Article Type

Manuscript Types & Scientific Article Requirements

Article Types

Curatio : Journal of Advanced and Specialized Nursing, and Care Planning prioritizes original research that demonstrates clear scientific novelty, rigorous analysis, and a substantive contribution to advanced nursing practice, specialized nursing care, clinical nursing, nursing interventions, care planning, patient safety, chronic care, critical care, community nursing, nursing management, and related fields.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PRIORITY NOVELTY REQUIRED NON-RESEARCH TYPES LIMITED

The journal gives priority to original research articles. Review articles, clinical case studies, and short communications are accepted selectively when they are strongly aligned with the journal's Focus and Scope and provide clear scientific, clinical, nursing, care-planning, educational, managerial, or patient-care contributions.

Core Scientific Requirements

Regardless of manuscript type, articles should demonstrate the following core elements:

✓ Clear nursing, patient-care, or clinical problem and significance ✓ Adequate state of the art
✓ Explicit research gap / novelty justification ✓ Clearly stated research objective
✓ Appropriate nursing, clinical, intervention, or care-evaluation method ✓ Findings, interpretation, and conclusion supported by evidence
Editorial Priority: Manuscripts without a clear state of the art, research gap or justification of novelty, explicit research objective, appropriate methodological justification, and clear relevance to nursing care may receive lower editorial priority or be returned before peer review.
1 Original Research Article PRIMARY TYPE

Original Research Articles are the primary and preferred manuscript type. They must report original findings derived from a systematic research process and demonstrate a clear contribution to nursing science, advanced nursing practice, specialized patient care, care planning, nursing interventions, or healthcare delivery.

Required characteristics:

  • Relevant nursing, clinical, or patient-care background and clearly defined research problem;
  • Adequate review of current scholarship, clinical evidence, or state of the art;
  • Explicit identification of the research gap;
  • Clear justification of novelty or scientific contribution;
  • Explicit research objective(s), research question(s), or hypotheses where appropriate;
  • Appropriate and sufficiently described quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, experimental, quasi-experimental, observational, clinical, implementation, or nursing-intervention method;
  • Clear description of participants, clinical setting, sampling, nursing instruments, intervention procedures, care plans, and analysis where applicable;
  • Clear presentation of findings supported by appropriate clinical, statistical, qualitative, patient-reported, or care-outcome evidence;
  • Critical analysis and comparison with relevant nursing theories, standards, clinical guidelines, and previous research; and
  • Conclusion that directly responds to the research objective and explains relevant clinical, nursing, patient-safety, care-planning, educational, or managerial implications.
Recommended Structure:
Introduction → Methods → Results → Discussion → Conclusion → Declarations → References
2 Review Article SELECTIVE

Review Articles are considered selectively and must provide a comprehensive, critical, and original synthesis of a clearly defined body of literature in advanced nursing, specialized nursing care, care planning, nursing interventions, patient safety, critical care, chronic care, community nursing, or related fields.

A high-quality review article should:

  • Present a clearly defined review question or analytical objective;
  • Explain the literature-search and selection approach;
  • Use adequate, relevant, and sufficiently current references;
  • Critically compare previous nursing interventions, care models, clinical approaches, theoretical perspectives, and empirical findings;
  • Identify inconsistencies, evidence gaps, methodological limitations, clinical challenges, and emerging trends;
  • Provide original analysis or synthesis by the authors; and
  • Develop a research agenda, clinical framework, care model, conceptual synthesis, or substantive conclusion.
Not Acceptable: A literature review that only summarizes previous nursing studies, clinical procedures, interventions, or care models without critical analysis, synthesis, or an original scholarly contribution.
3 Clinical / Nursing Case Study LIMITED

Clinical or Nursing Case Studies are considered when the case provides significant scientific, clinical, nursing, educational, or care-planning relevance and offers transferable learning for nursing practice.

A Clinical / Nursing Case Study must include:

✓ Clear clinical or nursing objective ✓ Case-selection and clinical relevance
✓ Nursing assessment and care-planning approach ✓ Nursing intervention and patient outcomes
✓ Comparison with relevant nursing evidence or guidelines ✓ Clear clinical, nursing, or care-planning contribution
Not Acceptable: Purely descriptive patient narratives, routine nursing documentation, or care-plan reports without clear clinical reasoning, systematic nursing assessment, intervention evaluation, evidence-based discussion, and scholarly contribution.
4 Short Communication LIMITED

A Short Communication presents concise but important original findings, emerging nursing evidence, preliminary intervention results, care-planning innovations, patient-safety findings, clinical-practice developments, or timely nursing observations relevant to the journal's scope.

Although shorter than a full Original Research Article, a Short Communication must still contain sufficient scientific and clinical substance and demonstrate a clear contribution to nursing knowledge or practice.

Minimum Scientific Elements:
Objective Method Results Clinical Interpretation Conclusion

Manuscript Type Priority

Manuscript Type Journal Priority Main Requirement
Original Research Article HIGH Original findings + state of the art + research gap + novelty + nursing or clinical analysis
Review Article SELECTIVE Comprehensive review + current evidence + critical synthesis + original analysis
Clinical / Nursing Case Study LIMITED Clinical relevance + nursing assessment + care plan + intervention + patient outcomes
Short Communication LIMITED Concise but complete nursing evidence, clinical interpretation, and practical relevance

Manuscripts Not Considered

  • Purely descriptive nursing or clinical articles without substantive analysis;
  • Opinion articles without a clear scholarly method or evidence base;
  • Literature summaries without critical synthesis;
  • Routine nursing-care descriptions or care plans without systematic evaluation and scholarly analysis;
  • Patient case narratives without clear clinical reasoning, nursing assessment, intervention, outcome evaluation, and evidence-based discussion;
  • Nursing-intervention reports without explicit objectives, methods, outcome measures, and analytical interpretation;
  • Clinical-practice reports based only on procedural descriptions without research or evaluative evidence;
  • Quality-improvement activities without clearly described methods, outcome indicators, and evaluation;
  • Conference abstracts submitted without substantial development;
  • Articles outside the journal's Focus and Scope;
  • Previously published manuscripts; and
  • Manuscripts simultaneously submitted to another publication.
Editorial Principle

The journal prioritizes original research that advances nursing science, specialized nursing care, and evidence-based care planning. Non-original research formats are considered selectively and must demonstrate clear scientific objectives, methodological rigor, clinical relevance, analytical depth, responsible interpretation, measurable care outcomes, and strong relevance to the journal's Focus and Scope.