988368
Mon, Aug 31, 2026
Authors Instructions
Instructions for Authors
1. General Information
The Iranian Rehabilitation Journal (IRJ) welcomes high-quality scholarly manuscripts relevant to rehabilitation sciences and practice. The Journal publishes research addressing physical, mental, psychosocial, vocational, and socio-medical aspects of rehabilitation, as well as research on disability, functional outcomes, disabling conditions, and related areas within the Journal’s Aims and Scope.
Manuscripts must demonstrate a clear and substantive relationship to rehabilitation, disability, functional outcomes, rehabilitation practice, or the prevention and management of disabling conditions. Manuscripts whose relevance to rehabilitation is only indirect or incidental may be rejected during initial editorial screening.
Manuscripts submitted to IRJ must comply with these Instructions for Authors. Manuscripts that do not meet the Journal’s requirements may be returned to the authors for technical or editorial revision before further consideration.
Submission of a manuscript implies that:
- the work is original and has not been published previously, except in a form permitted by the Journal’s policies;
- the manuscript is not under consideration for publication elsewhere;
- all authors have read and approved the submitted manuscript;
- all authors agree with its submission to IRJ;
- all necessary institutional and ethical approvals have been obtained; and
- if accepted, the article will not be published elsewhere in the same form without appropriate permission.
Authors are expected to comply with the Journal’s policies on publication ethics, authorship, conflicts of interest, peer review, research ethics, artificial intelligence, corrections and retractions, copyright, and open access.
2. Manuscript Submission
2.1. Online Submission
All manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the Journal’s online submission system.
Authors should register or log in to the Journal website, select the author role, complete the required submission information, and upload all required manuscript files.
Before completing the submission, authors should carefully review all entered metadata and uploaded files to ensure that the information provided in the submission system is accurate and consistent with the manuscript.
The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the Journal throughout the submission, peer-review, revision, and publication processes.
2.2. Manuscript Files
The manuscript should be prepared in English and submitted as an editable Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx).
The manuscript should include the title, abstract, keywords, main text, references, tables, figure legends, and other required sections as appropriate to the article type.
Figures should be provided in high-quality electronic format suitable for publication. Authors should ensure that figures, tables, and supplementary materials are clearly numbered and cited in the text in the order in which they appear.
Because IRJ uses double-blind peer review, the manuscript submitted for review should be anonymized. Information that directly identifies the authors or their institutions should not appear in the blinded manuscript unless scientifically necessary.
3. Peer Review Process
All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening by the Editor-in-Chief and/or members of the Editorial Team.
The initial screening considers whether the manuscript:
2. Manuscript Submission
2.1. Online Submission
All manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the Journal’s online submission system.
Authors should register or log in to the Journal website, select the author role, complete the required submission information, and upload all required manuscript files.
Before completing the submission, authors should carefully review all entered metadata and uploaded files to ensure that the information provided in the submission system is accurate and consistent with the manuscript.
The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the Journal throughout the submission, peer-review, revision, and publication processes.
2.2. Manuscript Files
The manuscript should be prepared in English and submitted as an editable Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx).
The manuscript should include the title, abstract, keywords, main text, references, tables, figure legends, and other required sections as appropriate to the article type.
Figures should be provided in high-quality electronic format suitable for publication. Authors should ensure that figures, tables, and supplementary materials are clearly numbered and cited in the text in the order in which they appear.
Because IRJ uses double-blind peer review, the manuscript submitted for review should be anonymized. Information that directly identifies the authors or their institutions should not appear in the blinded manuscript unless scientifically necessary.
3. Peer Review Process
All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening by the Editor-in-Chief and/or members of the Editorial Team.
The initial screening considers whether the manuscript:
- falls within the Journal’s Aims and Scope;
- complies with the Journal’s editorial and ethical policies;
- meets the minimum requirements for scientific quality and originality;
- demonstrates appropriate methodological rigor; and
- is suitable for external peer review.
Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements may be rejected without external peer review.
Manuscripts that successfully pass the initial screening are evaluated through a double-blind peer-review process by at least two independent external reviewers with appropriate expertise in the subject area.
When reviewers’ recommendations differ substantially, or when additional methodological, statistical, or specialist evaluation is required, the Handling Editor or Editor-in-Chief may invite one or more additional reviewers.
The peer-review process is coordinated by an Associate Editor or Handling Editor, who considers the reviewers’ reports and makes a recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief. The final decision regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection rests with the Editor-in-Chief.
Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and certain invited contributions may be considered through editorial assessment as appropriate.
Further details are provided in the Journal’s Peer Review Policy.
4. Manuscript Types
IRJ publishes scholarly contributions relevant to rehabilitation, including Original Research Articles, Review Articles, Case Reports, Brief Reports, Commentaries, Letters to the Editor, and other article types considered relevant to the Journal’s Aims and Scope.
