Family Practice and Palliative Care

Family Practice and Palliative Care (FPPC) is a single blind peer-reviewed, open-access, current periodical journal publishing six times annually, free of publishing charges. However, a submission fee and editorial processing fee that are not subject to acceptance or rejection are requested after checking the relevance of the manuscript to the journal's scope.

FPPC is an indexed journal in both national (Tr-Dizin/ULAKBIM) and international (DOAJ and Index Copernicus). The journal accepts articles both in Turkish and in English, but after acceptance, only publishes in English on any subject that can contribute to a family physician's multidisciplinary and biopsychosocial approach. Submissions for all medical sciences (internal, surgical, basic, etc.) will be included in the journal if it aims for these purposes.

FPPC also encourages authors who have an interest in palliative care, as the journal has a special scope for the development of palliative care in family medicine. The journal's mission is to add value to manuscripts through respectful, empathic communication and self-sacrificing, constructive editorials in loyalty to international scientific standards. Besides, the journal has a vision that includes contributing to scientific publishing, science, family practice, and palliative care.

It is mandatory for the researcher to keep the data of each research published for 5 years. According to the rules of our publication policy and the international publishing organizations we are involved in, we will be able to ask the authors of the data and analysis programs of some articles from time to time.

1. With Secretary: The journal has received the submission and is conducting an initial editorial assessment and screening for requirements such as: Competing interests, Compliance with editorial policies and ethical standards, financial disclosures, Data availability. Submissions may be returned to authors for changes or clarifications at this stage. If plagiarism, citation manipulation, data falsification/fabrication is detected, COPE guidelines will be followed.

During the submission process you’ll be asked to indicate any specific editors or reviewers who should not review your manuscript. We will respect your request so long as it does not interfere with the objective and thorough assessment of the submission.

FPPC uses double-anonymized peer review. Reviewers and authors remain anonymous in our submission system.

It's important to understand that the purpose of an appeal is not to reevaluate the viewpoints or judgments of peer reviewers or editors; rather, it may pertain to the editorial process. If a procedure is identified that doesn't align with the journal's policies, appropriate corrective actions will be implemented.

Editorial Decisions: The handling Academic Editor makes the final decision. The time to render a first decision averages about 45 days, but times vary depending on how long it takes for the editor to receive and assess reviews. The editor considers reviewer feedback and their own evaluation of the manuscript in order to reach a decision. The following decision types are available: Reject, Major revision, Minor revision, Accept. Decisions are communicated to the corresponding author in a formal letter, along with reviewer feedback and any other requirements from the journal office.

Accepted Manuscripts: When the handling editor is satisfied with the scientific aspects of the manuscript, they’ll issue an editorial accept decision. This is a provisional acceptance, pending final checks for formatting and technical requirements. Once the final requirements are fulfilled, the journal office will send a formal accept decision, and your manuscript will move on to production.

All authors must complete and upload the following files as part of the submission process.

    1. Author Contribution and Order of Authors

    2. ICMJE Form

    3. Cover File

    4. Research Article Template (Author names must be excluded)

    5. Review Article Template (Author names must be excluded)

    6. Ethical Approval

As part of the submission process, authors must ensure their submission complies with the following guidelines; submissions not adhering to these guidelines may be returned.

Manuscript Template (consist of 18 titles)

[En] The standard structure of the body of research articles must be in that order and with that titles as below. (without item numbering)

[Tr] Bir araştırma makalesinin gövdesi aşağıdaki başlıklar ile ve bu sırayla olmalıdır. (madde numaralandırmaları kullanılmadan)

    a. Introduction:

    b. Methods:

    c. Results:

    d. Conclusions:

    e. Keywords: Must be three to five keywords and checked with https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/MeSHonDemand

    a. Giriş:

    b. Yöntem:

    c. Bulgular:

    d. Sonuç:

    e. Anahtar kelimeler:

    a. …

    b. …

    a. Ethics Committee title, date, and the number

    b. Informed consent

    c. Permissions

    a. Tables and figures

    a. recommendations for future research

16. Acknowledgments (Teşekkür)

([Tr] Öncesinde bildiri olarak sunulmadığı veya başka dergide yayınlanmadığı bildirilmeli veya bildiri yapıldıysa kongre adı, yıl, şehir, ülke bilgisi verilmelidir.)

