The Journal of Comorbidity was launched in 2011 and has since become established as a high-quality journal that publishes open-access, peer-reviewed articles, with a focus on advancing the clinical management of patients with comorbidity/multimorbidity. To further enhance research quality and reporting of studies in this field, the journal is now offering authors the opportunity to publish a summary of their study protocols – a move designed to generate interest and raise awareness in ongoing clinical research and to enable researchers to detail their methodologies in order that replication by scientific peers is possible

Fortin, Martin

Gunn, Jane

Mercer, Stewart W.

Smith, Susan M.

van den Akker, Marjan

Journal of Comorbidity

English

The Journal of Comorbidity was launched in 2011 and has since become established as a high-quality journal that publishes open-access, peer-reviewed articles, with a focus on advancing the clinical management of patients with comorbidity/multimorbidity. To further enhance research quality and reporting of studies in this field, the journal is now offering authors the opportunity to publish a summary of their study protocols – a move designed to generate interest and raise awareness in ongoing clinical research and to enable researchers to detail their methodologies in order that replication by scientific peers is possible.Journal of Comorbidity 2014;4(1):55−5

55
© 2014 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits all non-
commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
 Published by Swiss Medical Press GmbH | www.swissmedicalpress.com
Journal of Comorbidity 2014;4:55–57 doi: 10.15256/joc.2014.4.46
Editorial
Enhancing research quality and reporting: why the Journal 
of Comorbidity is now publishing study protocols
Susan M. Smith1, Stewart W. Mercer2, Jane Gunn3, Marjan van den Akker4,5, Martin Fortin6
1HRB Centre for Primary Care Research, Department of General Practice, RCSI Medical School, Dublin, Ireland; 
2General Practice and Primary Care, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; 3Primary 
Care Research Unit, Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; 
4Department of Family Medicine, Research School Caphri, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; 
5Department of Family Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 6Department of Family Medicine and Emergency 
Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, and Centre de santé et de services sociaux de 
Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada
Correspondence: Martin Fortin, MD, MSc, CFPC, Centre 
de santé et de services sociaux de Chicoutimi, 305 St-Vallier, 
Chicoutimi, QC G7H 5H6, Canada.  Tel.: +1 418 541 1234  
(ext. 2818); fax: +1 418 541 7091; 
E-mail: Martin.Fortin@USherbrooke.ca 
 