4.1. Original Research Articles
Original Research Articles should report novel and scientifically significant findings and provide sufficient methodological detail to allow readers to critically evaluate the study and, where applicable, reproduce its methods.
Original Research Articles should normally not exceed 3000 words, excluding the abstract and references.
The manuscript should generally include:
Manuscripts that successfully pass the initial screening are evaluated through a double-blind peer-review process by at least two independent external reviewers with appropriate expertise in the subject area.
When reviewers’ recommendations differ substantially, or when additional methodological, statistical, or specialist evaluation is required, the Handling Editor or Editor-in-Chief may invite one or more additional reviewers.
The peer-review process is coordinated by an Associate Editor or Handling Editor, who considers the reviewers’ reports and makes a recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief. The final decision regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection rests with the Editor-in-Chief.
Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and certain invited contributions may be considered through editorial assessment as appropriate.
Further details are provided in the Journal’s Peer Review Policy.
4. Manuscript Types
IRJ publishes scholarly contributions relevant to rehabilitation, including Original Research Articles, Review Articles, Case Reports, Brief Reports, Commentaries, Letters to the Editor, and other article types considered relevant to the Journal’s Aims and Scope.
4.1. Original Research Articles
Original Research Articles should report novel and scientifically significant findings and provide sufficient methodological detail to allow readers to critically evaluate the study and, where applicable, reproduce its methods.
Original Research Articles should normally not exceed 3000 words, excluding the abstract and references.
The manuscript should generally include:
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- Ethical Considerations
- Funding
- Authors’ Contributions
- Conflict of Interest
- Acknowledgments, where applicable
- Data Availability Statement, where applicable
- References
4.2. Review Articles
Review Articles should provide a critical, balanced, and up-to-date synthesis of a topic relevant to rehabilitation. Reviews should address the relevant body of literature rather than primarily summarizing the authors’ previous publications.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should clearly describe the information sources, search strategy, eligibility criteria, study selection, data extraction, risk-of-bias or quality assessment, and methods of synthesis, as applicable.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses must follow PRISMA, and scoping reviews must follow PRISMA-ScR. Narrative reviews should clearly describe their purpose, scope, and approach to identifying and selecting the literature.
Review Articles should generally contain no more than 50 references unless additional references are scientifically justified.
4.3. Case Reports
Case Reports should describe novel, rare, or clinically important cases relevant to the Journal’s Aims and Scope and should provide a meaningful contribution to rehabilitation knowledge or practice.
Case Reports should normally be approximately 1500 words and contain no more than 15 references.
They should generally include:
Review Articles should provide a critical, balanced, and up-to-date synthesis of a topic relevant to rehabilitation. Reviews should address the relevant body of literature rather than primarily summarizing the authors’ previous publications.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should clearly describe the information sources, search strategy, eligibility criteria, study selection, data extraction, risk-of-bias or quality assessment, and methods of synthesis, as applicable.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses must follow PRISMA, and scoping reviews must follow PRISMA-ScR. Narrative reviews should clearly describe their purpose, scope, and approach to identifying and selecting the literature.
Review Articles should generally contain no more than 50 references unless additional references are scientifically justified.
4.3. Case Reports
Case Reports should describe novel, rare, or clinically important cases relevant to the Journal’s Aims and Scope and should provide a meaningful contribution to rehabilitation knowledge or practice.
Case Reports should normally be approximately 1500 words and contain no more than 15 references.
They should generally include:
- Unstructured Abstract
- Introduction
- Case Presentation
- Discussion
- Conclusion, where appropriate
- Ethical Considerations and Patient Consent
- References
Relevant clinical documentation, laboratory findings, imaging, or figures should be included when scientifically necessary and when appropriate consent for publication has been obtained.
Case Reports must be prepared in accordance with the CARE reporting guideline.
4.4. Brief Reports
Brief Reports describe significant preliminary findings, developments in ongoing research, or focused studies relevant to rehabilitation.
They should normally be approximately 1500 words and contain no more than 15 references.
The structure may include:
Case Reports must be prepared in accordance with the CARE reporting guideline.
4.4. Brief Reports
Brief Reports describe significant preliminary findings, developments in ongoing research, or focused studies relevant to rehabilitation.
They should normally be approximately 1500 words and contain no more than 15 references.
The structure may include:
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Methods/Topic
- Results, where applicable
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- References
4.5. Commentaries
Commentaries are scholarly opinion or perspective articles addressing issues of broad interest to the rehabilitation community. They may discuss scientific, clinical, educational, social, ethical, or policy-related issues relevant to rehabilitation.
The main text should normally not exceed 1200 words, excluding references, tables, and other supplementary elements, and should generally contain no more than 10 references.
4.6. Letters to the Editor
Letters may comment on articles recently published in IRJ or address concise scientific or professional issues relevant to the Journal.
Letters are subject to editorial assessment and may be sent to the authors of the original article for response where appropriate.
