Submissions

Instructions in PDF

Summarized Instructions in PDF

The Research Journal of General Practice (RJGP), is a peer-review, open-access journal publishes articles in English. The aim of the RJGP is the worldwide reflection of the knowledge produced by the scientists and clinicians and nurses in general practice. It will be published quarterly since August 2026. The RJGP provides a new platform for the advancement of the field. The journal’s objective is to serve as a focal point for debates and exchange of knowledge and experience among researchers in a global context. Original papers (Clinical Studies, Experimental Studies, Systematic Review and Meta-analysis), case reports, Special Reports, Brief Communications, and invited reviews and editorial on all aspects of general practice, primary care, and related topics will be covered by the RJGP. Research on the basic science, clinical practice, and socio-economics of renal health are all welcomed by the journal editors.

Please visit Open-access Policy

Please visit Peer Review Policy

Aims and Scope

The RJGP, is the self-publish journal.

Research Journal of General Practice (RJGP) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to advancing knowledge and improving clinical practice across the full spectrum of general practice, family medicine, primary care, general internal medicine, and preventive healthcare. The journal serves as a platform for disseminating high-quality research, evidence-based clinical practice, healthcare innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration that contribute to improving patient outcomes and population health.

RJGP aims to publish scientifically rigorous and clinically relevant articles that support general practitioners, family physicians, internists, primary care clinicians, nurses, allied health professionals, researchers, educators, and policymakers. The journal emphasizes patient-centered care, disease prevention, early diagnosis, health promotion, chronic disease management, community-based healthcare, and the translation of research into routine clinical practice.

The journal welcomes contributions from all regions of the world and encourages research addressing contemporary challenges in primary healthcare, including digital health, artificial intelligence, precision medicine, health equity, and sustainable healthcare delivery.

Scope

RJGP publishes original, high-quality research covering all aspects of general practice and primary healthcare, including but not limited to:

#Clinical General Practice

Family medicine; General internal medicine; Community medicine; Ambulatory care; Outpatient medicine; Comprehensive adult healthcare; Pediatric primary care; Women's health; Men's health; Geriatric medicine; Adolescent health

#Preventive Medicine and Health Promotion

Disease prevention; Health promotion; Lifestyle medicine; Preventive healthcare; Screening programs; Vaccination and immunization; Occupational health; Environmental health; Nutrition and dietary interventions; Physical activity and exercise medicine; Tobacco cessation; Alcohol and substance-use prevention; Obesity prevention; Healthy aging

#Chronic Disease Management

Hypertension; Diabetes mellitus; Cardiovascular diseases; Chronic respiratory diseases; Chronic kidney disease; Osteoarthritis; Osteoporosis; Chronic pain; Mental health disorders; Multimorbidity; Polypharmacy; Frailty

#Infectious Diseases in Primary Care

Respiratory infections; Urinary tract infections; Skin and soft tissue infections; Gastrointestinal infections; Sexually transmitted infections; Emerging infectious diseases; Antimicrobial stewardship; Infection prevention and control

#Primary Care Research

Epidemiology; Clinical trials; Cohort studies; Case-control studies; Cross-sectional studies; Systematic reviews; Meta-analyses; Evidence synthesis; Diagnostic accuracy studies; Prognostic research; Health services research; Implementation science

#Patient-Centered Care

Shared decision-making; Communication skills; Continuity of care; Patient safety; Quality improvement; Patient-reported outcomes; Health-related quality of life; Patient experience; Self-management; Social prescribing

#Digital Health and Innovation

Telemedicine; Telehealth; Electronic health records; Mobile health (mHealth); Remote patient monitoring; Artificial intelligence; Machine learning; Clinical decision support systems; Digital therapeutics; Wearable technologies; Precision medicine

#Public Health and Community Medicine

Population health; Social determinants of health; Community-based interventions; Health equity; Global health; Rural healthcare; Urban health; Disaster preparedness; Pandemic preparedness; Health policy

#Medical Education and Professional Development

Undergraduate medical education; Residency training; Continuing professional development; Clinical skills; Evidence-based medicine; Medical ethics; Professionalism; Leadership in primary care

#Healthcare Systems and Policy

Primary healthcare organization; Healthcare delivery models; Integrated care; Value-based healthcare; Health economics; Quality indicators; Healthcare accessibility; Healthcare financing

Submission of Manuscripts

Manuscripts along with a covering letter and the signed Authors’ Agreement Form should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief of the RJGP via the online submission system.

