1. Manuscript Guidelines

The manuscript submission guidelines for authors can be accessed here.

2. Initial Screening & Peer Review

All manuscripts submitted to Danish Journal of Emergency Medicine undergo a thorough editorial assessment to ensure they align with the journal’s scope and meet academic standards of integrity, quality, and originality.

2.1 Initial Screening

Each submission undergoes an initial editorial screening by one of the section editors, who checks that submission requirements are met and that the manuscript is suitable for further consideration. Manuscripts that do not meet these criteria or fall outside the journal’s scope may be rejected without peer review. All such rejections are made as a collective editorial decision.

2.2 Peer Review

Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are forwarded by the section editor to at least two independent experts in the relevant field. Peer review is conducted in a double-blind manner, ensuring anonymity between authors and reviewers. All manuscripts are peer reviewed, except editorials and Danish abstracts of original articles and summaries of PhD or doctoral theses, which are evaluated editorially only.

2.3 Second Editorial Decision

Once at least two peer review reports have been received, a second editorial decision is made. The manuscript may be:

• rejected,
• accepted with minor or no revisions, or
• returned for major revisions prior to further consideration.

The section editor makes the final decision based on reviewer recommendations. Rejections are always made in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief.

2.4 Revision

If revisions are required, the manuscript is returned to the authors with detailed comments. The section editor then evaluates whether the revisions are sufficient and if reviewer feedback has been adequately addressed. Major revisions are generally sent out for a second round of peer review.

2.5 Manuscripts Submitted by Editors

To ensure transparency and impartiality, special procedures apply to manuscripts submitted by editorial board members. Such individuals must not be involved in any part of the review process and may not access the manuscript or reviewer comments in the editorial system. They must also abstain from any discussions or decisions regarding the manuscript.

An independent section editor is appointed to manage the full review process—including initial screening, reviewer selection, and final editorial decision. The Editor-in-Chief oversees and ensures the integrity of this process in accordance with the journal’s editorial independence policy.

3. Appeals of Editorial Decisions

An editorial decision to reject a submitted manuscript is final and cannot be appealed. However, a rejected manuscript may always be resubmitted for renewed editorial consideration. In that case, the cover letter must specify any new information from the authors, including any substantial scholarly objections related to the previous peer review or any well-founded suspicion of conflicts of interest or bias in the peer-review process.

The editors reserve the right to reject the manuscript again without a new round of peer review if the resubmission merely expresses disagreement with the previous decision without additional documentation, argumentation, or revision of the manuscript. If the manuscript is sent for renewed peer review, it will always be evaluated by new reviewers.

4. Ethical Guidelines

Research involving human or animal subjects must be reviewed by a relevant ethics committee. If formal approval is not required, this must be clearly stated in the manuscript with an appropriate justification. All research must adhere to recognized ethical standards, including the Declaration of Helsinki (1964). Informed consent must be obtained from all participants unless clearly irrelevant to the nature of the study. Personal data must be handled confidentially, and identifiable information may not be published without explicit consent. The editorial board reserves the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with these ethical requirements.

The journal adheres to the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), particularly in cases involving scientific misconduct such as plagiarism, data fabrication, and inappropriate authorship.

Editors and peer reviewers are also expected to recuse themselves from handling or reviewing manuscripts if a potential conflict of interest exists that could compromise their impartiality.

5. Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial or other relevant relationships with organizations that funded the research or may be affected by the study’s findings. This information must appear in a dedicated section immediately preceding the references. If no conflicts exist, authors must state this explicitly. It must also be stated whether the manuscript was funded by a grant, and if so, the funding source must be specified.

All authors are required to complete the ICMJE disclosure form to confirm authorship and any potential conflicts of interest.

6. Archiving

All publications are permanently archived in digital format by The Royal Danish Library to ensure long-term access.

7. Open Access & Copyright Policy

This journal provides immediate Open Access to its content based on the principle that free and open access to research supports a wider global exchange of knowledge.

Articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing others to share and reuse the content, provided proper attribution is given and any modifications are clearly indicated.

Authors retain the copyright to their work upon publication in Danish Journal of Emergency Medicine.

8. Fee Policy

This journal is non-profit and does not charge any submission fees, article processing charges (APCs), or other publication-related costs.