5. Manuscript Preparation
5.1. Language
The language of publication is English.
Manuscripts should be written in clear, concise, and professional academic English. Authors who are not proficient in English are encouraged to obtain appropriate language editing before submission.
The Journal reserves the right to request language revision when the quality of English interferes with scientific evaluation or readability.
5.2. Title Page
The title should be concise, informative, and accurately reflect the content of the manuscript.
The title page should include:
Commentaries are scholarly opinion or perspective articles addressing issues of broad interest to the rehabilitation community. They may discuss scientific, clinical, educational, social, ethical, or policy-related issues relevant to rehabilitation.
The main text should normally not exceed 1200 words, excluding references, tables, and other supplementary elements, and should generally contain no more than 10 references.
4.6. Letters to the Editor
Letters may comment on articles recently published in IRJ or address concise scientific or professional issues relevant to the Journal.
Letters are subject to editorial assessment and may be sent to the authors of the original article for response where appropriate.
5. Manuscript Preparation
5.1. Language
The language of publication is English.
Manuscripts should be written in clear, concise, and professional academic English. Authors who are not proficient in English are encouraged to obtain appropriate language editing before submission.
The Journal reserves the right to request language revision when the quality of English interferes with scientific evaluation or readability.
5.2. Title Page
The title should be concise, informative, and accurately reflect the content of the manuscript.
The title page should include:
- full article title;
- running title of no more than 50 characters;
- full names of all authors;
- institutional affiliation(s) of each author;
- ORCID iD of authors, where available; and
- full contact details of the corresponding author.
Authors should ensure that names and institutional affiliations entered in the online submission system exactly match those provided in the manuscript.
5.3. Abstract and Keywords
For Original Research Articles, the abstract should normally contain 250-300 words and be structured using the following headings:
5.3. Abstract and Keywords
For Original Research Articles, the abstract should normally contain 250-300 words and be structured using the following headings:
- Objectives
- Methods
- Results
- Discussion
The abstract should accurately represent the study and should not contain findings or conclusions that are not supported by the main text.
Authors should provide 5-10 relevant keywords. Whenever appropriate, terms from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) or other recognized subject vocabularies should be used. Requirements for the abstract may vary for other article types.
5.4. Highlights
Authors should provide 3-5 Highlights presenting the most important findings and implications of the article.
Highlights should consist of concise statements and should not exceed approximately 80 words in total. They should emphasize the principal findings or implications of the study rather than provide general background information.
5.5. Plain Language Summary
Authors should provide a Plain Language Summary of no more than 200 words.
The Plain Language Summary should communicate the purpose, main findings, and significance of the research in language understandable to non-specialists, including patients, rehabilitation professionals outside the immediate specialty, policymakers, and members of the public.
Technical terminology and unnecessary jargon should be avoided.
6. Structure of Original Research Articles
6.1. Introduction
The Introduction should provide sufficient background to explain the rationale for the study, identify the relevant knowledge gap, and clearly state the study objective or research question.
An exhaustive literature review is not appropriate. References should be relevant and directly support the statements for which they are cited.
6.2. Methods
The Methods section must provide sufficient information to allow readers and other researchers to understand, critically evaluate, and, where applicable, reproduce the study.
As appropriate to the study design, authors should describe:
Authors should provide 5-10 relevant keywords. Whenever appropriate, terms from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) or other recognized subject vocabularies should be used. Requirements for the abstract may vary for other article types.
5.4. Highlights
Authors should provide 3-5 Highlights presenting the most important findings and implications of the article.
Highlights should consist of concise statements and should not exceed approximately 80 words in total. They should emphasize the principal findings or implications of the study rather than provide general background information.
5.5. Plain Language Summary
Authors should provide a Plain Language Summary of no more than 200 words.
The Plain Language Summary should communicate the purpose, main findings, and significance of the research in language understandable to non-specialists, including patients, rehabilitation professionals outside the immediate specialty, policymakers, and members of the public.
Technical terminology and unnecessary jargon should be avoided.
6. Structure of Original Research Articles
6.1. Introduction
The Introduction should provide sufficient background to explain the rationale for the study, identify the relevant knowledge gap, and clearly state the study objective or research question.
An exhaustive literature review is not appropriate. References should be relevant and directly support the statements for which they are cited.
6.2. Methods
The Methods section must provide sufficient information to allow readers and other researchers to understand, critically evaluate, and, where applicable, reproduce the study.
As appropriate to the study design, authors should describe:
- study design;
- study setting and period;
- participants and sampling method;
- inclusion and exclusion criteria;
- sample-size determination;
- interventions or exposures;
- outcome measures;
- instruments and evidence of their validity and reliability;
- scoring procedures and cutoff values, where applicable;
- data collection procedures;
- statistical or qualitative analysis methods;
- ethical approval;
- informed consent; and
- clinical trial registration, where applicable.