Preparation of Manuscripts

General Instructions. Manuscripts should follow the stylistic conventions set forth in the American Medical Association Manual of Style, 10th edition. The Editors have the right to make editorial corrections and additional changes with the knowledge and approval of corresponding author. The preferred word processing format for the manuscript file is Microsoft Word. The main manuscript should carry the title page, abstract, main text, references, figures legends, and tables of the paper. Figures, including diagrams, photographs, etc, should be supplied separately and submitted as supplementary files. Please do not attach figures in the digital format of the main manuscript.

Manuscripts should be double-spaced, with 2.5-cm margins on all sides of the paper. All abbreviations must be spelled out the first time they are used, followed by the abbreviated form in parentheses. Units of measurement must be complied with the International System of Units (SI).

Identifiers

ORCID ID is essential for corresponding author.

The DOI will be gotten by journal after preparing the proof format.

DOI is not mandatory for references.

Manuscripts Types

Original Research Papers (Including Systematic Review and Meta-analysis)

Original papers should be arranged as: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, and Legends. The title page must include the following: title; full first name; surname; affiliations of each contributor; each author's highest academic degree; the name, full postal address, telefax/telephone numbers of the contributor who will deal with correspondence; keywords; and the total number of pages and figures being submitted. A structured abstract (with the subheadings Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusion) should appear on the second page of the manuscript and should not exceed 250 words. The main text (excluding the abstract and references) should not exceed 3000 words.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

The journal considers Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis as Original Articles provided that they are conducted using a rigorous, transparent, and reproducible methodology and comply with international reporting standards.

Eligible Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis must:

-Address a clearly defined and clinically relevant research question

-Use a systematic and reproducible search strategy

-Apply explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria

-Perform critical appraisal of included studies

-Adhere to the PRISMA guidelines (latest version)

-A completed PRISMA checklist and flow diagram are mandatory. Registration of the review protocol (e.g., PROSPERO) is encouraged. It is optional.

Narrative (non-systematic) reviews should be submitted under the Review Articles category.

All manuscripts submitted as Original Articles, including Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis, undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process. The Editorial Board reserves the right to reclassify submissions if they do not meet the above criteria.

Reports of Clinical Trials. Original research papers that report a randomized controlled trial, should comply with the guidelines provided by the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) group. Also, supplying the manuscript with a CONSORT flowchart diagram is highly encouraged. Please refer to the CONSORT web site to see the guidelines and the flowchart template.

Although it is not obligatory yet, researchers who would like to publish reports of their clinical trial in RJGP are strongly encouraged to register their studies in a registry of clinical trials proposed by the World Health Organization or the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. As an option, the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials is a registry suggested by the World Health Organization.

Reviews

Anyone wishing to write a review for the journal should first contact the editors. Review articles should be composed of systematic critical assessments of literature and data sources pertaining to clinical topics, emphasizing factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, or prevention. They should have unstructured abstracts. All articles and data sources reviewed should include information about the specific type of study or analysis, population, intervention, exposure, and tests or outcomes. Authors of review articles should be experts and have contributions in the field of the addressed subject.

Special Reports

Manuscripts that cannot be considered as a review or original article, or those with special features, such as national reports, will be considered to be published in this section, upon the decision of the editor. An unstructured abstract not longer than 120 words is required for this section. The body of the manuscript should not exceed 1200 words. Tables and/or Figures should be limited to 2 ones and references to 15 in maximum.

Case Reports

Case reports should be arranged as follows: Title Page, Abstract (non-structured, not exceeding 150 words), Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, References, and Legends. The length should not exceed 700 words.

