Instruction for authors

Original manuscripts should be clear, precise and logical and should not normally exceed 4,000 words.
Original research papers should be set out as follows:

Covering letter
the letter must contain: why the submission is appropriate for publication in Annali di Igiene; what is known about the topic discussed; what your study adds; and confirmation that the paper has not been published – or submitted for publication – elsewhere

Title page
The Title page must contain:

a) the title of the paper and the running title, which should be concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae whenever possible;

b) the name(s) and the affiliation(s) of the Author(s). Please clearly indicate the given name(s) of each Author and check that all names are accurately spelled; add the main degrees of every Author (two only each), present the Author(s)’s affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower case superscript letter immediately after the Author(s) name(s) and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and the e-mail address of each Author.

c) the present/permanent address. If an Author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a ‘Present address’ (or ‘Permanent address’) may be indicated as a footnote to that Author’s name. The address at which the Author actually did the work must be retained as the main affiliation’s address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes

d) the name of the corresponding Author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, including post-publication. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding Author.

Abstract
This should be structured under the following headings: Background, Study design, Methods, Results, Conclusions. • Abstract is to be prepared in both English and Italian. Non-Italian Authors are welcome to request that the Italian translation of title, key words and abstract are made editorially at no extra cost.

Key words
3-6 key words should follow the abstract.

Text
This should be structured under the following headings:

• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion and Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
• References

Please note that any costs for reproducing materials whose copyright is not held by the authors or by Annali di Igiene is to be met by the authors.

Tables and figures
must have a title and should be kept to a minimum. Tables and figures must be comprehensible without reference to the text (“self-explaining”). References should not be cited in the tables. Authors should indicate at approximately what point in the text the table should appear. Figures, graphs, drawings etc. should not be overcomplex and must be intelligible when reduced in size for printing. They should be on separate file each, numbered and with legends.
Number tables and figures consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place table’s footnotes below the table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules

Acknowledgements
Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. Include, when appropriate: Statements of ethical approval, Funding and Competing Interests. List here also those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading of the article, etc.).

References
Citation in text: Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list, they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either ‘Unpublished results’ or ‘Personal communication’. Citation of a reference as ‘in press’ implies that the item has been accepted for publication. How to cite (a) papers which have been pubished “ahead of print”, and (b) papers now reregularly published but which had been previously published “ahead of print” is reported below among the “Examples”.

Reference style

Text: references must be numbered (in brackets) in the text. The actual Authors can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be given. List: number the references in the list in the order in which they appear in the text. The titles of Journals must be abbreviated according to the style used in PubMed. Bibliographical titles should adopt the Vancouver style (BMJ 1982;284:1766-70)

Examples:

Reference to a journal article: Protano C, Cattaruzza MS, Osborn JF, Vitali M. Indoor particulate matter and secondhand smoke: simulation of an exposure scenario. Ann Ig 2014; 26(2): 186-9. doi:10.7416/ai.2014.1975

Reference to a journal article posted “online ahead of print” (must report the date of the e-pub; the shortened name of the journal; the doi assigned to the paper): Romano Spica V, Gallè F, Baldelli G, Valeriani F, Di Rosa E, Liguori G, Brandi G and GSM. Swimming Pool Safety and Prevention at the Time of Covid-19: a Consensus Document from GSMS-SItI (published online ahead of print March 16, 2020). Ann Ig. doi:10.7416/ai.2020.2368

Reference to a published journal article which had been previously e-published ahead of print (must contaion the date of e-pub): Romano Spica V, Gallè F, Baldelli G, Valeriani F, Di Rosa E, Liguori G, Brandi G and GSM. Swimming Pool Safety and Prevention at the Time of Covid-19: a Consensus Document from GSMS-SItI. Ann Ig 2020; 32(5): 439-448 doi:10.7416/ai.2020.2368 (E-pub 2020 Mar 16)

Reference to a book: Strunk Jr W, White EB. The elements of style. 4th ed. New York: Longman,
2000.

Reference to a chapter in an edited book: Mettam GR, Adams LB. How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In: Jones BS, Smith RZ, Eds. Introduction to the electronic age. New York: E-Publishing Inc, 2009: 281-304.

Note that:

• last page number is shortened as follows: 51-9;
• for more than 6 Authors, only the first 3 should be listed, followed by ‘et al.’

A short communication is preferred for the submission of important preliminary observations or data that do not warrant publication as a full paper. Short communications should be approximately 1,500 words in length and provide adequate information to allow for the same peer review given to other submissions.

A short communication can include up to 3 tables and/or figures overall and up to 10 references. Preliminary data published as a short communication will not preclude subsequent publication of more complete results if the work is significantly expanded.

For short papers it is suggested to ask for the options “e-pub ahead of print” + “full open access”, which will allow the Authors to have their communication available to the scientific community much in advance compared to the traditional publication.

Systematic Review papers presenting exhaustive, critical assessments of the published literature on relevant public health topics or questions will be considered.

Narrative Review papers will also be considered. Whilst no formal guidelines for such reviews exist, Authors should be very clear in reporting what criteria they have used for the selection of studies and describe the methods used to undertake the review in the body of the paper. Generally speaking, narrative reviews will only be considered where the Author/s is/are clearly expert in the research field under consideration or the public health issue under consideration is not amenable to systematic review. The reviews need to be submitted with a supporting statement justifying the appropriateness of undertaking a narrative review.

Review papers should not exceed 5,000 words. They should include a structured abstract in English and in Italian: Tables/Illustrations can be included up to a maximum of 5, though larger tables may be included only on the electronic version of the paper.

Keywords are required.
References: up to a maximum of 100.

Readers are encouraged to submit Letters to the Editor and these can include responses to previously published papers or original data. Authors will be given the opportunity to comment and respond to any correspondence we intend to include in the `Letters to the Editor’ regarding their previously published manuscript.

As a rule, the Letters accepted will be published in the issue of the bimester following the date of acceptance, if space will be available. If not, the Authors of the Letters are suggested to consider the option of a e-pub ahead of print (go to “Publication policy”).

Book reviews are usually prepared by invitation. Anyway, readers are welcome to suggest the publication of reviews of new, important books on arguments regarding Public Health.

Book Reviews should not exceed 1,000 words in length. Key words are not required

Papers should be clear, precise and logical and should not normally exceed 1,500 words in length.
An abstract is not required and specific sections should not be used.
Keywords are not required.