Sample-size calculations should be appropriate to the study design and primary analysis.
The Methods reported in the abstract, main text, tables, figures, and supplementary materials must be internally consistent.
6.3. Results
The Results section should present the study findings clearly and objectively. Authors should ensure consistency between sample sizes, participant flow, statistical results, tables, figures, abstract, and main text.
Statistical tests should be appropriate to the study design, data distribution, and research questions. Statistical measures, confidence intervals, and P values should be reported appropriately where applicable. Results should not be duplicated unnecessarily between the text, tables, and figures.
6.4. Discussion
The Discussion should interpret the principal findings in the context of relevant literature.
Authors should discuss the implications of the findings, compare them with previous evidence where appropriate, and address important strengths and limitations of the study.
Claims should be proportionate to the study design and results. Causal conclusions should not be drawn from study designs that cannot establish causality.
The Discussion should distinguish clearly between findings directly supported by the study and interpretations or implications proposed by the authors.
6.5. Conclusion
The Conclusion should be concise and directly supported by the study findings. Authors should avoid overstating clinical, rehabilitation, policy, or public-health implications beyond what is justified by the design and results of the study.
7. Reporting Guidelines
IRJ requires authors to follow internationally recognized reporting guidelines appropriate to their study design when an established guideline is available.
As applicable:
The Methods reported in the abstract, main text, tables, figures, and supplementary materials must be internally consistent.
6.3. Results
The Results section should present the study findings clearly and objectively. Authors should ensure consistency between sample sizes, participant flow, statistical results, tables, figures, abstract, and main text.
Statistical tests should be appropriate to the study design, data distribution, and research questions. Statistical measures, confidence intervals, and P values should be reported appropriately where applicable. Results should not be duplicated unnecessarily between the text, tables, and figures.
6.4. Discussion
The Discussion should interpret the principal findings in the context of relevant literature.
Authors should discuss the implications of the findings, compare them with previous evidence where appropriate, and address important strengths and limitations of the study.
Claims should be proportionate to the study design and results. Causal conclusions should not be drawn from study designs that cannot establish causality.
The Discussion should distinguish clearly between findings directly supported by the study and interpretations or implications proposed by the authors.
6.5. Conclusion
The Conclusion should be concise and directly supported by the study findings. Authors should avoid overstating clinical, rehabilitation, policy, or public-health implications beyond what is justified by the design and results of the study.
7. Reporting Guidelines
IRJ requires authors to follow internationally recognized reporting guidelines appropriate to their study design when an established guideline is available.
As applicable:
- Randomized controlled trials: CONSORT
- Observational studies: STROBE
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: PRISMA
- Scoping reviews: PRISMA-ScR
- Diagnostic accuracy studies: STARD
- Case reports: CARE
- Qualitative studies: COREQ or SRQR
- Prediction model studies: TRIPOD
- Health economic evaluations: CHEERS
- Animal studies: ARRIVE
Authors should identify the applicable reporting guideline during manuscript preparation. The Journal may require submission of the relevant reporting checklist and flow diagram, where applicable. For randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews, the applicable checklist and flow diagram should be submitted when required by the Journal.
Compliance with a reporting guideline does not replace the requirement for appropriate study design, methodology, statistical analysis, or ethical conduct. The Journal may request additional methodological or statistical review when required by the study design or complexity of the analysis.
8. Research Ethics
IRJ is committed to internationally accepted principles of research and publication ethics and follows relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other recognized standards applicable to biomedical and rehabilitation research.
8.1. Research Involving Human Participants
Research involving human participants must have been conducted in accordance with applicable institutional and national ethical standards and the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Authors must provide the name of the approving institutional or independent ethics committee and the ethics approval/code in the manuscript.
The Methods section should state how informed consent was obtained when applicable. The Editor may request supporting documentation regarding ethical approval or informed consent.
8.2. Patient Privacy and Consent for Publication
Identifying information, including names, initials, hospital numbers, recognizable images, or other personal details, should not be published unless scientifically necessary and appropriate written consent for publication has been obtained.
Case Reports and other manuscripts containing identifiable patient information must include an appropriate statement regarding consent for publication.
8.3. Animal Research
Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international ethical standards.
Authors should provide the name of the approving ethics committee, approval/code where applicable, and sufficient information regarding relevant animal welfare procedures.
8.4. Clinical Trial Registration
Clinical trials should be registered in a publicly accessible and recognized clinical trial registry in accordance with applicable ICMJE recommendations.
The registry name and registration number should be reported in the manuscript.
Prospective registration is expected where required by applicable standards. When a trial has been registered retrospectively, the authors should provide an explanation, and the Journal reserves the right to determine whether the study is eligible for consideration.
9. Authorship and Contributors
IRJ follows the ICMJE criteria for authorship.
Authorship should be based on all of the following:
Compliance with a reporting guideline does not replace the requirement for appropriate study design, methodology, statistical analysis, or ethical conduct. The Journal may request additional methodological or statistical review when required by the study design or complexity of the analysis.
