on scientific evidence.

Publication Criteria

Content

  • Manuscripts must present original results of basic, clinical, epidemiological, experimental, or social research in the field of medicine and health sciences.
  • Manuscripts that have been previously published or are under consideration in other journals will not be accepted.
  • Studies must be supported by solid methodology, critical analysis, and discussion grounded in relevant scientific literature.

Length

  • Colombia Médica does not impose a word limit; however, published articles typically range between 3,000 and 5,000 words, excluding abstract, references, and figures.
  • A maximum of 6 combined tables or figures is allowed.
  • References must be appropriate and comply with the following: at least 30% should be from the last 5 years, no more than 30% from the previous century, and up to 30% can be from sources other than scientific journals.

Structure

Manuscripts must follow the IMRAD format (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) and include:

  • Title: Clear, concise, and representative of the article’s content (maximum 15 words).
  • Abstract: Structured into Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions, with a maximum of 250 words.
  • Keywords: Between 3 and 6, following the terms of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).
  • Introduction: Brief, supported by updated literature, and describing the relevance of the study and its objective.
  • Methods: Clear description of the design, population, intervention, statistical analysis, and ethical considerations (including ethics committee approval number).
  • Results: Presented clearly, logically, and without data interpretation.
  • Discussion: Comparison with other studies, limitations, implications, and conclusions.
  • References: In Vancouver format, prioritizing recent and relevant sources.

Publication Guidelines

To ensure quality and standardization, authors are encouraged to use internationally recognized publication guidelines. Depending on the study design, authors must include a complete checklist and reference it in the methods section. Common guidelines include:

  • CONSORT (for clinical trials).
  • STROBE (for observational studies).
  • COREQ (for qualitative research).
  • RECORD (for registry-based studies).
  • CROSS (for survey studies).
  • ARRIVE (for animal research).

Format

  • Specific formatting details are available in the Manuscript Submission Format section.
  • Figures: Editable formats (e.g., .jpeg, .png, .tiff) with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.
  • Tables: Numbered and with descriptive titles, included at the end of the manuscript.
  • Additional documents: Authors must attach the following completed documents at the time of manuscript submission:
    1. Copyright Transfer Agreement: Completed and signed by all authors.
    2. Conflict of Interest Declaration: Detailing any financial, professional, or personal relationships that could influence the content of the article.
    3. CRediT Taxonomy Author Contribution Form: Specifying each author's role in the preparation and development of the manuscript (e.g., conceptualization, methodology, writing, data analysis).
    4. Ethical Approval: For studies involving humans or animals, the ethical approval certificate from the Research Ethics Committee that supervised the study must be attached. The certificate must include information about protocol approval, informed consent (for human studies), and adherence to international standards such as the Declaration of Helsinki for studies involving humans or animal welfare guidelines for studies involving animals.

  • Compliance with these requirements is mandatory, and their absence may delay or prevent the manuscript’s review process.

    Tables: Included at the end of the manuscript, numbered, and with descriptive titles.

Review Process

  1. Initial Evaluation: Manuscripts will be initially assessed by the editorial board to verify compliance with basic formatting and content requirements.
  2. Peer Review: Articles will be sent to two expert reviewers, under a double-blind review model.

Ethical Considerations

  • Authors must ensure studies comply with international ethical standards, such as the Declaration of Helsinki.
  • A clear statement of funding and conflicts of interest is mandatory.
  • Informed consent from participants must be guaranteed, where applicable.

Submission Process

  • Manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the editorial management system of Colombia Médica.
  • Non-compliance with these guidelines may result in immediate rejection of the manuscript.

Publication Rights

Once accepted, articles will be published under the CC-BY-NC license, which allows distribution and non-commercial use, provided the authors and the original source are acknowledged.