Received: Oct 29, 2014; Accepted: Oct 31, 2014; Published: Nov 
18, 2014
The Journal of Comorbidity was launched in 2011 and has 
since become established as a high-quality journal that 
publishes open-access, peer-reviewed articles, with a 
focus on advancing the clinical management of patients 
with comorbidity/multimorbidity. To further enhance 
research quality and reporting of studies in this field, 
the journal is now offering authors the opportunity to 
publish a summary of their study protocols – a move 
designed to generate interest and raise awareness in 
ongoing clinical research and to enable researchers to 
detail their methodologies in order that replication by 
scientific peers is possible.
Study protocols are a fundamental component of any 
study and provide insight into the thinking behind the 
study and how it will be conducted prior to its initiation. 
Protocols should meet the information needs of all stake-
holders, including researchers, funding agencies, ethical 
reviewers, regulators, medical journals, and systematic 
reviewers [1]. They should provide a comprehensive 
overview of all aspects of the study conduct and contain 
a summary of roles and responsibilities, the rationale and 
study objectives, a full description of the study design, 
including study settings, sample size, eligibility criteria, 
interventions and timelines, data collection and statisti-
cal methodologies, data monitoring, and dissemination 
policies [1]. For studies investigating issues relating to 
comorbidity/multimorbidity, protocols should clearly 
define the comorbid or multimorbid conditions under 
investigation and outline any restrictions based on pre-
determined lists of conditions [2]; they should explain 
how any proposed interventions will address these 
conditions [3], and they should outline how the study 
will overcome issues relating to generalizability and/
or external validity that can complicate comorbidity/
multimorbidity studies [4]. When developing a protocol 
for a cohort study, ideally using a prospective design, 
consideration should be given to how the study might 
enhance understanding of the natural history and tra-
jectory of the comorbid/multimorbid conditions, illness 
and treatment burden, patient quality of life and well-
being, as well as the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness 
of care [5].
Why publish study protocols?
Publishing study protocols serves several important 
purposes. Publication increases research quality and 
transparency, encourages communication and collabo-
ration between research teams, helps to disseminate 
contemporary ideas about study design and data anal-
ysis, avoids research duplication, and may assist study 
recruitment.
The availability of a published final protocol allows 
subsequent authors and reviewers to cross-reference 
the study details, assists in presenting the final results, 
56  S.M. Smith et al.
© 2014 The Authors
 Published by Swiss Medical Press GmbH | www.swissmedicalpress.com Journal of Comorbidity 2014;4:55–57
aids systematic evaluation of the data, and discourages 
reporting bias. Importantly, it enables readers to com-
pare the original aims and design of the study with the 
final reported outcomes, thereby reducing the potential 
for unexplained post-hoc revisions of the study goals and 
methodologies – a problem that appears to affect the 
reporting of both observational studies and randomized 
controlled trials.
Publication of study protocols in peer-reviewed 
journals rightfully engenders the expectation that the 
results will eventually be disseminated, and encour-
ages investigators to report their findings in a timely 
and appropriate way. Last, but not least, we believe 
that publication of study protocols recognizes the 
substantial amount of work that is required for their 
development, affording research professionals, who 
may otherwise remain unseen, an opportunity to pro-
mote their work.
Publishing your study protocol in the Journal 
of Comorbidity
 • The Journal of Comorbidity will peer review proto-
cols unless the study has received approval from an 
institutional review board (IRB)/ethics committee 
and has received peer-reviewed grant support from a 
major extramural funding body
 • The Journal of Comorbidity endorses the SPIRIT 
(Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for 
Interventional Trials) Statement [1]. Authors are 
required to follow these guidelines when preparing 
their protocol, with specific attention being paid to the 
challenges of comorbidity/multimorbidity research.
Types of protocol
 • Protocols that describe the design of planned or 
ongoing research will be considered for publication
 • Protocols for any study design will be considered, 
including observational, qualitative, exploratory stud-
ies, experimental studies, and systematic reviews. We 
encourage the submission of protocols for studies that 
will evaluate specific aspects of clinical trial design
 • Study protocols should generally provide a detailed 
account of the hypothesis, rationale, contextual 
background, design/methodology, statistical consid-
erations, and analysis of the proposed research
 • Study protocols should be presented with sufficient 
detail to enable replication of the methods by others
 • Full details of the requirements for submitting a proto-
col are described in the journal’s guidelines to authors, 
which can be found online (www.jcomorbidity.com).
Benefits
 • Open access – freely available online for readers 
worldwide
 • Rapid publication
 • High visibility
 • Authors retain copyright
 • Adequate space for comprehensive protocol 
description1
 • Authors are not required to submit subsequent reports 
of their study to the journal; however, the editors 
encourage the authors to consider doing so.
Submit your protocol to the Journal of 
Comorbidity
 • We invite all researchers involved in work that is per-
tinent to comorbidity/multimorbidity to submit their 
study protocols to the Journal of Comorbidity
 • To submit your protocol to the Journal of Comorbidity, 
go to the submissions page to register or login (http://
www.jcomorbidity.com/index.php/test/user/register).
About the Journal of Comorbidity
The Journal of Comorbidity is an international, open-
access, peer-reviewed journal for the pathophysiology, 
diagnosis, prevention and management of patients with 
comorbidity/multimorbidity. The journal currently pub-
lishes original clinical and experimental research articles, 
treatment guidelines/policies, editorials, commentar-
ies, and critical review articles, as well as proceedings of 
congresses. Preference is given to articles that advance the 
clinical management of patients. The Editorial Board also 
welcomes ideas and suggestions for special issues dedicated 
to a unique theme. The journal provides immediate, per-
manent open access to its content on the principle that 
making research freely available to the public supports a 
greater global exchange of knowledge.
Acknowledgments
Martin Fortin holds the Research Chair on Chronic Diseases in Pri-
mary Care, Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada. Stewart W. 
Mercer acknowledges the support of the Scottish School of Primary 
Care, in his role as Director and Lead of the Multimorbidity Research 
Programme. Susan M. Smith acknowledges support from the Health 
Research Board Centre for Primary Care Research in Ireland.
1Authors should refer to the journal guidelines when preparing 
their protocol for submission
Enhancing research quality and reporting  57
© 2014 The Authors
 Published by Swiss Medical Press GmbH | www.swissmedicalpress.com Journal of Comorbidity 2014;4:55–57
 guidance for protocols of clinical trials. Br Med J 2013;346:e7586. 
View Item
2. Almirall J, Fortin M. The coexistence of terms to describe the pres-
ence of multiple concurrent diseases. J Comorbidity 2013;3:4–9. 
View Item
3. Smith SM, Bayliss E, Mercer SW, Gunn J, Vestergaard M, Wyke S, et 
al. How to design and evaluate interventions to improve outcomes for 
patients with multimorbidity. J Comorbidity 2013;3:10–17. View Item
4. Fortin M, Smith S. Improving the external validity of clinical trials: 
the case of multiple chronic conditions. J Comorbidity 2013;3:30–5. 
View Item
5. Mercer SW, Gunn J, Wyke S. Improving the health of people with 
multimorbidity: the need for prospective cohort studies. J Comor-
bidity 2011;1:4–7. View Item
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Funding
None declared.
References
1. Chan A-W, Tetzlaff JM, Gøtzsche PC, Altman DG, Mann H, 
Berlin JA, et al. SPIRIT 2013 explanation and elaboration: 


