Case Reports Policy

The Journal of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (JHRS) recognises the scientific and educational value of case reports in advancing clinical knowledge, improving professional practice, and sharing important observations concerning the diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and management of individual patients. Case reports may provide valuable insights into rare conditions, unusual clinical presentations, diagnostic challenges, therapeutic approaches, rehabilitation outcomes, and lessons relevant to healthcare professionals.

JHRS considers case reports for publication provided that they demonstrate clear scientific or clinical relevance, contribute meaningful information to existing knowledge, and comply with the journal's requirements for publication ethics, patient confidentiality, and responsible research reporting.

1. Informed Consent and Patient Authorisation

Written informed consent for publication must be obtained from the patient before a case report is submitted to JHRS. The consent must explicitly cover the publication of relevant clinical information, medical history, diagnostic findings, treatment details, and any accompanying images, photographs, radiological examinations, or other potentially identifiable material.

When the patient is a minor or lacks the legal capacity to provide informed consent, written consent must be obtained from the parent, legal guardian, or other legally authorised representative, as applicable under relevant legislation.

Where appropriate, the patient's assent should also be obtained, particularly in cases involving children or individuals who may be able to understand the purpose and implications of publication.

Authors must confirm in their manuscript submission that appropriate written informed consent for publication has been obtained. The editorial office may request documentary evidence of consent when necessary. The completed consent form should not normally be submitted as part of the publicly accessible manuscript or supplementary files, in order to protect patient privacy.

The responsibility for obtaining valid informed consent rests entirely with the authors.

2. Patient Confidentiality and Anonymisation

The protection of patient privacy and confidentiality is a fundamental requirement for all case reports submitted to JHRS.

Authors must ensure that all potentially identifying information has been removed or appropriately anonymised before submission. This includes, but is not limited to:

Patient names, initials, personal identification numbers, hospital record numbers, and other unique identifiers.
Exact dates of birth, admission, examination, treatment, or discharge, unless scientifically essential and adequately justified.
Geographic information, institutional details, or other contextual information that could reasonably lead to the identification of the patient.
Identifiable facial photographs or other images that may reveal the patient's identity.
Information contained in images, radiological examinations, screenshots, clinical documents, or supplementary materials that may disclose personal or identifying data.

Authors should use general descriptions of age and relevant clinical characteristics whenever possible, rather than providing unnecessarily precise personal details.

Anonymisation must not compromise the scientific accuracy, clinical interpretation, or educational value of the case. However, the removal of direct identifiers alone does not necessarily guarantee anonymity. Authors must also consider whether the combination of clinical, demographic, geographical, and contextual information could enable the patient to be recognised.

If potentially identifiable information or images are essential to the scientific content of the report, their inclusion requires explicit patient consent covering publication of that material.

JHRS reserves the right to request additional anonymisation, clarification, or documentation, or to reject a manuscript if patient confidentiality cannot be adequately protected.

3. Reporting Standards – CARE Guidelines

JHRS encourages and strongly recommends that authors prepare case reports in accordance with the CARE (CAse REport) guidelines and their associated reporting checklist.

The CARE guidelines promote transparent, complete, and consistent reporting of individual clinical cases, thereby improving the quality, reliability, and educational value of published case reports.

Where applicable, manuscripts should include the following elements:

Title: Identification of the manuscript as a case report.
Abstract: A concise summary of the clinical presentation, diagnosis, intervention, and main outcomes.
Introduction: A brief explanation of the scientific or clinical relevance of the reported case.
Patient Information: Relevant demographic characteristics, presenting concerns, medical history, and other pertinent clinical information.
Clinical Findings: Relevant physical examination findings and clinical observations.
Timeline: A chronological presentation of significant events in the patient's clinical course.
Diagnostic Assessment: Diagnostic methods, investigations, differential diagnoses, and relevant clinical reasoning.
Therapeutic Intervention: Details of pharmacological, surgical, rehabilitative, behavioural, or other interventions, as applicable.
Follow-up and Outcomes: Clinical progress, treatment response, rehabilitation outcomes, adverse events, and follow-up information.
Discussion: Interpretation of the findings, comparison with relevant literature, strengths, limitations, and implications for clinical practice.
Patient Perspective: Where feasible and appropriate, the patient's perspective on the clinical experience and interventions.
Informed Consent: A clear statement confirming that written informed consent for publication was obtained.

