The KeHIA Informatics Journal (KIJ) is an open-access peer-reviewed journal for informatics, published by the Kenya Health Informatics Association (KeHIA).  KIJ provides an opportunity for Informatics researchers & other professionals in related domains to share their work with others in the global family. Through KIJ’s application of a rigorous peer-review process, knowledge and awareness concerning the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in healthcare is brought to a wider professional audience. To submit a paper, please visit our “Instructions for Authors” link listed on our website: www.kehia.org/kij/.

The KIJ provides a unique opportunity for researchers in the field of informatics to share their work worldwide.  KIJ avails a perfect platform to demonstrate the importance of research and development in informatics, one of the key pillars of quality healthcare provision.

The scope of this journal is wide -- includes original informatics research articles in areas such as clinical care, clinical research, translational science (Bioinformatics), implementation science, imaging, education, consumer health, public health, and policy and governance. Articles published in the journal disseminate findings from innovative informatics research and systems that help to foster the advancement of biomedical science and promote healthcare. The journal’s editor also accepts case or short reports, abstracts, editorials, perspectives and reviews to help readers stay connected with the most important informatics developments.

Manuscript preparations

Authors are requested to fully comply with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts [URM](http://www.icmje.org/urm_main.html) set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Incorrectly formatted manuscripts will be returned to the author(s) for amendment before being subjected to the review process. Otherwise, some specific requirements include:

Cover letter
Each submitted manuscript must clearly state author contributions, conflicts of Interest, and whether an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was obtained:

Author Contribution: Authorship credit should be based on substantial contributions to (1) conception and design of the study; (2) data acquisition or analysis and interpretation; (3) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content and final approval for publication.  Additionally, the authors should confirm whether the article has been published or is being considered for publication, in part or in whole, in any other journal.  KIJ does not publish manuscripts that have been published in other journals.

Conflicts of interest: Authors should declare conflict of interest that may exist due to financial or personal relationships that inappropriately influence (bias) their actions or may result in competing interests or competing loyalties.

Copyright: Authors of accepted manuscripts retain copyrights to all the materials to be published by the KIJ as part of the article, including but not limited to tables, figures, graphs, movies, other multimedia files, and all supplemental materials.

Publishing costs: Since KIJ is an open-access journal; authors of accepted manuscripts will be required to pay a nominal fee (see fees link) to help defray publishing costs.

Title Page
Each manuscript must be accompanied with a title page, comprising the article title, authors’ names and institutional affiliations, the name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed, disclaimers (if any), contact information for corresponding author (i.e. name, mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail), source(s) of any funding support, and a brief running head (40 characters long, including letters and spaces).  The title page should also include word counts for the abstract and body (i.e., text only, excluding acknowledgments, figure legends, and references), and the number of figures and tables.

Abstract
Each abstract should not exceed 350 words. Abstracts should adhere closely to conventional structure: introduction, objective, methods, results, and conclusions. Abstracts should not include tables, figures/illustrations, acknowledgments, or references.

Main body
Each manuscript should not exceed 4,000 words (excluding abstract, acknowledgments, figure legends, and references) and should be submitted in Microsoft Word format.  The main body should include appropriate headings and subheadings that adhere closely to conventional structure: introduction or background, hypothesis or objective, methods, results, discussions, conclusions, acknowledgments, and references.  If necessary, a limitations sub-section may be included under the discussions section.

References
Authors should plan to include only the most current and/or relevant research in their manuscripts. The authors should aim at a maximum of 30 references. Authors are solely responsible to ensure the accuracy and legitimacy of cited references.  References should be cited in the body of the manuscript numerically with superscript Arabic numbers.  The bibliography should be formatted using the National Library of Medicine’s Citing Medicine style (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html). DO NOT use footnotes, automatic numbering and/or any formatting linking references to citations in the text.

Tables and figures (illustrations)
Each manuscript should not exceed a total of six tables and figures. Authors must reference the tables and figures in a sequential order in the text.

Tables must be prepared in the format used for the manuscript’s body.  Each table should appear on a separate page placed at the end of the manuscript, numbered (using standard Arabic numbers) and labeled with an appropriate descriptive title. All abbreviations used in the tables and/or figures should be fully annotated in footnotes.

Additionally, all figures must be in JPEG/JPG, GIFF, TIFF, or WMF format. Include a legend for figures that require additional explanation.  Each legend should not exceed 40 words. A list of legends should be consecutively numbered and placed on a separate page following the last table or figure.

Black and white figures will be published free of charge, in print copy of KIJ. However, authors may be required to pay a nominal fee for color figures or other colored content (to cover printing costs) before accepted manuscripts are published. Otherwise, colored illustrations will be published free of charge on the electronic version of KIJ.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval
An IRB approval is not required to publish in KIJ. However, all authors MUST state under the "Acknowledgement" section of their manuscripts whether or not an IRB approval or exemption was obtained for the study.

Manuscript submission
Until indicated otherwise, the KeHIA Informatics Journal (KIJ) accepts electronic submission of manuscripts as an e-mail attachment. For all submissions and other correspondence, email kij[a]kehia.org or secretary[a]kehia.org.  Meanwhile, KIJ’s board is mapping out plans to acquire an online submission system.