Enhancing research quality and reporting 57 ©

explanation and elaboration:

How to design and evaluate interventions to improve outcomes for patients with multimorbidity.

Improving the external validity of clinical trials: the case of multiple chronic conditions.

Improving the health of people with multimorbidity: the need for prospective cohort studies.

The coexistence of terms to describe the presence of multiple concurrent diseases. J Comorbidity 2013;3:4–9. View Item

Enhancing research quality and reporting: why the Journal of Comorbidity is now publishing study protocols

Abstract: The Journal of Comorbidity was launched in 2011 and has since become established as a high-quality journal that publishes open-access, peer-reviewed articles, with a focus on advancing the clinical management of patients with comorbidity/multimorbidity. To further enhance research quality and reporting of studies in this field, the journal is now offering authors the opportunity to publish a summary of their study protocols – a move designed to generate interest and raise awareness in ongoing clinical research and to enable researchers to detail their methodologies in order that replication by scientific peers is possible

NEUROSURGERY ENTHUSIASTIC WOMEN SOCIETY

Smith, Susan M

Mercer, Stewart W

Lirias

Enhancing research quality and reporting: why the Journal of Comorbidity is now publishing study protocols.

Enlighten

s    Smith, S. M., Mercer, S. W., Gunn, J., van den Akker, M., and Fortin, M. (2014) Enhancing research quality and reporting: why the Journal of Comorbidity is now publishing study protocols. Journal of Comorbidity, 4(1), pp. 55-57.    Copyright © 2015 The Authors This work is made available the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 License (CC BY-NC 4.0)  Version: Published    http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/104405    Deposited on:  25 March 2015                  Enlighten – Research publications by members of the University of Glasgow http://eprints.gla.ac.uk 55© 2014 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Published by Swiss Medical Press GmbH | www.swissmedicalpress.comJournal of Comorbidity 2014;4:55–57 doi: 10.15256/joc.2014.4.46EditorialEnhancing research quality and reporting: why the Journal of Comorbidity is now publishing study protocolsSusan M. Smith1, Stewart W. Mercer2, Jane Gunn3, Marjan van den Akker4,5, Martin Fortin61HRB Centre for Primary Care Research, Department of General Practice, RCSI Medical School, Dublin, Ireland; 2General Practice and Primary Care, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; 3Primary Care Research Unit, Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; 4Department of Family Medicine, Research School Caphri, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; 5Department of Family Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 6Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, and Centre de santé et de services sociaux de Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Quebec, CanadaCorrespondence: Martin Fortin, MD, MSc, CFPC, Centre de santé et de services sociaux de Chicoutimi, 305 St-Vallier, Chicoutimi, QC G7H 5H6, Canada.  Tel.: +1 418 541 1234  (ext. 2818); fax: +1 418 541 7091; E-mail: Martin.Fortin@USherbrooke.ca  Received: Oct 29, 2014; Accepted: Oct 31, 2014; Published: Nov 18, 2014The Journal of Comorbidity was launched in 2011 and has since become established as a high-quality journal that publishes open-access, peer-reviewed articles, with a focus on advancing the clinical management of patients with comorbidity/multimorbidity. To further enhance research quality and reporting of studies in this field, the journal is now offering authors the opportunity to publish a summary of their study protocols – a move designed to generate interest and raise awareness in ongoing clinical research and to enable researchers to detail their methodologies in order that replication by scientific peers is possible.Study protocols are a fundamental component of any study and provide insight into the thinking behind the study and how it will be conducted prior to its initiation. Protocols should meet the information needs of all stake-holders, including researchers, funding agencies, ethical reviewers, regulators, medical journals, and systematic reviewers [1]. They should provide a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the study conduct and contain a summary of roles and responsibilities, the rationale and study objectives, a full description of the study design, including study settings, sample size, eligibility criteria, interventions and timelines, data collection and statisti-cal methodologies, data monitoring, and dissemination policies [1]. For studies investigating issues relating to comorbidity/multimorbidity, protocols should clearly define the comorbid or multimorbid conditions under investigation and outline any restrictions based on pre-determined lists of conditions [2]; they should explain how any proposed interventions will address these conditions [3], and they should outline how the study will overcome issues relating to generalizability and/or external validity that can complicate comorbidity/multimorbidity studies [4]. When developing a protocol for a cohort study, ideally using a prospective design, consideration should be given to how the study might enhance understanding of the natural history and tra-jectory of the comorbid/multimorbid conditions, illness and treatment burden, patient quality of life and well-being, as well as the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness of care [5].Why publish study protocols?Publishing study protocols serves several important purposes. Publication increases research quality and transparency, encourages communication and collabo-ration between research teams, helps to disseminate contemporary ideas about study design and data anal-ysis, avoids research duplication, and may assist study recruitment.The availability of a published final protocol allows subsequent authors and reviewers to cross-reference the study details, assists in presenting the final results, 56  S.M. Smith et al.