Meridiano—the Colombian Journal of Mental Health and Bioethics—calls for submissions from professionals and students in the field. We invite interested authors to submit their manuscripts for peer review and potential publication. All submissions must be uploaded through the OJS platform on the journal's official website. Please note that there are no article processing charges (APCs) or submission fees for authors.
Original articles submitted via the OJS platform have an estimated editorial review period of 9 to 12 months.
We encourage you to review the Submissions page for our pre-submission checklist and comprehensive author guidelines.
MANUSCRIPT FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS
Manuscripts must be submitted as Letter-size Word documents. Tables and figures should be placed at the end of the file and numbered sequentially according to their order of appearance in the manuscript. Additionally, figures must be uploaded as separate files in their original format (.jpg, .xls, .tiff), with filenames that match the titles used in the manuscript.
Manuscripts must adhere to APA Style (7th edition, 2019) standards. Please use 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font with 1.5 line spacing and left-justified margins. Pages must be numbered in the bottom-right corner.
Authors are encouraged to use inclusive language appropriate for academic and scientific discourse. We recommend consulting the APA Style Manual (7th edition, 2019) for general formatting. Additionally, submissions must adhere to the relevant reporting guidelines: STROBE for observational studies, CONSORT for clinical trials, TREND for non-randomized designs, COREQ for qualitative research, and PRISMA for systematic reviews.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES BY MANUSCRIPT TYPE
Empirical Research Manuscripts
This category includes research reports providing evidence-based results relevant to the journal's scope. We accept quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods manuscripts. Quantitative articles may include cross-sectional or longitudinal studies, clinical trials, and case-control studies, among others. Qualitative studies include group reports, interviews, and other descriptive or analytical studies of a cross-sectional or longitudinal nature.
All research must comply with current ethical principles for human and animal subjects. Authors must explicitly state the ethical guidelines followed, including the use of informed consent or assent and approval by local Institutional Review Boards (IRB) or Research Ethics Committees.
Empirical research manuscripts are limited to 3,500 words for quantitative studies and 5,000 words for qualitative or mixed-methods studies. This word count excludes the title page, abstract, keywords, references, appendices, tables, and figures.
Manuscripts must include an abstract in both Spanish and English, with a maximum length of 250 words. The abstract must be structured using the following headings: Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Conclusions.
Structure of the Manuscript
We recommend organizing the manuscript into clearly defined sections containing the following information:
Introduction: This section should provide current background information regarding the research area, a description of the problem or research question, and a justification based on the identified problem and study objectives.
Methodology: This section must detail the research framework, including the study design, participant characteristics, and the specific methods used for data collection and analysis.
Results: This section should present findings that directly address the research objectives and must be reported clearly and explicitly. The use of tables and figures is encouraged where appropriate and must adhere to APA Style (7th edition). To maintain conciseness, avoid redundancy by ensuring that data presented in tables or figures is not repeated within the body text.
Discussion: Esta sección debe interpretar los hallazgos dentro del contexto de la literatura relevante, evaluar las fortalezas y debilidades de los datos revisados, abordar las limitaciones identificadas y proporcionar conclusiones con implicaciones claras para investigaciones futuras.
Conclusions: This section must provide final conclusions based on the findings as they relate to the research question and the aims.
References: All manuscripts must include a reference list citing all works mentioned in the text, formatted according to APA Style (7th edition). We strongly recommend that authors prioritize sources published within the last five years.
Literature Review
Literature Reviews include narrative reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Both narrative and systematic reviews aim to identify and evaluate previously published research on a common theme, while offering a critical analysis of the topic and proposing directions for future research. Meta-analyses, by contrast, provide a critical evaluation based on a synthesized result from multiple published studies on the same topic and using identical methodologies. These manuscripts involve the use of statistical techniques to integrate reported findings.
For Literature Reviews, authors are encouraged to follow the PRISMA guidelines and standards (http://www.prisma-statement.org).
Literature Reviews manuscripts are limited to a maximum of 4,000 words. This word count excludes the title page, abstract, keywords, author notes, references, appendices, and tables and figures (including their titles).
The manuscript must include a structured abstract of no more than 250 words, organized into the following sections: Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Conclusions.
Structure of the Manuscript
It is recommended that the manuscript be organized into clearly defined sections containing the following information:
Introduction: This section should provide an overview of previous research to establish the current state of the field, identifying gaps and inconsistencies in the literature while defining the specific problem and aim to be addressed.
Methodology: This section must detail the eligibility criteria, information sources (e.g., databases, key authors), the study selection process, and the methods used for data collection. Additionally, authors are expected to provide clear information regarding the data synthesis methods employed.
Results: Findings must be presented in a clear and logical manner. It is essential to include a PRISMA flow diagram to illustrate the study selection process. The manuscript should describe key characteristics of the included studies, such as population, sample size, independent and dependent variables, measurement tools, and findings.
Discussion: This section should interpret the findings within the context of relevant literature, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed data, address identified limitations, and provide conclusions with clear implications for future research.
References: Every manuscript must include a reference list citing all works mentioned in the text, adhering to the citation and formatting standards of the APA Publication Manual (7th edition). We strongly recommend that authors prioritize sources published within the last five years.
Prior to submission, authors are encouraged to verify the manuscript against the PRISMA checklist.
Case Report
This category features reports of unique, rare, or unexpected findings that contribute significantly to clinical knowledge. Submissions should provide a detailed account of the patient’s symptoms, diagnostic process, and treatment course, including follow-up outcomes. Case presentations must be precise and are limited to a maximum of 4,000 words. This word count excludes the title page, abstract, keywords, author notes, references, appendices, and tables and figures (including their titles).
Structure of the Manuscript
It is recommended that the manuscript be organized into clearly defined sections containing the following information:
Introduction: This section should provide background information and a definition of the condition, a description of the symptoms, and a justification for the report’s publication. The general objective of the manuscript must also be presented.
Case Presentation: Authors should provide a chronological narrative of the patient’s symptoms, medical history, physical examination findings, and diagnostic test results.
Discussion: Authors are invited to interpret the findings within the context of relevant literature in the field.
Conclusions: This section must provide a synthesis of the manuscript, focusing on the clinical case and the reported findings.
References: Every manuscript must include a reference list citing all works mentioned in the text, adhering to the citation and formatting standards of the APA Publication Manual (7th edition). We strongly recommend that authors prioritize sources published within the last five years.
Correspondence
We encourage the submission of reasoned opinions regarding recent publications or topics of critical importance to mental health. Letters should be limited to 750 words. Preference will be given to concise submissions with no more than 15 references.