The manuscripts should be typed in a Microsoft Word™ and DOCX file (version 7.0 and more), 1.15-spaced with 1.27 cm margins on each side and 9-point type Times New Roman font. "System International" (SI) units should be used. Tables and graphics should be referred in the text. The abbreviations (should be written briefly in the first place they appear and then be explained in parenthesis) could be used in the abstracts and in the text.

In review articles, written upon invitation, new progress on the subject should be handled together with the author’s experiences. Non-structured, brief, explanatory Turkish and English abstracts not more than 400 words should take place. Review articles must not exceed 5000 words for the main text (excluding abstract, references, tables, and figure legends). Number of the authors should not exceed 5 and number of references should not exceed 60.

The abstract should be brief, descriptive, and should not exceed 600 words.

Case report should contain these sections.

    • Titles in Turkish and English

    • Abstracts in Turkish and English (why the case has been proposed for publication should be declared clearly),

    • Key words in Turkish and English,

    • Introduction

    • Case Presentation (Tables, figures),

    • Discussion,

    • Conclusion,

    • Keywords,

    • References.

Case reports must not exceed 1200 words (excluding references, tables, and figure legends). Case reports can be signed by no more than 5 authors and can have no more than 10 references and 5 figures or tables.

Letters to the Editor must not exceed 500 words (excluding references). An abtract is not required with this type of manuscripts. A letter can be signed by no more than 4 authors and can have no more than 5 references and 1 figure or table.

For reference style, please refer to “ICMJE Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Sample References”. References should be numbered in the order they appear in the text and should be given at the end of the sentences, and before full stop [1].

As an option, if a journal carries continuous pagination throughout a volume (as many medical journals do) the month and issue number may be omitted. Examples for both situations;

Berg AO, Allan DJ, Homer JC, Johnson MS, Klein DJ, Lieu AT, et al. Preventive Services Task Force: Screening for depression: Recommendations and rationale. Ann Intern Med. 2002;136(10):760-4.

Korytina G, Kochetova O, Akhmadishina L, Viktorova E, Victorova T. Polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 genes in three ethnic groups from Russia. Balkan Med J. 2012;29:252-60.

Tos M. Cartilage tympanoplasty. 1st ed. Stuttgart-New York: Georg Thieme Verlag; 2009.

Neinstein LS. The office visit, interview techniques, and recommendations to parents. In: Neinstein LS (ed). Adolescent Health Care. A practical guide. 3rd ed. Baltimore: Williams&Wilkins; 1996:46-60.

Diener HC, Wilkinson M (editors). Drug-induced headache. In: Headache. First ed., New York: Springer-Verlag;1988:45-67.

Kilic C. General Health Survey: A Study of Reliability and Validity. PhD Thesis, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatrics, Ankara; 1992.

Giving DOI;

Joos S, Musselmann B, Szecsenyi J. Integration of Complementary and Alternative Medicine into Family Practice in Germany: Result of National Survey. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2011. http://dx.doi.org/10.22391/fppc.396057 OR https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27882020

Publication Ethics: Research and publication ethics must be complied with in the articles to be submitted. The responsibility of the manuscripts belongs to the authors.

The scientific papers to be submitted to our journal should comply with the current recommendations of the World Health Editorial Board (ICMJE) and the standards of the Publication Ethics Committee (COPE). Submitted articles must be unpublished and not under review in any other setting.

Ethical committees' approval for experimental, clinical and drug research according to the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration and the informed consent of the participants should be taken and detailed in the Methods section of the article. In animal studies, it should be stated that the study was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Guidance on the Use and Care of Laboratory Animals and the ethics committee approval was obtained from the relevant institution.

