The first page should contain the title of the manuscript, a list of the names of all Authors (first name, initials of other first names, surname), the name of the institution from which the Author is from, the complete mailing address of all authors, telephone and fax numbers, the email of the Corresponding Author, and the city and country where the work was done. The title page should also include information on the role and contribution of each Author in the preparation of the paper, which should be made visible as follows:

– preparation of a research project
– data collection
– choice of test method
– statistical analysis
– collection and interpretation of results
– preparation of the manuscript
– selection and compilation of literature
– fundraising.

The abstract must be 300 words or less, comprehensive, and fully reflect the manuscript’s structure. At most, six (6) keywords following MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terminology, arranged in alphabetical order, must also be included. The manuscript must include the title, abstract, and keywords in both Polish and English.

The article content should be 5,000 words (excluding citations). In original and review articles, the following text layout applies Introduction (describing the substantive background of the study and its aim), Material and methods (indicating the choice of statistical method), Results, Discussion including the limitation of the study, Conclusions (reflecting the aim of the paper, strictly based on the results obtained in the paper and the discussion carried out). In justified cases, the Editors allow modification of the text layout.

The scientific bibliography cited must be ordered according to the order of appearance in the text and numbered consecutively. All its items must appear in the text as a citation from the literature list and be placed in square brackets. Only essential literature items should be selected, avoiding citations of textbooks and congress abstracts. Significant Polish reports should be included alongside recent world papers. Unpublished” data and “oral information” are not in the literature list but may be cited in the text. Citation of abstracts and reviews should also be avoided. The data of the cited bibliography should be checked against the source.

Articles should be prepared following the principles of good practice and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, considering the Equator Group’s relevant guidelines (www.equator-network.org). Information on the topic should be described in the methodology of the research article. All papers are published in Polish or English. However, in some cases, the Editor and Publisher allow for publication in another language. The manuscript should be written concisely, without stylistic flaws, and include correct nomenclature. Editorial corrections are agreed upon with the authors only if they concern substantive issues; in other cases, they are made without agreement.

Authors must declare in their cover letter that the paper has not been published before and has not been simultaneously submitted to another editorial office. The editors accept for publication only those papers deemed by the reviewers to be compatible in terms of subject matter and to make a significant contribution to the advancement of science and clinical aspects.

The Authors’ signatures on the title page are tantamount to a statement that:

– the submitted work is the work of all the authors named in the paper
– the results of the research have not previously been published or submitted for publication in another journal
– all Authors listed on the title page have agreed to submit this paper to the “Wound Management Forum” journal.

It is unnecessary to include the unit managers’ written agreement for publication. The editors acknowledge that such an agreement has occurred between the Authors and the heads of the units where the work was produced. Authors receive an acknowledgement of acceptance of the paper for evaluation. Reviewers and, if necessary, a statistical consultant assess articles.

Editorial Office doesn’t allow a manipulation or changing patients’ data that might allow to identify the patient. Authors should protect patient’s privacy and publish only data that are essential for scientific purposes. Use of any information that may reveal personal data of patient (f.e. number of disease history, initials, photography of face, pictures of results containing personal data of patient, etc) is not allowed.

The Editors and Publisher follow all procedures to safeguard the originality of scientific papers. An obligatory requirement for accepting a manuscript for the editorial process is the submission of an Authors’ Statement, which should be sent together with the manuscript submitted for publication. The absence of the above document, signed by all Authors and sent to the Editor’s address in the original, unequivocally disqualifies the manuscript acceptance.

THE STATEMENT READS AS FOLLOWS:

We hereby unanimously declare that we are the Authors of the above work and jointly and severally declare that this work meets all formal and ethical requirements stipulated for works of a scientific nature. Namely, the work:

• has not been submitted for publication and has never been published in another journal, book, or study (in any form: in print, electronically as an e-book or as part of the content of an online resource)
• is not subjected to a review process by another Editorial Board
  was carried out under the principles of Good Clinical Practice and the applicable international conventions, in particular, COPE and the Helsinki Convention on Human Rights
• was carried out with due care to respect the rights of patients and the rights of experimental animals (ethics committee approval of the study, respect for and protection of patient privacy)
• has been conducted and implemented with the substantive and intellectual contribution of all the authors mentioned herein. The individual contributions and participation are as follows:

Author: [ ] study design, [ ] collection of data/material, [ ] selection of research method, [ ] selection and performance of statistical analysis, [ ] collection and processing of results, [ ] preparation of manuscript of the study, [ ] selection and processing of bibliography, [ ] participation in obtaining funding

• has been carried out to the best of the Authors’ knowledge and with due diligence in the collection, processing, and statistical analysis of the collected data
• does not infringe any rights, including patents, copyrights and related rights, applicable under civil law; if this is not the case, the burden of responsibility for such infringements is borne jointly and severally by all Authors
• was carried out to the exclusion of conflicts of interest between the Authors and other institutions, companies, or organisations; if conflicts of interest existed (e.g. collaboration with commercial institutions for funding), a statement to this effect was made visibly and unambiguously in the work.

