Submissions

Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you're satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.

Submission Preparation Checklist

Detailed Author Submission Checklist

Preamble

This checklist is mandatory for all manuscript submissions to the Doctor of Physical Therapy Middle East (DPTME Journal). Failure to satisfy all criteria listed below will result in the immediate return of the manuscript without peer review. Authors are responsible for ensuring full compliance with the journal’s ethical policies and formatting requirements.

Part 1: Ethical & Policy Compliance (Mandatory for SCOPUS)

Please confirm that the following ethical and legal requirements have been met:

Checkpoint	Requirement	Confirmation
1. Novelty & Prior Publication	The manuscript has not been previously published, nor is it under simultaneous consideration by any other journal or publisher.	☐
2. Authorship Criteria (ICMJE)	Authorship is based solely on ICMJE guidelines (significant contribution to conception/design, data acquisition, analysis/interpretation; drafting/revising; and final approval). There are no Ghost or Gift Authors included.	☐
3. ORCID IDs	All contributing authors have a valid Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID). (ORCID IDs must be entered in the metadata and on the title page).	☐
4. Ethical Approval (IRB)	For studies involving human participants or animals, approval from the relevant Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee has been obtained. The approval number and date must be cited in the Methods section.	☐
5. Informed Consent	Written Informed Consent was obtained from all human participants or their legal guardians. A statement confirming this is included in the Methods section.	☐
6. Helsinki Declaration	Clinical research involving human subjects confirms adherence to the ethical principles of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.	☐
7. Conflict of Interest (COI)	A mandatory Conflict of Interest Statement is included at the end of the manuscript text. (Must state "The authors declare no conflict of interest" if none exist).	☐
8. Funding Disclosure	A separate Funding Statement is included, detailing all sources of financial and material support for the research. (Must state "The study received no external funding" if applicable).	☐
9. Data Availability	A statement regarding the availability of research data is included, indicating where data can be accessed (e.g., repository link) or why data cannot be shared.	☐

Part 2: Manuscript Formatting and Style

Please ensure your manuscript meets the DPTME Journal’s technical specifications:

Checkpoint	Requirement	Confirmation
1. File Format	The main manuscript file is submitted in Microsoft Word (.docx) format.	☐
2. Language	The manuscript is written in clear, concise English (either UK or US spelling, but consistent).	☐
3. Text Formatting	Text is double-spaced, using a 12-point standard font (e.g., Times New Roman or Arial), with continuous line and page numbering.	☐
4. Structure (Original Research)	The manuscript strictly follows the IMRAD structure: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion.	☐
5. Word Count Limit	The main body of the text (excluding Title Page, Abstract, References, Tables, and Figure Legends) does not exceed 5,000 words (for Original Research).	☐
6. Abstract	A structured abstract (max 300 words) is included with clear headings (e.g., Background, Objective, Methods, Results, Conclusion).	☐
7. Keywords	3 to 6 relevant keywords are provided (preferably using MeSH terms where applicable).	☐
8. References	References are numbered consecutively and cited in the text using the Vancouver/AMA style (superscript numbers). All references must be accurate and verified.	☐
9. Tables and Figures	All Tables and Figures are cited sequentially in the text. Tables are editable (not images). Figures are high-resolution (min 300 dpi) and legible.	☐

Part 3: Required Files and Anonymity for Peer Review

The Double-Blind Peer Review process requires the submission to be separated into two files:

File Name	Content and Purpose	Confirmation
1. Title Page (Separate File)	Contains: Full Title, Full names and affiliations of all authors, ORCID IDs, Corresponding author contact details, and Manuscript word count.	☐
2. Main Manuscript File (Anonymized)	Contains: Abstract, Keywords, Main Text (IMRAD), Funding Statement, COI Statement, References, Tables, and Figure Legends. This file must contain absolutely NO identifying information about the authors or their institutions. (e.g., Institutional names must be masked).	☐
3. Ethics Documentation	Upload a scanned copy or formal letter confirming IRB/Ethics Committee approval for review purposes (will not be published).	☐
4. COI Disclosure Form	A signed COI Disclosure Form for all authors must be uploaded as a supplementary file.	☐

Articles

Section default policy

Copyright Notice

Copyright and Licensing Statement

1. Open Access Philosophy

The Doctor of Physical Therapy Middle East (DPTME Journal) operates as a Gold Open Access journal. Our fundamental commitment is to ensure the widest possible dissemination of scientific research in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation. All articles published in the DPTME Journal are freely available immediately upon publication without any subscription or access charges to the reader.

2. Copyright Policy (Authors Retain Rights)

Unlike traditional publishing models where authors transfer all rights to the publisher, the DPTME Journal operates under an author-friendly model:

Authors Retain Copyright: Authors retain the full copyright to their original research and scholarly content published in the DPTME Journal.
Publisher License: By submitting a manuscript, authors grant the DPTME Journal (published by SmartPhysio Int'l LTD.) an exclusive, irrevocable license to publish the article and to identify itself as the original publisher. This license permits the journal to host, market, and archive the article for the lifetime of the journal.