It is mandatory to upload the Author Contribution, Ethical Approval and ICMJE forms at the submission stage. Retrospective studies are also included in this rule.

Policies for authorship and contributorship / Authorship Rights Policy: Authors are required to declare a minimum of one contribution to be recognized as a contributor and a minimum of three contributions to qualify for authorship. These contributions should be selected from the following categories: Study Conception and Design, Acquisition of Data, Analysis and Interpretation of Data, Drafting of Manuscript, and Critical Revision.

Conflict of Interest: Authors should declare that there is no conflict of interest and also, if there is any, the status for their financial support should be clear at the end of the article.

Managing complaints and appeals: It's important to understand that the purpose of an appeal is not to reevaluate the viewpoints or judgments of peer reviewers or editors; rather, it may pertain to the editorial process. If a procedure is identified that doesn't align with the journal's policies, appropriate corrective actions will be implemented.

Policies for data sharing and reproducibility: By facilitating independent verification of raw data, methods, and outcomes, the policies encourage the reproducibility of published results. This process validates the efforts of the original researchers, instills confidence in the scientific community, and promotes further advancement based on findings. For best practices, we recommend the sharing of scientific data in a repository, facilitating broader accessibility and fostering transparency in research.

Ethical oversight policy: A minimum of two articles from each published issue undergoes evaluation by external observers/accreditors who operate independently from the journal. This evaluation is conducted in accordance with ethical standards and the publication process by TR Index of ULAKBIM, ensuring an objective assessment.

TR Index of ULAKBIM: One of the main missions of ULAKBIM is to develop products to reflect the scientific knowledge of Türkiye. One of the most important studies conducted in this context is the TR Index (carried out under the name of National Databases-UVT until the end of 2013), which was developed in accordance with international standards in order to enable researchers to access national and scientific content electronically.

The TR Index being created by ULAKBIM consists of journals in the main fields of Science and Social Sciences, and subfields of Dentistry, Pharmacy, Engineering, Basic Sciences, Health Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, Social Sciences and Humanities.

The national scientific journals constituting the scope of the TR Index are selected by the committees consisting of specialists and academicians in the relevant fields and ULAKBIM TR Index experts according to the Journal Evaluation Criteria.

TR Index can be scanned through the web page https://trdizin.gov.tr/en/ since August 2000. In addition to the bibliographic information (article name, author, abstract, etc.) of the articles in the journals included in the index, full text of the article can also be accessed depending on the participation agreement signed between the directorate of ULAKBIM and journal editors.

Publication Malpractice Statement
FPPC is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in all aspects of publication. The prevention of publication malpractice is a shared responsibility among all stakeholders, including authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher. In line with the guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), we outline the following principles and procedures to address issues of malpractice.

Author Responsibilities
1. Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is original and properly cited. Plagiarism in any form, including self-plagiarism, is unacceptable and will result in rejection or retraction of the manuscript.
2. Data Accuracy: Authors must provide accurate data and information in their manuscripts. Any manipulation, falsification, or fabrication of data is considered unethical and will be treated as malpractice.
3. Authorship: Authorship should be based on substantial contributions to the research and manuscript. All authors should have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript. Ghostwriting and guest authorship are discouraged.
4. Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the research or its interpretation. Failure to disclose such conflicts may result in retraction.

Reviewer Responsibilities
1. Objectivity: Reviewers should conduct their reviews objectively and provide constructive feedback. Personal bias or conflicts of interest that may affect impartial judgment should be disclosed to the editor.
2. Confidentiality: Reviewers should treat submitted manuscripts as confidential documents. They must not use or disclose any part of the manuscript for personal gain.
3. Promptness: Reviewers should complete their reviews in a timely manner. If they cannot meet the deadline or have a conflict of interest, they should inform the editor promptly.