8. Research Ethics
IRJ is committed to internationally accepted principles of research and publication ethics and follows relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other recognized standards applicable to biomedical and rehabilitation research.
8.1. Research Involving Human Participants
Research involving human participants must have been conducted in accordance with applicable institutional and national ethical standards and the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Authors must provide the name of the approving institutional or independent ethics committee and the ethics approval/code in the manuscript.
The Methods section should state how informed consent was obtained when applicable. The Editor may request supporting documentation regarding ethical approval or informed consent.
8.2. Patient Privacy and Consent for Publication
Identifying information, including names, initials, hospital numbers, recognizable images, or other personal details, should not be published unless scientifically necessary and appropriate written consent for publication has been obtained.
Case Reports and other manuscripts containing identifiable patient information must include an appropriate statement regarding consent for publication.
8.3. Animal Research
Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international ethical standards.
Authors should provide the name of the approving ethics committee, approval/code where applicable, and sufficient information regarding relevant animal welfare procedures.
8.4. Clinical Trial Registration
Clinical trials should be registered in a publicly accessible and recognized clinical trial registry in accordance with applicable ICMJE recommendations.
The registry name and registration number should be reported in the manuscript.
Prospective registration is expected where required by applicable standards. When a trial has been registered retrospectively, the authors should provide an explanation, and the Journal reserves the right to determine whether the study is eligible for consideration.
9. Authorship and Contributors
IRJ follows the ICMJE criteria for authorship.
Authorship should be based on all of the following:
- substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
- drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
- final approval of the version to be published; and
- agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet all authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately and should not be listed as authors.
All authors must approve the authorship list and order at submission.
Any proposed addition, removal, or change in the order of authors after submission must be explained to the Journal and may require written agreement from all authors in accordance with the Journal’s publication ethics policies.
Changes in authorship after acceptance are permitted only in exceptional circumstances and are subject to editorial approval.
9.1. Authors’ Contributions
All manuscripts should include an Authors’ Contributions statement describing the contribution of each author.
The use of the CRediT taxonomy is recommended to ensure clear and standardized reporting of individual contributions.
Relevant roles may include:
Conceptualization; Methodology; Software; Validation; Formal Analysis; Investigation; Resources; Data Curation; Writing – Original Draft; Writing – Review & Editing; Visualization; Supervision; Project Administration; and Funding Acquisition.
Only roles actually performed by each author should be reported.
10. Funding
All sources of financial and material support for the research must be disclosed.
Authors should provide the full name of the funding organization and grant number, where applicable.
If the research received no specific funding, this should also be stated.
The role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit for publication should be disclosed where relevant.
11. Conflict of Interest
All authors must disclose financial and non-financial relationships or interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence the submitted work.
Authors are responsible for providing complete and accurate conflict-of-interest disclosures at submission and for informing the Journal of any relevant changes during the editorial process.
Where required by the Journal, authors should complete the applicable ICMJE disclosure form.
If no competing interests exist, an appropriate statement should be included in the manuscript.
12. Acknowledgments
Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship may be acknowledged with their permission.
Acknowledgments should be brief and should not include routine thanks to anonymous peer reviewers or editors.
Funding and Conflict of Interest statements should be reported separately and should not be combined with the Acknowledgments section.
13. Data Availability
IRJ supports transparency and responsible sharing of research data while recognizing ethical, legal, confidentiality, and privacy restrictions that may apply to biomedical and rehabilitation research.
Authors of Original Research Articles are encouraged to provide a Data Availability Statement describing whether and under what conditions the data supporting the findings of the study are available.
The Journal may require a Data Availability Statement when appropriate to the study design, ethical requirements, funder requirements, or applicable research standards.
Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to deposit research data in a recognized repository and provide the relevant persistent identifier or link.
If data cannot be publicly shared because of ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, or other legitimate restrictions, this should be stated clearly.
Appropriate statements may include:
All authors must approve the authorship list and order at submission.
Any proposed addition, removal, or change in the order of authors after submission must be explained to the Journal and may require written agreement from all authors in accordance with the Journal’s publication ethics policies.
Changes in authorship after acceptance are permitted only in exceptional circumstances and are subject to editorial approval.
9.1. Authors’ Contributions
All manuscripts should include an Authors’ Contributions statement describing the contribution of each author.
The use of the CRediT taxonomy is recommended to ensure clear and standardized reporting of individual contributions.
Relevant roles may include:
Conceptualization; Methodology; Software; Validation; Formal Analysis; Investigation; Resources; Data Curation; Writing – Original Draft; Writing – Review & Editing; Visualization; Supervision; Project Administration; and Funding Acquisition.
Only roles actually performed by each author should be reported.
10. Funding
All sources of financial and material support for the research must be disclosed.
