Instructions to Authors

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

The submission of the manuscripts to The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics is only possible electronically.

Please, contact journal@icmpe.org that will provide you with detailed information on the procedure.

Authors must also supply:

• Cover letter including all information necessary for the editor's review process.
• Electronic copy of the final version (see section below),
• a Copyright Transfer Agreement with original signature - without this, we are unable to accept the submission, and
• permission letters - If the author's work contains extracts (including illustrations) from or is based in whole or in part on other copyright works (including, for the avoidance of doubt, material from on-line or intranet sources), the author, at the author's expense and in the form specified by the Publisher, will obtain from the owners of the respective copyrights written permission to reproduce those extracts in the author's work in all territories and editions and in all media of expression and languages. All necessary permission forms must be submitted to the Publisher on delivery of the author's work.

Submission of a manuscript will be held to imply that it contains original unpublished work and is not being submitted for publication elsewhere at the same time. Submitted material will not be returned to the author, unless specifically requested.

MANUSCRIPT STYLE

The language of the journal is English. All submissions including book reviews must have a title, be printed on one side of the paper, be double-line spaced and have a margin of 3 cm all round. Illustrations and tables must be printed on separate sheets, and not be incorporated into the text.

• The title page must list the full title, short title of up to 70 characters, names and affiliations of all authors, their qualifications, their post and their current appointment if different. Give the full address, including email, telephone and fax, of the author who is to check the proofs.
• Source of Funding. Authors who have been funded by public (Government) and private (e.g. pharmaceutical industry) money should declare this on the title page of their submitted paper, and indicate whether the funding was direct or indirect (e.g. via their host institution). Authors, must also declare any affiliations with or financial support from any organisation or entity with direct financial interest in the subject matter of the paper.
• Include the name(s) of any sponsor(s) of the research contained in the paper, along with grant number(s).
• Supply a long structured abstract of up to 500 words for all articles (except book reviews). This is to enable readers, including those who have an access to the Journal only through the availability of abstracts on the ICMPE site, to get a comprehensive picture of the main issues of the study and its implications without reference to the text. The authors are requested to summarize very clearly the contents and implications of their study, following properly the structure of the different subsections: Background, Aims of the Study, methods, Results, Discussion (with limitations of the study), Implications for Health Care Provision and Use, Implications for Health Policies, Implications for Further Research) on the basis of the particular features of their article, in order to enable the readers of different cultural backgrounds and countries to easily follow the main issues of the study. It should contain no citation to other published work.

TEXT

Data Analytic Procedures

The Methods should include at least one paragraph entitled Data Analytic Procedures. This section will describe the application of each statistical procedure that is reported in Results. Tests that are not commonly seen in this literature should be briefly described. The rationale for use of the test, guidelines for interpretation of the results of the test and reference citations should be provided.

In reporting statistical tests in Results include the test statistic, degrees of freedom and p-value. Include a measure of variability whenever a measure of central tendency is reported (deviations).

In the cover letter, state the name of your statistical consultant, if appropriate.

Abbreviations

All abbreviations should be written in full the first time they appear. Mathematical symbols may be eitherhandwritten or typewritten. Greek letters and unusual symbols should be identified separately in the margin. Distinction should be made between capital and lower case letters; between the letter O and zero; between the letter l and the number one and prime; between K and Kappa.

Generic and Trade Names. Generic or clinical names should be used for all compounds: materials and products should be identified in the text by the generic name. The Trade Name should appear in a footnote the first time that the generic name is used in the text. When the Trade Name is part of the name given to the study only the acronym's will appear in the text and the complete name of the study will be given in a footnote.

REFERENCE STYLE

References should be cited by Arabic numerals in parentheses and listed at the end of the paper in the order in which they appear in the text. References cited only in tables or in legends should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or illustration. Use Medline abbreviations for journal names. They can be found at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=journals . All references must be complete and accurate. Online citations should include date of access. If necessary, cite unpublished or personal work in the text but do not include it in the reference list. References should be listed in the following style:

Smith J, Jones S. Complexities of Medicare reimbursement system. J Clin Psychopharmacol 1989; 44: 363-364.

Bloggs G, Williams T. 1985. Decrease in hospitalisation. In Perspectives in Health Policy.Chichester: John Wiley, 195- 205.

Black D. Introduction to Medicine Oxford: Blackwell, 1987.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Supply each illustration on a separate sheet, with the lead author's name and the figure number, with the top of the figure indicated, on the reverse. Supply original photographs; photocopies or previously printed material will not be used. Line artwork must be high-quality laser output (not photocopies). Tints are not acceptable; lettering must be of a reasonable size that would still be clearly legible upon reduction, and consistent within each figure and set of figures. Where a key to symbols is required, please include this in the artwork itself, not in the figure legend. Supply artwork at the intended size for printing.The artwork must be sized to the text width of 86 mm Single, 181 mm Double column.

Colour illustrations will not be accepted.

COPYRIGHT

To enable the publisher to disseminate the author's work to the fullest extent, the author must sign a Copyright Transfer Agreement, transferring copyright in the article from the author to the publisher, and submit the original signed agreement with the article presented for publication. A copy of the agreement to be used (which may be photocopied) can be found in the first issue of each volume of The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics and on the ICMPE website at www.icmpe.org . Copies may also be obtained from the journal editor or publisher, or may be printed from this website.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Proofs will be sent to the author for checking. This stage is to be used only to correct errors that may have been introduced during the production process. Prompt return of the corrected proofs, preferably within two days of receipt, will minimise the risk of the paper being held over to a later issue. Further offprints and copies of the journal may be ordered. There is no page charge to authors.

LETTERS TO EDITORS

This section is aimed at encouraging a lively interaction between readers, authors, editorial board and publisher. Letters should refer to articles published in the journal. They should not exceed 400 words and there should be no more than five references. Letters will be edited for clarity and conformity with The Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics style, and may be shortened. Proofs will not be sent to authors.

BOOK REVIEWS

The journal will publish both book reviews and lists of new book titles considered of relevance for those interested in mental health policy and economics. Books should be sent to: Alison Cuellar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Health Administration and Policy, College of Health and Human Services, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS 1J3, Fairfax, VA  22030, USA.