© 2014 The Authors Published by Swiss Medical Press GmbH | www.swissmedicalpress.com Journal of Comorbidity 2014;4:55–57aids systematic evaluation of the data, and discourages reporting bias. Importantly, it enables readers to com-pare the original aims and design of the study with the final reported outcomes, thereby reducing the potential for unexplained post-hoc revisions of the study goals and methodologies – a problem that appears to affect the reporting of both observational studies and randomized controlled trials.Publication of study protocols in peer-reviewed journals rightfully engenders the expectation that the results will eventually be disseminated, and encour-ages investigators to report their findings in a timely and appropriate way. Last, but not least, we believe that publication of study protocols recognizes the substantial amount of work that is required for their development, affording research professionals, who may otherwise remain unseen, an opportunity to pro-mote their work.Publishing your study protocol in the Journal of Comorbidity • The Journal of Comorbidity will peer review proto-cols unless the study has received approval from an institutional review board (IRB)/ethics committee and has received peer-reviewed grant support from a major extramural funding body • The Journal of Comorbidity endorses the SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) Statement [1]. Authors are required to follow these guidelines when preparing their protocol, with specific attention being paid to the challenges of comorbidity/multimorbidity research.Types of protocol • Protocols that describe the design of planned or ongoing research will be considered for publication • Protocols for any study design will be considered, including observational, qualitative, exploratory stud-ies, experimental studies, and systematic reviews. We encourage the submission of protocols for studies that will evaluate specific aspects of clinical trial design • Study protocols should generally provide a detailed account of the hypothesis, rationale, contextual background, design/methodology, statistical consid-erations, and analysis of the proposed research • Study protocols should be presented with sufficient detail to enable replication of the methods by others • Full details of the requirements for submitting a proto-col are described in the journal’s guidelines to authors, which can be found online (www.jcomorbidity.com).Benefits • Open access – freely available online for readers worldwide • Rapid publication • High visibility • Authors retain copyright • Adequate space for comprehensive protocol description1 • Authors are not required to submit subsequent reports of their study to the journal; however, the editors encourage the authors to consider doing so.Submit your protocol to the Journal of Comorbidity • We invite all researchers involved in work that is per-tinent to comorbidity/multimorbidity to submit their study protocols to the Journal of Comorbidity • To submit your protocol to the Journal of Comorbidity, go to the submissions page to register or login (http://www.jcomorbidity.com/index.php/test/user/register).About the Journal of ComorbidityThe Journal of Comorbidity is an international, open-access, peer-reviewed journal for the pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention and management of patients with comorbidity/multimorbidity. The journal currently pub-lishes original clinical and experimental research articles, treatment guidelines/policies, editorials, commentar-ies, and critical review articles, as well as proceedings of congresses. Preference is given to articles that advance the clinical management of patients. The Editorial Board also welcomes ideas and suggestions for special issues dedicated to a unique theme. The journal provides immediate, per-manent open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.AcknowledgmentsMartin Fortin holds the Research Chair on Chronic Diseases in Pri-mary Care, Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada. Stewart W. Mercer acknowledges the support of the Scottish School of Primary Care, in his role as Director and Lead of the Multimorbidity Research Programme. Susan M. Smith acknowledges support from the Health Research Board Centre for Primary Care Research in Ireland.1Authors should refer to the journal guidelines when preparing their protocol for submissionEnhancing research quality and reporting  57© 2014 The Authors Published by Swiss Medical Press GmbH | www.swissmedicalpress.com Journal of Comorbidity 2014;4:55–57 guidance for protocols of clinical trials. Br Med J 2013;346:e7586. View Item2. Almirall J, Fortin M. The coexistence of terms to describe the pres-ence of multiple concurrent diseases. J Comorbidity 2013;3:4–9. View Item3. Smith SM, Bayliss E, Mercer SW, Gunn J, Vestergaard M, Wyke S, et al. How to design and evaluate interventions to improve outcomes for patients with multimorbidity. J Comorbidity 2013;3:10–17. View Item4. Fortin M, Smith S. Improving the external validity of clinical trials: the case of multiple chronic conditions. J Comorbidity 2013;3:30–5. View Item5. Mercer SW, Gunn J, Wyke S. Improving the health of people with multimorbidity: the need for prospective cohort studies. J Comor-bidity 2011;1:4–7. View ItemConflicts of interestThe authors declare no conflicts of interest.FundingNone declared.References1. Chan A-W, Tetzlaff JM, Gøtzsche PC, Altman DG, Mann H, Berlin JA, et al. SPIRIT 2013 explanation and elaboration: 

