American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®
Palliative & Hospice Nursing | Palliative Medicine | Palliative Medicine & Chronic Care
The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine is a monthly, peer-reviewed journal. In 40 years of publication, AJHPM has highlighted the interdisciplinary team approach to hospice and palliative medicine as related to the care of the patient and family. This journal, therefore, appeals to members of the team including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, pastoral counselors, psychologists, program administrators, and any other specialty involved in this care. Editorials, commentaries, opinions, original research articles, ongoing topical series, and review articles are the format of AJHPM. With changes in health care, aging of the population and the chronicity of a wide array of diseases, AJHPM provides a stimulating and educational forum to maintain relevance in the field of hospice and palliative medicine.
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
Subscribe today to the "journal of record" for hospice and palliative care in North America!
American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine is a peer-reviewed journal that considers articles in the related fields of hospice and palliative medicine which are scientifically sound and clinically relevant. The aim of AJHPM is the dissemination of medical science to broaden education and advance understanding of the complex issues encountered in these areas. Articles related to multidisciplinary care, end of life issues, pain and symptom management psychosocial aspects, quality of care, and the like are appropriate for AJHPM. As always, emphasis is on information directly applicable to the care of the patient/family at the bedside.
| Robert E. Enck, MD | University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA |
| Steven J. Baumrucker, MD, FAAHPM, FAAFP | East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA |
| Patricia T. Alpert, DrPH, MSN, FAANP | University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA |
| Scott D. Barnett, PhD, MSPH | Inova Heart and Vascular Institute, Falls Church, Virginia, USA |
| Jonathan Bergman, MD, MPH | David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA |
| Roger C. Bodine, RN, BSN | Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| John Bossaer, PharmD | Gatton College of Pharmacy, Johnson City, Tennessee, USA |
| Susan Breakwell, APHN-BC, DNP | Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA |
| Lee Burnside, MD, MBA | University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA |
| Dana Deravin Carr, RNC, CCM, DrPH, MPH, MS | Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA |
| Brian S. Carter, MD | The University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine and Children's Mercy-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA |
| Gregory T. Carter, MD | University of Washington, USA |
| Amy Case, MD, FAAHPM | Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Buffalo, New York, NY, USA |
| Elain Chen, MD | Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Benjamin H.W. Cheng, MBBS, MRCP, FRCP | Medical Palliative Care Team, Hong Kong |
| Albert M. E. Coleman, MD, MPH | The Coppice, Callington Road Hospital, Bristol, UK |
| Norma E. Conner, PhD, RN | University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA |
| Larry D. Cripe, MD | IU Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN, USA |
| Amy Cunningham, PhD, MPH | Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA |
| Mellar P. Davis, MD, FCCP | Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA |
| George E. Dickinson, PhD | College of Charleston, USA |
| Katie E. Duckworth, PhD | Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA |
| Maie El-Sourady, MD, MS | Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA |
| Walter B. Forman, MD, FACP, CMP | University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, USA |
| David Glenister, MA(Theol), BA | The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victoria, Australia |
| Raza Haque, MD | Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA |
| Sharon Jackson White, PhD, MSN | Clayton State University, Fayetteville, GA, USA |
| Aminah Jatoi, MD | Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA |
| Robert F. Johnson, MD, MEd | Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI, USA |
| Jane Marie Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN | University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA |
| Natalie Latuga, PharmD, BCPS | The Center for Hospice and Palliative Care Hospice Buffalo, Cheektowaga, New York, USA |
| Santiago Lopez, MD | North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY, USA |
| Lee Ann Matura, PhD, RN, FAAN | University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Cara McDermott, PharmD, PhD | Duke University, Durham, NC, USA |
| Marcos Montagnini, MD, FACP | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA |
| Paul J. Moon, PhD, MEd | Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ, USA |
| Frances Nedjat-Haiem, PhD, LCSW | San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA |
| Krista Nee, MD | Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA |
| Bridget McCrate Protus, PharmD, MLIS, BCGP, CDP | Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services, Dublin, OH, USA |
| Claire Richards, PhD, RN | University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA |
| Manisha Sengupta, MA, PhD | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, MD, USA |
| Jacek T. Soroka, PhD, BCC | Mayo Clinic Health System, Mankato, MN, USA |
| Stephanie Stevens, DO | Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA |
| Elizabeth K. Vig, MD | University of Washington, USA |
| Amy J. Walker, PhD, RN | University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA |
| Karla T. Washington, PhD, LCSW | Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA |
This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
This Journal recommends that authors follow the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
Please read the guidelines below then visit American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AJHMP)'s submission site to upload your manuscript. Remember you can log in to the submission site at any time to check on the progress of your paper through the peer review process.
Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of AJHMP will be reviewed.
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.
AJHMP recommends that authors follow the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), but please adhere to AMA Manual of Style 11th edition for reference formatting.
As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that AJHMP may accept submissions of papers that have been posted on pre-print servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the journal's author archiving policy. If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.
If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal.
1. What do we publish?
1.1 Aims & Scope
1.2 Article types
1.3 Writing your paper
2. Editorial policies
2.1 Peer review policy
2.2 Authorship
2.3 Acknowledgements
2.4 Funding
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
2.6 Research ethics and patient consent
2.7 Clinical trials
2.8 Reporting guidelines
2.9 Research Data
3. Publishing policies
3.1 Publication ethics
3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement
3.3 Open access and author archiving
3.4 Permissions
4. Preparing your manuscript
4.1 Word processing formats
4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
4.3 Supplementary material
4.4 Reference style
4.5 English language editing services
5. Submitting your manuscript
5.1 ORCID
5.2 How to submit your manuscript
5.3 Title, keywords and abstracts
6. On acceptance and publication
6.1 Sage Production
6.2 Access to your published article
6.3 Online First publication
6.4 Promoting your article
7. Further information
7.1 Appealing the publication decision
1.1 Aims & Scope
American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine is a peer-reviewed journal that considers articles in the related fields of hospice and palliative medicine which are scientifically sound and clinically relevant. The aim of AJHPM is the dissemination of medical science to broaden education and advance understanding of the complex issues encountered in these areas. Articles related to multidisciplinary care, end of life issues, pain and symptom management psychosocial aspects, quality of care, and the like are appropriate for AJHPM. As always, emphasis is on information directly applicable to the care of the patient/family at the bedside.
1.2 Article types
AJHMP publishes original research (3,000 words), reviews (4,000 words), letters (1,500 words), invited commentaries and editorials (2,000 words). An abstract of 250 words should accompany each submission. A short list of 6-8 keywords should follow the abstract.
1.3 Writing your paper
The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.
1.3.1 Make your article discoverable
For information and guidance on how to make your article more discoverable, visit our Gateway page on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online
2.1 Peer review policy
AJHMP strongly endorses the value and importance of peer review in scholarly journals publishing. All papers submitted to the journal will be subject to comment and external review. The journal operates a conventional single-anonymized reviewing policy in which the reviewer’s name is always concealed from the submitting author unless the reviewer requests a preference for their identity to be revealed.
AJHMP is committed to delivering high quality, fast peer-review for your paper, and as such has partnered with Publons. Publons is a third party service that seeks to track, verify and give credit for peer review. Reviewers for AJHMP can opt in to Publons in order to claim their reviews or have them automatically verified and added to their reviewer profile. Reviewers claiming credit for their review will be associated with the relevant journal, but the article name, reviewer’s decision and the content of their review is not published on the site. For more information visit the Publons website.
The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the journal. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.
2.2 Authorship
Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.
The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:
- Made a substantial contribution to the concept and design, acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data,
- Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,
- Approved the version to be published,
- Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.
When a large, multicenter group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.
Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section.
Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.
Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.
2.3 Acknowledgements
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.
Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.
2.3.1 Third party submissions
Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:
• Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
• Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
• Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.
Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.
2.3.2 Writing assistance
Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g., from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance.
It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.
2.4 Funding
AJHMP requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading. Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
It is the policy of AJHMP to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within the paginated pages of all published articles.
Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included at the end of your manuscript, after any acknowledgements and prior to the references. If no conflict exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’.
For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations here.
2.6 Research ethics and patient consent
Medical research involving human subjects must be conducted according to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.
Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number.
For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.
Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative. Please do not submit the patient’s actual written informed consent with your article, as this in itself breaches the patient’s confidentiality. The Journal requests that you confirm to us, in writing, that you have obtained written informed consent but the written consent itself should be held by the authors/investigators themselves, for example in a patient’s hospital record. The confirmatory letter may be uploaded with your submission as a separate file.
Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants
2.7 Clinical trials
AJHMP conforms to the ICMJE requirement that clinical trials are registered in a WHO-approved public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrolment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name and URL, and registration number must be included at the end of the abstract.
2.8 Reporting guidelines
The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. For example, all randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a completed Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) flow chart as a cited figure, and a completed CONSORT checklist as a supplementary file. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include the completed PRISMA flow chart as a cited figure and the completed PRISMA checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. The EQUATOR wizard can help you identify the appropriate guideline.
Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives.
2.9 Research Data
The journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages.
Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:
- share your research data in a relevant public data repository
- include a data availability statement linking to your data. If it is not possible to share your data, we encourage you to consider using the statement to explain why it cannot be shared.
- cite this data in your research
AJHMP requests all authors submitting any primary data used in their research articles alongside their article submissions to be published in the online version of the journal, or provide detailed information in their articles on how the data can be obtained. This information should include links to third-party data repositories or detailed contact information for third-party data sources. Data available only on an author-maintained website will need to be loaded onto either the journal’s platform or a third-party platform to ensure continuing accessibility. Examples of data types include but are not limited to statistical data files, replication code, text files, audio files, images, videos, appendices, and additional charts and graphs necessary to understand the original research. The editor(s) may consider limited embargoes on proprietary data. The editor(s) can also grant exceptions for data that cannot legally or ethically be released. All data submitted should comply with Institutional or Ethical Review Board requirements and applicable government regulations. For further information, please contact the editorial office at robertenck@comcast.net.
3.1 Publication ethics
Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.
3.1.1 Plagiarism
AJHMP and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of articles published in the journal. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked using duplication-checking software. Where an article is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article (removing it from the journal); taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author’s institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; banning the author from publication in the journal or all Sage journals, or appropriate legal action.
3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement
Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive license agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and license to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.
3.3 Open access and author archiving
AJHMP offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.
3.4 Permissions
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.
4.1 Word processing formats
Preferred formats for the text and tables of your manuscript are Word DOC, RTF, XLS. LaTeX files are also accepted. The text should be double-spaced throughout and with one-inch margins on all sides of the text. Text should be standard 10 or 12 point Times New Roman. We welcome submissions of (La)TeX files. Please download the Sage LaTeX template, which contains comprehensive guidelines.
The manuscript should include four major sections (in this order): Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References.
Sections in a manuscript may include the following (in this order): (1) Title page, (2) Abstract, (3) Keywords, (4) Text, (5) References, (6) Tables, (7) Figures, and (8) Appendices.
4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.
Figures supplied in color will appear in color online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. For specifically requested color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.
4.3 Supplementary material
This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g., datasets, podcasts, videos, images, etc.) alongside the full-text of the article. These will be subjected to peer-review alongside the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files, which can be found within our Manuscript Submission Guidelines page.
4.4 Reference style
AJHMP conforms to the reference style specified in the AMA Manual of Style 11th edition. Click here to review the guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style. Please list all authors if six or less, otherwise list first three authors followed by et al. in the Reference list.
4.5 English language editing services
Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.
AJHMP is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ajhpm to login and submit your article online.
IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created. For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.
5.1 ORCID
As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage has become a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID.ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.
The collection of ORCID iDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID iD you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID iD will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID iD is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.
If you do not already have an ORCID iD please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.
5.2 Information required for completing your submission
You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).
5.3 Title, keywords and abstracts
Please supply a title, short title, an abstract and keywords to accompany your article. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article online through online search engines such as Google. Please refer to the information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords by visiting the Sage Journal Author Gateway for guidelines on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.
6. On acceptance and publication
6.1 Sage Production
Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.
6.2 Access to your published article
Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.
6.3 Online First publication
Online First allows final revision articles (completed articles in queue for assignment to an upcoming issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a final journal issue which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. For more information please visit our Online First Fact Sheet.
6.4 Promoting your article
Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.
7. Further information
Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the AJHMP editorial office as follows:
Robert E. Enck
robertenck@comcast.net
(267) 614-4567
7.1 Appealing the publication decision
Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal unless the author believes the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error in the review of the article, in which case the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor with a detailed written description of the error they believe occurred.
If an author believes the decision regarding their manuscript was affected by a publication ethics breach, the author may contact the publisher with a detailed written description of their concern, and information supporting the concern, at publication_ethics@sagepub.com