Authors should provide the full name of the funding organization and grant number, where applicable.
If the research received no specific funding, this should also be stated.
The role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit for publication should be disclosed where relevant.
11. Conflict of Interest
All authors must disclose financial and non-financial relationships or interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence the submitted work.
Authors are responsible for providing complete and accurate conflict-of-interest disclosures at submission and for informing the Journal of any relevant changes during the editorial process.
Where required by the Journal, authors should complete the applicable ICMJE disclosure form.
If no competing interests exist, an appropriate statement should be included in the manuscript.
12. Acknowledgments
Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship may be acknowledged with their permission.
Acknowledgments should be brief and should not include routine thanks to anonymous peer reviewers or editors.
Funding and Conflict of Interest statements should be reported separately and should not be combined with the Acknowledgments section.
13. Data Availability
IRJ supports transparency and responsible sharing of research data while recognizing ethical, legal, confidentiality, and privacy restrictions that may apply to biomedical and rehabilitation research.
Authors of Original Research Articles are encouraged to provide a Data Availability Statement describing whether and under what conditions the data supporting the findings of the study are available.
The Journal may require a Data Availability Statement when appropriate to the study design, ethical requirements, funder requirements, or applicable research standards.
Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to deposit research data in a recognized repository and provide the relevant persistent identifier or link.
If data cannot be publicly shared because of ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, or other legitimate restrictions, this should be stated clearly.
Appropriate statements may include:
- Data are available in a public repository.
- Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
- Data are not publicly available because of ethical, privacy, or confidentiality restrictions.
- Data sharing is not applicable to this article.
Authors remain responsible for ensuring that data sharing complies with informed consent, ethics approval, institutional requirements, and applicable law.
14. Use of Artificial Intelligence
Authors must comply with the Journal’s Artificial Intelligence Policy. Artificial intelligence tools and large language models cannot be listed as authors because they cannot meet authorship requirements or assume responsibility for the integrity of scholarly work.
Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, citations, and content of their manuscripts.
Substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation must be transparently disclosed in accordance with the Journal’s AI Policy.
Routine tools used solely for spelling, grammar, reference management, or similar basic assistance do not require disclosure unless otherwise specified in the Journal’s AI Policy.
Authors should not upload confidential, identifiable, copyrighted, or otherwise protected research material to external AI systems in ways that violate applicable ethical, legal, copyright, or confidentiality requirements.
15. References
IRJ uses the Vancouver referencing style. References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first cited in the text. References cited in tables and figure legends should follow the numbering sequence established by their first citation in the manuscript.
References should be identified in the text using Arabic numerals in parentheses. Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the NLM Catalog/Index Medicus conventions. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all references.
Authors should ensure that:
14. Use of Artificial Intelligence
Authors must comply with the Journal’s Artificial Intelligence Policy. Artificial intelligence tools and large language models cannot be listed as authors because they cannot meet authorship requirements or assume responsibility for the integrity of scholarly work.
Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, citations, and content of their manuscripts.
Substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation must be transparently disclosed in accordance with the Journal’s AI Policy.
Routine tools used solely for spelling, grammar, reference management, or similar basic assistance do not require disclosure unless otherwise specified in the Journal’s AI Policy.
Authors should not upload confidential, identifiable, copyrighted, or otherwise protected research material to external AI systems in ways that violate applicable ethical, legal, copyright, or confidentiality requirements.
15. References
IRJ uses the Vancouver referencing style. References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first cited in the text. References cited in tables and figure legends should follow the numbering sequence established by their first citation in the manuscript.
References should be identified in the text using Arabic numerals in parentheses. Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the NLM Catalog/Index Medicus conventions. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all references.
Authors should ensure that:
- each reference is relevant to the statement for which it is cited;
- the cited source actually supports the associated statement;
- primary sources are cited where appropriate;
- references are accurately represented and not cited in a misleading manner; and
- the reference list adequately reflects the relevant literature surrounding the research question.
Where available, DOI should be provided. PMID or PMCID may also be included where appropriate.
Authors may use reference-management software such as EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley; however, authors remain responsible for the accuracy of the final reference list.
As a general guide:
Authors may use reference-management software such as EndNote, Zotero, or Mendeley; however, authors remain responsible for the accuracy of the final reference list.
As a general guide:
- Original Research Articles: up to 25 references
- Brief Reports: up to 15 references
- Case Reports: up to 15 references
- Review Articles: up to 50 references
Additional references may be accepted when scientifically justified.
Excessive self-citation, citation manipulation, citation padding, citation of irrelevant sources, and references that do not substantiate the associated statements are not acceptable.
16. Tables
Tables should be numbered consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text. Each table should have a concise and informative title and should be understandable without extensive reference to the main text.
Units of measurement must be clearly stated. Abbreviations and statistical symbols should be defined in table footnotes as necessary. Data presented in tables should be consistent with those reported in the abstract, text, and figures. Authors should avoid unnecessary duplication of data between tables and figures.