We make this declaration fully aware of the legal and ethical consequences of certifying untruths. We understand that the Editor and Publisher reserve the right to verify the submitted work originality and reject it immediately if any violation of the above rules is found. We understand that the Editor and Publisher have the right to notify the Authors’ superiors, scientific societies, and other entities related to the Authors’ scientific activities of such violation in writing, indicating the subject and scope of the violation. We also declare that all Authors have read this paper and agree with its contents. This declaration is attached to the submitted work. The Authors’ Statement form can be downloaded from the journal website at www.leczenieran.com.pl

The editors and the publisher have as a primary objective that the papers presented in the journal should include an open declaration of transparency, information on potential conflicts of interest and a statement by the authors clearly and legibly indicating the extent and form of participation of individual authors in the process of the work. This is intended to eliminate any manifestations of scientific dishonesty. Some of them are cases of “ghost-writing” (omission in authorship or acknowledgements of a person/institution that contributed/contributed to the work) and “guest authorship – honorary authorship” (i.e. co-authorship of a person whose contribution to the work is negligible or none). The Editor reserves the right to verify the originality of the submitted work and to reject it immediately if it is found to be in breach of the rules in force, and reserves the right to expose such practices, to notify in writing the Authors’ superiors, any scientific associations and other entities related to the scientific and professional activities of the Authors, indicating the subject and scope of the breach. In the case of multiple Authors, details of each Author’s contribution to the publication are required.

The footer at the end of the paper should also indicate acknowledgements to individuals or institutions that contributed to the paper but need to meet co-authorship parameters. Sources of material support, such as grants and subsidies, subventions, bioethics committee approval for research, equipment, drugs, etc., should be indicated here.

Conflict of interest does not imply only financial ties but also any personal ties. At the same time as submitting the manuscript, the authors must disclose any financial obligations between the authors and the company whose product is presented in the submitted manuscript or a competing company. This information is treated as confidential by the Editors and has no bearing on its merit. The wording of the information regarding funding sources will be agreed upon in detail between the Editor and the Author before publication and, if not waived by the Editor, will be included at the end of the manuscript before the list of references.

The journal rules require Reviewers and members of the Editorial Board to strictly disclose, in a letter to the Editor-in-Chief, any relationships that would give rise to a suspicion of a conflict of interest against the paper Author. The letter should also include disclosure of contracts with a commercial company associated with the medical product that appears in the submitted paper.

The Editors follow the review policy for papers submitted to “Wound Management Forum” following the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals ICMJE and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Manuscripts received are pre-qualified to determine whether they fall within the journal focus area. If a manuscript is deemed inappropriate for publication in “Wound Management Forum”, the lead Author is notified immediately without initiating the review process.

The Editorial Board appoints two independent reviewers to evaluate each pre-qualified paper from outside the unit where the Editorial Board is based and from a unit other than that from which the Authors of the paper originate. In the case of submissions in English, at least one of the reviewers shall be affiliated with a foreign institution other than the nationality of the Author of the paper.

If there are two positive reviews, the paper is qualified for publication. If there are conflicting reviews, the Editor-in-Chief appoints a third reviewer whose assessment and comments are conclusive.

In the review process, the Editorial Board adheres to the absolute principle of the ‘double-blind review process’ and strictly guards the anonymity of Reviewers and Authors.

The review must be in writing and unequivocally conclude whether the manuscript should be accepted or rejected.

The final decision to accept the manuscript for publication is subject to the Author’s correction according to the review guidelines. Sometimes, the Editor may only publish after giving reasons for the decision.

The “Wound Management Forum” reviewers are specialists from various fields of medicine, guaranteeing a comprehensive evaluation relevant to the paper topic. The list of reviewers is permanently displayed on the journal website, www.leczenieran.com.pl.

If necessary, when the Editorial Board receives a paper from an area that does not fall within the fields in which the journal specialises but is a related field, the Editor-in-Chief also appoints reviewers from outside the list. In assessing the paper, the reviewers may accept it without amendments, accept it after considering minor remarks, after the Author has considered significant changes, refer it for re-review, or reject it.

Once two concordant written reviews have been obtained, the Editor-in-Chief prepares a single summary review based on these and forwards it to the Author for response to its comments.

The rules for qualifying or rejecting a paper and the review form are available on the journal website at www.leczenieran.com.pl

Materials (both print and electronic) borrowed from sources covered by copyright and related rights should be submitted with the written permission of the copyright owner (Author or Publisher) for reproduction. Without such permission, the source material will not be published.

For works still in print, written permission must be obtained from the primary Author of the work. Permission should also be obtained from the person who provided the article unpublished data or oral information.

Once an article has been shortlisted for publication, the publisher requires the author to make final Author corrections within 48 hours of receipt (corrections sent later will not be considered) and to sign a declaration of transfer of publication rights, which is an essential condition for publication of the submitted work.

The Author hereby declares that they automatically and gratuitously transfer all the copyright to publish and distribute the submitted materials in all the known fields of exploitation to the Publisher. At the same time, the author agrees that the work will not be published (also as a translation) without the prior written consent of the copyright holder, i.e. the Publisher.

Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication in “Wound Management Forum”, the information contained therein must not be disclosed to the press until the issue of the journal in which the publication of the manuscript takes place.

The Editorial Board, the Scientific Council and the Publisher make every effort to ensure that the information and opinions presented in the Journal are accurate and truthful. However, the content of published information in articles and advertising messages is the responsibility of the Author and the marketing company, respectively. The information, diagnostic and treatment decisions presented cannot constitute the sole basis for clinical decision-making but are examples of specific clinical cases. The person making these decisions should rely on their medical background. The Authors and the Publisher assume no responsibility for these decisions. It is recommended that the dosage of medicines and medical devices or equipment be used according to the manufacturer’s indications in the product leaflet applicable to the reader’s country.