Editorial process flow

1. Manuscript receipt/collection:Through the article management platform of this journal, Open Journal System (OJS), the author sends their letter to the General Editor of the journal, the complete manuscript file (including tables and diagrams), their affidavit (adequately filled and signed), which can be found in the platform, the conflict of interest form, (https://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/) and the complimentary files (optional). The General Editor will review all the material submitted and assign a scientific editor and/or an associate editor for an initial review, judge if the material falls within the scope of the journal and if it fits the format for the type of article indicated in these instructions. If this is not the case, the manuscript will be sent back to the author via e-mail. The estimated response time will be seven days approximately.
   
   
2. Evaluation by the Editorial Committee: The Scientific Editor and/or Associate Director will review the content of the manuscript they have been assigned to. In the event observations arise, these will be communicated to the author so they can be solved. Once the author has worked through the observations, the Scientific Editor and/or the Associate Editor will present the article at a meeting with the Editorial Committee and, if accepted, it will be moved on to the peer-review stage. Otherwise, the author will be contacted via e-mail to be informed of the rejection of their manuscript. The estimated time for this process will be 15-20 days approximately.
   
   
3. Peer review.The Scientific Editor and/or the Associate Editor will invite two or more external reviewers (national or international) expert on the topic of the manuscript to be evaluated through the OJS system, as a result of considering the suggestions of the Editorial Committee or of an extensive search for a specialist in the field. The external reviewer will evaluate the quality and substance of the manuscript and submit their suggestions and evaluation through the OJS system. Each peer reviewer must declare their conflict of interest (https://www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/).
   

   The review mode will be double-blind and the reviewers will be selected in accordance with their expertise in the topic, proved through their publications and academic degrees. Additionally, we will have the support of reviewers, expert on biostatistics and epidemiology, who will focus on the methodological aspects of the studies. In all cases, the participation of the reviewers will be ad honorem. The editorials will be evaluated by the Editorial Committee alone, except for cases in which, by agreement, the participation of an external reviewer is required.

   The grading provided following by the reviewers’ evaluation can be classified as follows: a) ready for publishing without modifications; b) publishable with minor observations, which are minimal recommendations for the improvement of the article; c) publishable with major observations, for which a response is fundamental before proceeding with the publication of the article; d) with invalidating observations, recommending not to publish the article. For original articles, reviewers may suggest its publication as a letter to the editor.

   Finally, according to the observations of the peer reviewers, the Editorial Committee will decide on the publishing of the article, mailing of observations to the author or rejection.

   The estimated time for this process will be of 15 to 30 days approximately and, in case a second round of reviews is required, the deadline can be postponed by 15 to 21 additional days.

4. Addressing observations. In this process, the Scientific Editor and/or Associate Editor sends their observations and suggestions to the corresponding author, who must submit their response with a letter addressing the observations made by the editor(s) along with the corrected version of their manuscript. Once amendments have been made, the Scientific Editor and/or the Associate Editor will review and verify that the observations have been addressed and notify the Editorial Committee. In the case the committee deems the observations have not been addressed correctly/appropriately, the manuscript may be rejected or moved on two a second round of observations. This process can take up to 20 days approximately.
   
   
5. Editorial Committee’s final decision.In this part of the process, and having the final version of the manuscript ready, the Editorial Committee will decide on its approval or rejection. In the first case, it will be moved on to the edition stage and, in the case of rejection, a notification will be sent to the author explaining the reasons to support this decision. The approximate time for this is 15 days.
   
   
6. Article edition:In this process, the manuscript will be adjusted in accordance with the style of the journal. This stage will be in hands of the Scientific Editor and/or the Associate Editor. The final version of the manuscript will be approved by the General. The estimated time for this step is 7 to 15 days.
   
   
7. Design and layout.Following edition, the final version of the manuscript will be moved on to the design and layout stage, which will be in accordance with the style and specifications of the journal. Once this is done, a printing test will be sent to the corresponding author for their approval, with a five-day deadline for them to submit their response. In the event no response from the author is received, the final version of their manuscript will be assumed as approved. The approximate time for this step will be 10 days.
   
   
8. Closing and (article) publishing. Once the final version of the manuscript in PDF format has been approved, publishing in the OJS system will be scheduled and it will be sent out for printing. The estimated time for its electronic publication will be approximately 2 to 5 days.