Instructions to Epi-Insight authors

Epi-Insight - the monthly bulletin of the Health Protection Surveillance Centre - is actively seeking material relating to all aspects of infectious disease and related areas relevant to Ireland.

Please submit material for consideration to communicationshpsc@hpsc.ie with Epi-Insight in the subject line.

Articles should be prepared for publication with the readership of Epi-Insight in mind. Readers consist of health professionals in the fields of epidemiology, general practice, health planning, infection control, medical laboratory science, medical microbiology, paediatrics, infectious disease and public health. Articles of interest to the general public may also be accepted. Epi-Insight aims to improve the health of the Irish population by providing the best information on disease, as well as publishing timely data on infectious disease for use locally, regionally and nationally. The publication is targeted at those with an interest in the diagnosis, surveillance, control and prevention of infectious disease, everywhere. Data presented should, ideally, be of national interest or important regional interest to the target audience. The bulletin is distributed electronically to over 2,000 readers in Ireland, Europe and around the world.

Content
The following types of articles are invited for submission: surveillance, epidemiological/outbreak investigations, research, public health management, evaluation and audit, rapid/scoping literature reviews, policy analysis, reports from the field, conference/training reports, news items.

Longer articles should follow the IMRaD format (Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion – or why you did the work, how did you do it, what did you find and what does it mean). Headings should be formatted in a large font in bold, while subheadings should be formatted in a smaller font, also in bold. Maximum 2000 words.

For research articles, we encourage authors to follow the ‘Sex and Gender Equity in Research - SAGER – guidelines’ and to take into account sex and gender considerations where relevant. 

Short reports, news items etc should be a maximum of 500 words.

All articles must be in English.

Format
Material should be submitted by email to communicationshpsc@hpsc.ie.

Key public health message
For the benefit of our readers with different professional backgrounds, we aim to include a key public health message box at the top of the published article. Its purpose is to explain what public health impact and importance the article has. It is a summary of the article’s findings meant for journalists, policy makers and the interested layperson. When preparing the text for this particular section, please avoid scientific jargon and think of explaining what you did in simple language to someone like your neighbour.

Tables, Illustrations and References 
A maximum of four tables, graphs or illustrations should accompany the article, only those that are essential to an understanding of the text should be included. The same data should not be presented in both tables and graphs. References in the text to tables and figures should always be by number (e.g., Table 1, Figure 3) and not in the form "the table above" or "figure below". Figure and table numbers should be formatted in bold. Graphs or figures should be clearly drawn and all the data identified (include numerical tables for any charts): abbreviations should be avoided or explained. Graphics should be submitted in jpeg or tiff format. Figure titles should be short but at the same time adequately explanatory, enough information should be given to allow interpretation of the figure without reference to the text. Footnote each table with an alphabetical listing of all abbreviations used. Footnotes should be used only for tables. Incorporate all other footnoted information into text. A technical notes section can be included at the end of the article if needed. Ensure that tables are self-explanatory and that the data are not duplicated in the text.

References should be kept to a minimum and listed in numerical order at the end of the text. At the end of the article the full list of references should follow the Vancouver style. In-text citations should be numbered using square brackets before punctuation. These in-text citations should be included at the end of the relevant sentence. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all references; these are not checked by the editor. For further information see the Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

Conflict of Interest
At the time of submission, all authors must disclose to the Editor any commercial associations or other arrangements (potential to profit, consultancies, financial compensations, stock ownerships, honoraria, patent arrangements etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. Some or all of this information may be made available to the Editorial Committee and may affect acceptance for publication. Longer articles should contain a statement on conflict of interest.

Conditions of Publication
The publisher reserves copyright on all published material and material may not be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. Single copies may however be made for personal and non-commercial use without permission. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from copyright holder(s) to reproduce any material enjoying copyright protection. Statements and opinions are the responsibility of the authors. Papers are accepted on the understanding that they are subject to editorial revision, including, where necessary, condensation of the text and omission of tabular and illustrative material.

Last updated: 23 February 2024