Editor Responsibilities
1. Fairness: Editors are responsible for making unbiased and fair decisions. Manuscripts should be evaluated based on their academic merit without regard to the author's identity, nationality, or institutional affiliation.
2. Confidentiality: Editors must ensure the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts. They should not disclose information about the manuscript to anyone other than the author, reviewers, and necessary editorial staff.
3. Publication Decisions: Editors should make publication decisions based on the manuscript's significance, originality, and quality, as well as its alignment with the journal's scope. They should not be influenced by conflicts of interest.

Publisher Responsibilities
1. Plagiarism Detection: The publisher is responsible for implementing plagiarism detection tools and processes to identify and prevent plagiarism in published content.
2. Correction and Retraction: The publisher will cooperate with the editor and author in cases of suspected misconduct or errors in published articles. Corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern will be issued as necessary.

Reporting and Investigation
Suspected cases of malpractice will be investigated thoroughly in accordance with COPE guidelines. Appropriate actions will be taken, which may include correction, retraction, or other measures as deemed necessary.
We expect all parties involved in the publication process to adhere to these ethical principles. Failure to do so may result in sanctions, including but not limited to rejection of manuscripts, retraction of published articles, and notification of relevant institutions and authorities.
For inquiries or concerns related to publication ethics, please contact the editorial office at fppc@sernev.com.

Policy on intellectual property and conditions for use: Family Practice and Palliative Care (FPPC) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY). A pdf version of the articles published in the journal may be used in accordance with the SHERPA / RoMEO policy.

This means you are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections: Guidance Based on COPE Flowcharts and Infographics

1. Post-Publication Critiques: After a manuscript is published, it may face various critiques from fellow researchers and readers, spanning from methods to results. COPE flowcharts and infographics provide a step-by-step illustration of how to address these critiques, encouraging their consideration and response.

2. Corrections and Retractions: When it is determined that a published paper contains inadvertent errors or is based on unethical practices, COPE flowcharts and infographics demonstrate how to execute correction or retraction procedures. These processes ensure that incorrect information is rectified or, when necessary, that the paper is retracted appropriately.

3. Transparency and Accountability: COPE flowcharts and infographics foster transparency and accountability. Researchers and journals must address critiques openly and manage correction or retraction processes transparently to gain the trust of the scientific community and elevate the quality of scientific publications.

Plagiarism Policy: Definition (COPE): Plagiarism ranges from the unreferenced use of others’ published and unpublished ideas, including research grant applications to submission under “new” authorship of a complete paper, sometimes in a different language. It may occur at any stage of planning, research, writing, or publication: it applies to print and electronic versions.

Plagiarism detection: A web-based tool can be used in the editorial process to identify matching text, but it cannot, on its own, identify plagiarism. Manual examination of the matching text is still required, and judgment used to identify if plagiarism has occurred or not. In case of suspected plagiarism in a submitted manuscript, COPE directions are followed (COPE flowchart).

Publishing schedule: Six issues per year; January, March, May, July, October, December.

Archiving: LOCKSS system has permission to collect, preserve, and serve this open access Archival Unit. http://www.fppc.com.tr/en/pub/fppc/lockss-manifest

Open Access Policy: Family Practice and Palliative Care (FPPC) has adopted the “open access policy” by considering the principle increasing the global exchange of the knowledge that generates useful results for humanity. FPPC is an "open access" journal the content of which is available to all users freely. Users can read the articles in full text, download, print out and link to articles citing the journal without taking permission from the publisher or the author(s).

Advertising Policy: Advertisements new to the FPPC require approvement. Neither advertisers nor their agents may collect any personal information from any user viewing the FPPC Web site except with the user’s knowledge and permission and only after giving the user substantive information about the uses to which the information will be put. Similarly, cookies, applets and other such files are prohibited if those files transmit any personally identifiable information to the advertisers or agencies without the user’s knowledge and permission. The full rules for any market research or promotion associated with an advertisement must be displayed in the ad or available via a prominent link.

Revenue sources: The Submission Fee and Editorial Processing Fee are charged to authors and are not subject to acceptance/rejection, and these fees do not affect the editorial decision-making process.