The International Journal of Nursing Studies (IJNS) provides a forum for original research and scholarship about health care delivery, organisation, management, workforce, policy and research methods relevant to nursing, midwifery and other health related professions. The IJNS aims to support evidence informed policy and practice by publishing research, systematic and other scholarly reviews, critical discussion, and commentary of the highest standard.

The journal particularly welcomes studies that aim to evaluate and understand complex health care interventions and health policies and which employ the most rigorous designs and methods appropriate for the research question of interest. The journal also seeks to advance the quality of research by publishing methodological papers introducing or elaborating on analytic techniques, measures, and research methods.

The journal has been publishing original peer-reviewed articles of interest to the international health care community since 1963, making it one of the longest standing repositories of scholarship in this field. The IJNS offers authors the benefits of:

• A highly respected journal in its field with consistently high impact

• Indexed in major databases: PubMed, Medline, Thomson Reuters - Science Citation Index, Scopus, Thomson Reuters - Social Science Citation Index, CINAHL and the BNI (British Nursing Index).

• A truly global readership

• Highly efficient editorial processes: average time from submission to first decision of 4 weeks

• Rapid initial screening for suitability and editorial interest

• Excellent peer reviewers drawn from a range of health service research disciplines

• Early online publication as Article in Press - fully citable by your peers - on average 8 weeks after acceptance.

The IJNS endorses the Equator Network ( http://www.equator-network.org/) an international initiative that seeks to improve reliability and value of research literature in health care by promoting transparent and accurate reporting of studies. We ask our authors to make use of appropriate reporting guidelines to ensure excellence in scientific reporting. Guidelines for authors can be accessed at http://ees.elsevier.com/ijns.