Brief Communications

Original research papers can also be published in a brief format. Submitted papers that are of interest but are not acceptable as a full-length original contribution are offered by the editor to be published in this section. Also, the authors can primarily submit their papers for consideration of publication in this section. An unstructured abstract not longer than 150 words is required for this section. The body of the manuscript should not exceed 1500 words, and no heading or subheading should be used. Tables and/or Figures should be limited to 2 ones and references to 15 in maximum.

Editorial

Editorials are concise scholarly articles that provide expert commentary, perspective, or insight on topics of current interest in general practice, especially primary care, including recently published articles in the journal. Editorials are usually invited by the Editor-in-Chief or Editorial Board, but unsolicited submissions may be considered at the editors’ discretion.
Editorials should be focused, balanced, and evidence-based, not exceed 1,200 words, include a limited number of references (up to 15). It must not contain original unpublished data.
Editorials may undergo editorial review or external peer review, depending on content and relevance topic.

Commentary

A Commentary provides expert analysis, critique, or perspective on a published article, emerging clinical topic, or issue in general practice. It is not original research but should be scholarly, evidence-based, and concise. Commentaries are usually invited by the Editor-in-Chief or Editorial Board, but unsolicited submissions may be considered at the editors’ discretion. Commentaries should be focused, balanced, and evidence-based, not exceed 1,200 words, include a limited number of references (up to 20) and 1 to 2 Figures. It must not contain original unpublished data. Commentaries may undergo editorial review or external peer review, depending on content and relevance of the topic.

Letters to the Editors

Correspondence will be considered for publication if it contains constructive criticism on previously published articles in the RJGP, the authors of which will have the right of reply. Also, reports of limited research or clinical experiences can be submitted in the form of a letter. The length should not exceed 700 words.

Fillers

Fillers are materials, including text and image, to be published in the blank spaces of the journal. The subject is not restricted, but those related directly or indirectly to medicine are preferred. Quotations, interesting pictures, historical notes, and notice on events are some examples. Please contact the editorial office via e-mail (rjgp2026@gmail.org) to send fillers.

References. Our reference style requirements are in accordance with Vancouver style as defined by the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE updated October 2008). Number references in the order in which they appear in the text; do not alphabetize. In text, tables, and legends, identify references with superscript Arabic numerals in parentheses.

Note: List all authors when there are 6 or fewer; when there are 7 or more, list the first 6, followed by “et al”

Samples:

Articles in journals

Raaijmakers R, Schroder C, Monnens L, Cornelissen E, Warris A. Fungal peritonitis in children on peritoneal dialysis. Pediatr Nephrol. 2007;22:288-93.

More than 6 authors

Piraino B, Bailie GR, Bernardini J, Boeschoten E, Gupta. A, Holmes C, et al. Peritoneal dialysis-related infections recommendations. Perit Dial Int. 2005;25:107-31.

Books and other monographs

Brady HR, Clarkson MR, Lieberthal W. Acute renal failure. In: Brenner BM, Livine SA, editors. Benner & Rector’s the kidney. 7th ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 2004. p. 1215-75.

For samples of reference citation formats, see the National Library of Medicine web site (click here).

Keywords. Between 3 and 10 key words for indexing should be typed at the bottom of the title page for each manuscript. These words should be identical to the medical subject headings (MeSH) that appear in the Index Medicus of the National Library of Medicine.

Figures and Tables. Figures and tables should be kept to a necessary minimum and their information should not be duplicated in the text. Figures must be supplied either as JPEG or TIFF. Do not embed the figures in the manuscript file. Tables should be typed on separate sheets of the manuscript file, be numbered (with Arabic numbers), and have a title. Include double-spaced legends (maximum length, 60 words) on separate pages. Computer-generated images and photographs must have acceptable quality (at 300 dpi or higher).  

Covering Letter. All manuscripts must be accompanied by a covering letter signed by all authors. The name, address, telephone number, fax number, and E-mail address of the corresponding author must be provided. Previous publications or presentations of the manuscript or its parts, conflict of interests, and financial supports, if any, should be addressed in the covering letter.