Enlighten: Publications

s 
 
 
 
Smith, S. M., Mercer, S. W., Gunn, J., van den Akker, M., and Fortin, M. 
(2014) Enhancing research quality and reporting: why the Journal of 
Comorbidity is now publishing study protocols. Journal of Comorbidity, 
4(1), pp. 55-57. 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2015 The Authors 
This work is made available the Creative Commons Attribution Non 
Commercial 4.0 License (CC BY-NC 4.0) 
 
Version: Published 
 
 
 
http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/104405 
 
 
 
Deposited on:  25 March 2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Enlighten – Research publications by members of the University of Glasgow 
http://eprints.gla.ac.uk 
55
© 2014 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits all non-
commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
 Published by Swiss Medical Press GmbH | www.swissmedicalpress.com
Journal of Comorbidity 2014;4:55–57 doi: 10.15256/joc.2014.4.46
Editorial
Enhancing research quality and reporting: why the Journal 
of Comorbidity is now publishing study protocols
Susan M. Smith1, Stewart W. Mercer2, Jane Gunn3, Marjan van den Akker4,5, Martin Fortin6
1HRB Centre for Primary Care Research, Department of General Practice, RCSI Medical School, Dublin, Ireland; 
2General Practice and Primary Care, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK; 3Primary 
Care Research Unit, Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; 
4Department of Family Medicine, Research School Caphri, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands; 
5Department of Family Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 6Department of Family Medicine and Emergency 
Medicine, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, and Centre de santé et de services sociaux de 
Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada
Correspondence: Martin Fortin, MD, MSc, CFPC, Centre 
de santé et de services sociaux de Chicoutimi, 305 St-Vallier, 
Chicoutimi, QC G7H 5H6, Canada.  Tel.: +1 418 541 1234  
(ext. 2818); fax: +1 418 541 7091; 
E-mail: Martin.Fortin@USherbrooke.ca 
 