17. Figures and Figure Legends
Figures should be numbered consecutively according to their first citation in the text. Figures must be of sufficient quality and resolution for publication. Text, symbols, labels, and numbers should remain legible after reduction to publication size.
Figure legends should provide sufficient information for the figure to be understood without unnecessary reference to the main text.
Any modification of images must comply with accepted standards of research integrity. Manipulation that alters or misrepresents the scientific meaning of an image is prohibited. When previously published material is reproduced or adapted, authors are responsible for obtaining any necessary permission and appropriately acknowledging the original source.
18. Plagiarism, Text Similarity, and Redundant Publication
IRJ is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record and follows COPE guidance in addressing suspected plagiarism, redundant publication, and related forms of publication misconduct.
Submitted manuscripts may be screened using iThenticate or other appropriate similarity-detection software during the editorial process.
A similarity percentage alone does not determine whether plagiarism has occurred. Similarity reports are evaluated in context, considering the nature, extent, source, and location of overlapping material.
Authors must appropriately cite and, where necessary, quote previously published material, including their own previous work.
Cases of suspected plagiarism, redundant publication, or inappropriate text recycling are handled in accordance with the Journal’s publication ethics policies and applicable COPE guidance.
19. Permissions and Copyrighted Material
Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce or adapt copyrighted material, including previously published figures, tables, questionnaires, scales, or substantial portions of text where permission is required.
Evidence of permission should be provided to the Journal upon request. Proper attribution to the original source is required even when permission has been obtained.
20. Withdrawal of a Manuscript
Authors wishing to withdraw a manuscript should submit a written request to the Editorial Office explaining the reason for withdrawal. A manuscript is not considered withdrawn until the Editorial Office confirms the withdrawal.
If authors fail to respond to editorial correspondence or revision requests after appropriate reminders, the Journal may administratively close the submission.
Authors should not submit the manuscript to another journal while it remains under active consideration by IRJ.
21. Revision of Manuscripts
When revision is requested, authors should submit:
Excessive self-citation, citation manipulation, citation padding, citation of irrelevant sources, and references that do not substantiate the associated statements are not acceptable.
16. Tables
Tables should be numbered consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text. Each table should have a concise and informative title and should be understandable without extensive reference to the main text.
Units of measurement must be clearly stated. Abbreviations and statistical symbols should be defined in table footnotes as necessary. Data presented in tables should be consistent with those reported in the abstract, text, and figures. Authors should avoid unnecessary duplication of data between tables and figures.
17. Figures and Figure Legends
Figures should be numbered consecutively according to their first citation in the text. Figures must be of sufficient quality and resolution for publication. Text, symbols, labels, and numbers should remain legible after reduction to publication size.
Figure legends should provide sufficient information for the figure to be understood without unnecessary reference to the main text.
Any modification of images must comply with accepted standards of research integrity. Manipulation that alters or misrepresents the scientific meaning of an image is prohibited. When previously published material is reproduced or adapted, authors are responsible for obtaining any necessary permission and appropriately acknowledging the original source.
18. Plagiarism, Text Similarity, and Redundant Publication
IRJ is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record and follows COPE guidance in addressing suspected plagiarism, redundant publication, and related forms of publication misconduct.
Submitted manuscripts may be screened using iThenticate or other appropriate similarity-detection software during the editorial process.
A similarity percentage alone does not determine whether plagiarism has occurred. Similarity reports are evaluated in context, considering the nature, extent, source, and location of overlapping material.
Authors must appropriately cite and, where necessary, quote previously published material, including their own previous work.
Cases of suspected plagiarism, redundant publication, or inappropriate text recycling are handled in accordance with the Journal’s publication ethics policies and applicable COPE guidance.
19. Permissions and Copyrighted Material
Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce or adapt copyrighted material, including previously published figures, tables, questionnaires, scales, or substantial portions of text where permission is required.
Evidence of permission should be provided to the Journal upon request. Proper attribution to the original source is required even when permission has been obtained.
20. Withdrawal of a Manuscript
Authors wishing to withdraw a manuscript should submit a written request to the Editorial Office explaining the reason for withdrawal. A manuscript is not considered withdrawn until the Editorial Office confirms the withdrawal.
If authors fail to respond to editorial correspondence or revision requests after appropriate reminders, the Journal may administratively close the submission.
Authors should not submit the manuscript to another journal while it remains under active consideration by IRJ.
21. Revision of Manuscripts
When revision is requested, authors should submit:
- a revised manuscript;
- a detailed point-by-point response to the reviewers and editors; and
- a clear indication of changes made to the manuscript, as instructed by the Editorial Office.
Authors should respond to every substantive comment. When a suggested change is not made, the reason should be clearly explained. The Journal normally expects revised manuscripts to be returned within the timeframe specified in the decision letter. Authors who require additional time should contact the Editorial Office.