3. Licensing Policy (Creative Commons)

To maximize the visibility, use, and impact of the research, all articles published in the DPTME Journal are licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)

This license is widely recommended by open access initiatives and is the standard for major academic funders and institutions globally. Under the CC BY 4.0 license, anyone is free to:

Share: Copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
Adapt: Remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

The only requirement is Attribution: Users must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. This must be done in a reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses the user or their use.

4. Self-Archiving and Repositories (Green Open Access)

The DPTME Journal encourages authors to share their work and strictly adheres to its CC BY 4.0 commitment regarding self-archiving:

Version of Article	Permitted Archiving Location	Timing
Submitted Manuscript (Preprint)	Any repository, personal website, or scholarly collaboration network.	Immediately, before or after submission.
Accepted Manuscript (Author Accepted Manuscript - AAM)	Institutional repository, funder repository, personal website.	Immediately upon official acceptance of the manuscript.
Published Version of Record (PDF)	Institutional repository, funder repository, or other openly accessible database, provided the article is clearly linked to the DPTME Journal website.	Immediately upon publication on the DPTME website.

Authors are strongly encouraged to include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and a link to the published article on the DPTME Journal website in all self-archived versions.

5. Policy on Re-Use

The DPTME Journal's commitment to the CC BY 4.0 license means:

Commercial Re-Use: Permitted, provided proper attribution to the original DPTME article is maintained.
Educational Re-Use: Highly encouraged for classroom use, course packs, and academic training materials, without requiring separate permission from the journal.
Translation: Permitted, provided the translation is clearly marked as a derivative work and properly attributes the original DPTME article.

Privacy Statement

1. Introduction and Scope

The Doctor of Physical Therapy Middle East (DPTME Journal), published by SmartPhysio Int'l LTD., is committed to protecting the privacy of its users, authors, reviewers, and subscribers. This statement outlines our policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data collected through the journal’s website, which operates on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform.

Our commitment ensures that personal data is handled responsibly, securely, and in compliance with global best practices for data protection and ethical publication.

2. Data Collection and Use

The DPTME Journal collects data strictly for the purposes of managing and publishing the journal content, maintaining the integrity of the peer review process, and communicating with our scholarly community.

A. Registered Users (Authors and Reviewers)

We collect the following mandatory personal information upon registration or submission:

Name, Affiliation, and Contact Information: Used to communicate regarding the manuscript process (submission, review status, decision), and for publishing the author’s name and affiliation in the final Version of Record.
Email Address: Used for essential communication. We will not sell or share email addresses with third parties.
ORCID ID (Mandatory for Authors): Used to uniquely identify authors and connect them to their scholarly outputs, ensuring data accuracy in indexing databases.

B. Data Use Specifics

Peer Review: Reviewer contact details and institutional information are kept strictly confidential by the Editorial Office and are never shared with the authors (Double-Blind Policy). Authors’ identifying data is removed from the manuscript file sent to reviewers.
Indexing and Archiving: Author names, affiliations, titles, and abstracts are shared with necessary third-party indexing services (CrossRef, Google Scholar, Scopus application process) to ensure the article is discoverable and cited correctly.

3. Data Storage and Security

OJS Platform: Data is stored securely on the journal’s OJS server and managed by the Publisher’s technical team. We implement technical and administrative safeguards to protect data from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.
Retention: Personal data related to published articles (e.g., author names) will be retained indefinitely as part of the permanent scholarly record. Data related to rejected manuscripts or reviewer history will be retained for a defined period (typically 5–7 years) for auditing purposes, then anonymized or securely deleted.

4. Policy on Third-Party Access

The DPTME Journal treats all personal information as confidential and will not make this information available to any third party outside the journal's operational requirements without explicit user consent, except in the following necessary circumstances:

To relevant indexing and abstracting services (as noted in Section 2).
To anti-plagiarism screening software providers.
When legally required by a competent authority in cases of publication misconduct (e.g., sharing evidence with an author’s Institutional Research Integrity Office, following COPE guidelines).

5. Rights of the User (GDPR Compliance)

Users residing in jurisdictions with strong data protection laws (such as GDPR) have the right to:

Access: Request access to the personal data we hold about them.
Rectification: Request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Erasure (‘Right to be Forgotten’): Request the deletion of their personal data, provided it does not compromise the integrity of the published scholarly record (e.g., non-essential user account data).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact the DPTME Journal's Online Publishing Team using the contact information provided on the website.

6. External Links

The DPTME Journal website may contain links to external websites (e.g., ORCID, institutional sites). We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these external sites. Users are encouraged to review the privacy policies of any linked websites they visit.