Received: Oct 29, 2014; Accepted: Oct 31, 2014; Published: Nov 
18, 2014
The Journal of Comorbidity was launched in 2011 and has 
since become established as a high-quality journal that 
publishes open-access, peer-reviewed articles, with a 
focus on advancing the clinical management of patients 
with comorbidity/multimorbidity. To further enhance 
research quality and reporting of studies in this field, 
the journal is now offering authors the opportunity to 
publish a summary of their study protocols – a move 
designed to generate interest and raise awareness in 
ongoing clinical research and to enable researchers to 
detail their methodologies in order that replication by 
scientific peers is possible.
Study protocols are a fundamental component of any 
study and provide insight into the thinking behind the 
study and how it will be conducted prior to its initiation. 
Protocols should meet the information needs of all stake-
holders, including researchers, funding agencies, ethical 
reviewers, regulators, medical journals, and systematic 
reviewers [1]. They should provide a comprehensive 
overview of all aspects of the study conduct and contain 
a summary of roles and responsibilities, the rationale and 
study objectives, a full description of the study design, 
including study settings, sample size, eligibility criteria, 
interventions and timelines, data collection and statisti-
cal methodologies, data monitoring, and dissemination 
policies [1]. For studies investigating issues relating to 
comorbidity/multimorbidity, protocols should clearly 
define the comorbid or multimorbid conditions under 
investigation and outline any restrictions based on pre-
determined lists of conditions [2]; they should explain 
how any proposed interventions will address these 
conditions [3], and they should outline how the study 
will overcome issues relating to generalizability and/
or external validity that can complicate comorbidity/
multimorbidity studies [4]. When developing a protocol 
for a cohort study, ideally using a prospective design, 
consideration should be given to how the study might 
enhance understanding of the natural history and tra-
jectory of the comorbid/multimorbid conditions, illness 
and treatment burden, patient quality of life and well-
being, as well as the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness 
of care [5].
Why publish study protocols?
Publishing study protocols serves several important 
purposes. Publication increases research quality and 
transparency, encourages communication and collabo-
ration between research teams, helps to disseminate 
contemporary ideas about study design and data anal-
ysis, avoids research duplication, and may assist study 
recruitment.
The availability of a published final protocol allows 
subsequent authors and reviewers to cross-reference 
the study details, assists in presenting the final results, 
56  S.M. Smith et al.
© 2014 The Authors
 Published by Swiss Medical Press GmbH | www.swissmedicalpress.com Journal of Comorbidity 2014;4:55–57
aids systematic evaluation of the data, and discourages 
reporting bias. Importantly, it enables readers to com-
pare the original aims and design of the study with the 
final reported outcomes, thereby reducing the potential 
for unexplained post-hoc revisions of the study goals and 
methodologies – a problem that appears to affect the 
reporting of both observational studies and randomized 
controlled trials.
Publication of study protocols in peer-reviewed 
journals rightfully engenders the expectation that the 
results will eventually be disseminated, and encour-
ages investigators to report their findings in a timely 
and appropriate way. Last, but not least, we believe 
that publication of study protocols recognizes the 
substantial amount of work that is required for their 
development, affording research professionals, who 
may otherwise remain unseen, an opportunity to pro-
mote their work.
Publishing your study protocol in the Journal 
of Comorbidity
 • The Journal of Comorbidity will peer review proto-
cols unless the study has received approval from an 
institutional review board (IRB)/ethics committee 
and has received peer-reviewed grant support from a 
major extramural funding body
 • The Journal of Comorbidity endorses the SPIRIT 
(Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for 
Interventional Trials) Statement [1]. Authors are 
required to follow these guidelines when preparing 
their protocol, with specific attention being paid to the 
challenges of comorbidity/multimorbidity research.
Types of protocol
 • Protocols that describe the design of planned or 
ongoing research will be considered for publication
 • Protocols for any study design will be considered, 
including observational, qualitative, exploratory stud-
ies, experimental studies, and systematic reviews. We 