Authors are encouraged to submit the completed CARE checklist together with their manuscript. The editorial team may request the checklist during the initial assessment or peer-review process.

Compliance with the CARE guidelines does not automatically guarantee acceptance. All manuscripts remain subject to the journal's editorial assessment, scientific evaluation, and peer-review procedures.

4. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the case report is scientifically accurate, ethically acceptable, and based on appropriately documented clinical observations.

The manuscript must not contain fabricated, falsified, misleading, or selectively manipulated clinical information. Authors must provide a balanced and transparent account of the case, including relevant treatment limitations, unfavourable outcomes, and adverse events where applicable.

Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest and relevant sources of funding. All individuals who qualify for authorship must meet the journal's authorship criteria and must have made a meaningful contribution to the preparation of the manuscript.

Where the case report involves research activities beyond routine clinical care, authors must clarify whether approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board was required and obtained, or explain the applicable exemption in accordance with institutional and national regulations.

The publication of a case report does not, by itself, establish that research ethics committee approval is unnecessary. Authors are responsible for determining and documenting the applicable ethical requirements.

5. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers evaluating case reports submitted to JHRS should assess both their scientific merit and their ethical acceptability.

In particular, reviewers are expected to consider:

The originality, clinical relevance, and educational contribution of the reported case.
The clarity, completeness, and accuracy of the clinical description.
The appropriateness of the diagnostic assessment and therapeutic interventions.
The adequacy of follow-up information and reporting of clinical outcomes.
The consistency of the manuscript with the CARE reporting guidelines.
Whether patient confidentiality and anonymisation requirements appear to have been adequately addressed.
Whether the manuscript contains sufficient information confirming that written informed consent for publication has been obtained.
Whether the conclusions are supported by the reported clinical evidence and do not make unjustified generalisations from an individual case.

Reviewers must not request access to identifiable patient records, photographs, or other confidential clinical information. Any concerns regarding insufficient anonymisation, questionable consent, or potential breaches of publication ethics must be communicated confidentially to the editorial office rather than discussed outside the peer-review process.

Reviewers must maintain strict confidentiality and declare any potential conflicts of interest before accepting an invitation to review.

The final responsibility for determining the ethical acceptability and publication suitability of a case report rests with the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board.

6. Editorial Assessment and Publication Decisions

All case reports submitted to JHRS undergo an initial editorial assessment to determine their relevance to the journal's scope, scientific contribution, compliance with submission requirements, and adherence to ethical standards.

Manuscripts that satisfy the initial requirements may be sent for independent peer review in accordance with the journal's peer-review policy.

The editorial team reserves the right to request revisions, additional ethical documentation, clarification of consent procedures, or further anonymisation. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal's ethical, scientific, or reporting requirements may be rejected at any stage of the editorial process.

JHRS may decline to consider case reports that offer insufficient scientific or educational value, duplicate previously published material without justification, or fail to demonstrate appropriate protection of patient rights and confidentiality.

7. Ethical Compliance and Editorial Action

Any suspected breach of patient confidentiality, absence or invalidity of informed consent, fabrication or falsification of clinical information, or other forms of publication misconduct will be handled in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and relevant COPE recommendations.

Where necessary, JHRS may suspend the editorial process, request further explanations or documentation, reject the manuscript, or take appropriate post-publication action in accordance with its correction and retraction policies.

The protection of patients' rights, dignity, privacy, and confidentiality takes precedence over the publication of any individual case report.