Authors’ Agreement Form. Please click here to download the form. It should be signed and submitted as one of the supplementary file along with the manuscript or be faxed to the editorial office.

Ethical Requirements and Authors' Responsibility

Author(s) should certify that neither this manuscript nor one with substantially similar content under their authorship has been published or being considered for publication elsewhere in any language, except as described in the covering letter.

The RJGP follows the latest definition for authorship provided by the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. All authors should have a substantial contribution to the manuscript and take public responsibility for its contents. All persons designated as authors are assumed to qualify for authorship and all those who qualify are listed. The corresponding author takes responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article. In the event that an author is added or removed from the list of authors, written acceptance, signed by all authors, must be submitted to the editorial office.

Any financial interests, direct or indirect, in connection with the author(s) manuscript must be disclosed in the covering letter. Furthermore, sources of financial support of the project are named in the covering letter as well as the Acknowledgements.

If the work involves experimentation on living animals, the author(s) must provide evidence that the study was performed in accordance with local ethical guidelines. If the study involves human beings, the author(s) must include a statement that the study was approved by the local ethical committee and that informed consent was obtained from the study participants. For those investigators who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed.

All relevant permissions to cite the unpublished observations of others must be obtained by the manuscript author(s). The names and initials of these persons must be cited in the text, and permission from the original author(s) must be obtained. Permission also must be obtained to reproduce or adapt any figures or tables that have been published previously.

Misconduct. The RJGP complys with the international regulations against scientific misconduct (fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism). Any suspected act of misconduct in the submitted materials to the journal will be meticulously assessed and the needful action will be taken based on the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).  Authors are asked to be careful about using the others’ words, ideas, and materials and fully cite any sources of the contents of their submitted papers, if they are not original.  Sentences exctracted from other sources should be supported by reference citation and be in quotation marks or be appropriately paraphrased. Please see the definitions of FFP. For further information see below:

Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A guide to ethical writing

Office of Research Integrity

Plagiarism: where unawareness makes a lame excuse

 

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Authors may use artificial intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT, Grammarly, or similar software) to assist with language editing, grammar correction, or improving readability. However:

1. AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
2. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all content in the manuscript.
3. Any use of AI to generate or revise text, tables, figures, or analyses must be disclosed in the manuscript (usually in the Acknowledgments or Methods section).
4. Authors must carefully verify that AI-generated content:
• Is factually accurate
• Does not contain fabricated references or data
• Does not plagiarize previously published work
5. AI must not be used to manipulate images or data in a misleading way.

Example Disclosure Statement

“The authors used ChatGPT (OpenAI) to assist with language editing and improving the clarity of the manuscript. All content was reviewed and verified by the authors, who take full responsibility for the final manuscript.”

Important Note

The journal follows publication ethics guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics, which states that transparency about AI use is essential and that authors, not AI systems, are accountable for the work.

So, if you used AI in preparing your manuscript, you should clearly disclose:

• The name of the tool used
• How it was used
• Confirmation that all output was reviewed and approved by the authors.

 

Copyright

Authors retain copyright of their published work without restriction. Authors grant RJGP a non-exclusive license to publish and distribute the work.

By submitting and publishing in the Research Journal of General Practice (RJGP), authors grant the journal the non-exclusive right to publish, distribute, archive, and promote the work as the original publisher.

All articles published by RJGP are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. This license permits anyone to copy, distribute, reproduce, adapt, and build upon the work, including for commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s), a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated.

Copyright remains with the author(s).

Copyright Notice: © [Year] Author(s).

All authors should read the Authors’ Agreement Form carefully and submit a completed and signed copy of it along with their manuscript.

Disclaimer

The statements and opinions expressed in the RJGP reflect solely the views of the author(s) and contributor(s) and not of the opinion of the publisher. The publisher disclaims responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas or products referred to in the articles, and the authors are the sole responsibe individuals.