encourage the submission of protocols for studies that 
will evaluate specific aspects of clinical trial design
 • Study protocols should generally provide a detailed 
account of the hypothesis, rationale, contextual 
background, design/methodology, statistical consid-
erations, and analysis of the proposed research
 • Study protocols should be presented with sufficient 
detail to enable replication of the methods by others
 • Full details of the requirements for submitting a proto-
col are described in the journal’s guidelines to authors, 
which can be found online (www.jcomorbidity.com).
Benefits
 • Open access – freely available online for readers 
worldwide
 • Rapid publication
 • High visibility
 • Authors retain copyright
 • Adequate space for comprehensive protocol 
description1
 • Authors are not required to submit subsequent reports 
of their study to the journal; however, the editors 
encourage the authors to consider doing so.
Submit your protocol to the Journal of 
Comorbidity
 • We invite all researchers involved in work that is per-
tinent to comorbidity/multimorbidity to submit their 
study protocols to the Journal of Comorbidity
 • To submit your protocol to the Journal of Comorbidity, 
go to the submissions page to register or login (http://
www.jcomorbidity.com/index.php/test/user/register).
About the Journal of Comorbidity
The Journal of Comorbidity is an international, open-
access, peer-reviewed journal for the pathophysiology, 
diagnosis, prevention and management of patients with 
comorbidity/multimorbidity. The journal currently pub-
lishes original clinical and experimental research articles, 
treatment guidelines/policies, editorials, commentar-
ies, and critical review articles, as well as proceedings of 
congresses. Preference is given to articles that advance the 
clinical management of patients. The Editorial Board also 
welcomes ideas and suggestions for special issues dedicated 
to a unique theme. The journal provides immediate, per-
manent open access to its content on the principle that 
making research freely available to the public supports a 
greater global exchange of knowledge.
Acknowledgments
Martin Fortin holds the Research Chair on Chronic Diseases in Pri-
mary Care, Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada. Stewart W. 
Mercer acknowledges the support of the Scottish School of Primary 
Care, in his role as Director and Lead of the Multimorbidity Research 
Programme. Susan M. Smith acknowledges support from the Health 
Research Board Centre for Primary Care Research in Ireland.
1Authors should refer to the journal guidelines when preparing 
their protocol for submission
Enhancing research quality and reporting  57
© 2014 The Authors
 Published by Swiss Medical Press GmbH | www.swissmedicalpress.com Journal of Comorbidity 2014;4:55–57
 guidance for protocols of clinical trials. Br Med J 2013;346:e7586. 
View Item
2. Almirall J, Fortin M. The coexistence of terms to describe the pres-
ence of multiple concurrent diseases. J Comorbidity 2013;3:4–9. 
View Item
3. Smith SM, Bayliss E, Mercer SW, Gunn J, Vestergaard M, Wyke S, et 
al. How to design and evaluate interventions to improve outcomes for 
patients with multimorbidity. J Comorbidity 2013;3:10–17. View Item
4. Fortin M, Smith S. Improving the external validity of clinical trials: 
the case of multiple chronic conditions. J Comorbidity 2013;3:30–5. 
View Item
5. Mercer SW, Gunn J, Wyke S. Improving the health of people with 
multimorbidity: the need for prospective cohort studies. J Comor-
bidity 2011;1:4–7. View Item
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Funding
None declared.
References
1. Chan A-W, Tetzlaff JM, Gøtzsche PC, Altman DG, Mann H, 
Berlin JA, et al. SPIRIT 2013 explanation and elaboration: 


Susan M. Smith

Stewart W. Mercer

Jane Gunn

Marjan van den Akker

Martin Fortin

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Enhancing Research Quality and Reporting: Why the <i>Journal of Comorbidity</i> is Now Publishing Study Protocols

The Journal of Comorbidity is an international, openaccess, peer-reviewed journal for the pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention and management of patients with comorbidity/multimorbidity. The journal currently publishes original clinical and experimental research articles, treatment guidelines/policies, editorials, commentaries, and critical review articles, as well as proceedings of congresses. Preference is given to articles that advance the clinical management of patients. The Editorial Board also welcomes ideas and suggestions for special issues dedicated to a unique theme. The journal provides immediate, permanent open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge</p

Enhancing research quality and reporting: why the Journal of Comorbidity is now publishing study protocols

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