A request for revision does not constitute acceptance of the manuscript.
22. Proofs
Following acceptance and production, the corresponding author will receive the article proof for final checking. At the proof stage, authors should carefully check:
A request for revision does not constitute acceptance of the manuscript.
22. Proofs
Following acceptance and production, the corresponding author will receive the article proof for final checking. At the proof stage, authors should carefully check:
- author names and order;
- affiliations;
- tables and figures;
- references;
- numerical values;
- equations and statistical symbols; and
- typographical or production errors.
Major changes to the scientific content, authorship, data, or conclusions are normally not permitted at the proof stage unless scientifically justified and approved by the Editor.
Requests for changes to authorship at the proof stage will be considered only in exceptional circumstances and in accordance with the Journal’s authorship policy.
Authors are responsible for returning proof corrections within the deadline specified by the Journal.
23. Open Access, Copyright, and License
IRJ is an open-access journal. Published articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.
Authors retain copyright in accordance with the Journal’s copyright and open-access policies. Further details are available in the Journal’s Open Access and Copyright policies.
24. Article Processing Charges
Publication in IRJ is subject to the Article Processing Charge specified in the Journal’s current Financial Policies. The current charges, effective dates, and any applicable conditions are provided on the Journal website.
Article Processing Charges are independent of editorial decision-making. Payment does not influence peer review or the decision to accept or reject a manuscript. Authors should consult the Journal’s current Financial Policies for applicable charges before submission.
25. Corrections, Retractions, and Updates
IRJ is committed to maintaining the integrity and reliability of the scholarly record. When errors or concerns are identified after publication, the Journal may publish a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other appropriate update in accordance with its editorial policies and applicable COPE guidance.
Updates affecting published articles are linked to the original article where appropriate.
IRJ participates in CrossMark to help readers identify the current status of published content and determine whether an article has been corrected, retracted, or otherwise updated.
26. Final Submission Checklist
Before completing submission, authors should confirm that:
Requests for changes to authorship at the proof stage will be considered only in exceptional circumstances and in accordance with the Journal’s authorship policy.
Authors are responsible for returning proof corrections within the deadline specified by the Journal.
23. Open Access, Copyright, and License
IRJ is an open-access journal. Published articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.
Authors retain copyright in accordance with the Journal’s copyright and open-access policies. Further details are available in the Journal’s Open Access and Copyright policies.
24. Article Processing Charges
Publication in IRJ is subject to the Article Processing Charge specified in the Journal’s current Financial Policies. The current charges, effective dates, and any applicable conditions are provided on the Journal website.
Article Processing Charges are independent of editorial decision-making. Payment does not influence peer review or the decision to accept or reject a manuscript. Authors should consult the Journal’s current Financial Policies for applicable charges before submission.
25. Corrections, Retractions, and Updates
IRJ is committed to maintaining the integrity and reliability of the scholarly record. When errors or concerns are identified after publication, the Journal may publish a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other appropriate update in accordance with its editorial policies and applicable COPE guidance.
Updates affecting published articles are linked to the original article where appropriate.
IRJ participates in CrossMark to help readers identify the current status of published content and determine whether an article has been corrected, retracted, or otherwise updated.
26. Final Submission Checklist
Before completing submission, authors should confirm that:
- the manuscript has a clear and substantive relationship to rehabilitation and falls within the Aims and Scope of IRJ;
- the manuscript has not been published or submitted elsewhere;
- all authors meet the applicable authorship criteria and have approved the manuscript and its submission;
- all authors have approved the authorship order;
- author names and affiliations are complete and accurate;
- the manuscript has been appropriately anonymized for double-blind peer review;
- the manuscript is written in clear academic English;
- the abstract accurately represents the study;
- the study design is clearly identified;
- the sampling method and sample-size determination are appropriately described;
- participant numbers are consistent throughout the abstract, Methods, Results, tables, and figures;
- statistical analyses are appropriate to the study design and research questions;
- numerical and statistical results are consistent throughout the manuscript;
- conclusions are supported by the reported results;
- all tables and figures are cited in numerical order;
- all references have been checked for accuracy and relevance;
- each citation appropriately supports the statement for which it is used;
- the appropriate reporting guideline has been followed where applicable;
- the required reporting checklist or flow diagram has been provided where requested;
- ethical approval and informed consent have been reported where applicable;
- clinical trial registration has been reported where applicable;
- Authors’ Contributions have been provided;
- Funding and Conflict of Interest statements have been provided;
- a Data Availability Statement has been provided where applicable or requested;
- substantive use of generative AI has been disclosed in accordance with the Journal’s AI Policy;
- necessary permissions for copyrighted or identifiable material have been obtained; and
- the manuscript has been carefully checked for language, formatting, methodological, and scientific consistency.
Manuscripts that do not comply with these requirements may be returned to the authors for correction before peer review or may be declined during initial editorial screening.
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