Aims & Scope
Journal of Intensive Care and Emergency Services (JICES) publishes research on healthcare systems, emergency service delivery, disaster preparedness, and policy frameworks that optimize critical care and emergency response infrastructure. We focus on systems-level research, not individual patient care.
Research Scope
JICES operates within a tiered scope framework to ensure precision in editorial decision-making and author expectations. Our focus is exclusively on health services research related to intensive care and emergency systems.
Emergency Service Systems
- Pre-hospital emergency medical services (EMS) organization and delivery
- Emergency department operations, workflow optimization, and capacity management
- Triage systems, patient flow models, and wait time reduction strategies
- Ambulance service coordination and dispatch systems
- Rural and remote emergency service delivery models
- Emergency care access and equity across populations
Comparative analysis of triage protocols across 50 emergency departments, measuring impact on patient flow and resource utilization.
Critical Care Systems & Infrastructure
- Intensive care unit (ICU) capacity planning and resource allocation
- Critical care staffing models and workforce optimization
- ICU bed management and patient transfer protocols
- Quality metrics and performance indicators for critical care units
- Telemedicine and remote ICU monitoring systems
- Critical care networks and regionalization strategies
Evaluation of a regional ICU network implementation, analyzing patient outcomes, transfer times, and cost-effectiveness over three years.
Disaster Preparedness & Response Systems
- Mass casualty incident planning and surge capacity management
- Healthcare system resilience and disaster response frameworks
- Emergency preparedness training programs and simulation exercises
- Public health emergency coordination and communication systems
- Resource stockpiling, distribution logistics, and supply chain management
- Post-disaster healthcare system recovery and lessons learned
Assessment of hospital surge capacity protocols during a pandemic, examining resource allocation decisions and system adaptations.
Health Policy & Healthcare Economics
- Emergency and critical care policy development and implementation
- Cost-effectiveness analyses of emergency service delivery models
- Healthcare financing mechanisms for emergency and critical care
- Regulatory frameworks affecting emergency medical services
- Health insurance coverage and reimbursement for emergency care
- Economic burden of emergency conditions on healthcare systems
Economic evaluation of alternative EMS dispatch models, comparing costs, response times, and population health outcomes across jurisdictions.
Health Informatics & Technology
Electronic health records in emergency settings, clinical decision support systems, health information exchange, and data analytics for emergency care quality improvement.
Quality Improvement & Patient Safety
System-level quality improvement initiatives, patient safety protocols, error reduction strategies, and performance measurement in emergency and critical care settings.
Workforce Development
Emergency and critical care workforce planning, training program evaluation, retention strategies, burnout prevention, and interprofessional education models.
Healthcare Management
Leadership models in emergency departments and ICUs, organizational change management, strategic planning, and administrative innovations in acute care settings.
Public Health Integration
Emergency department-based public health surveillance, injury prevention programs, community health initiatives, and population health management through emergency services.
Environmental Health Systems
Healthcare system responses to environmental emergencies, climate change adaptation in emergency services, and environmental health surveillance through emergency departments.
These topics are considered on a case-by-case basis and may require additional editorial review to ensure alignment with our systems-focused scope.
Artificial Intelligence in Emergency Systems
AI applications for emergency department operations, predictive modeling for patient flow, machine learning for resource allocation, and automated triage support systems.
Mobile Health & Digital Health
Mobile health applications for emergency care coordination, digital health platforms for critical care monitoring, and telehealth integration in emergency services.
Global Health Systems
Comparative international emergency care systems, low-resource setting emergency service models, and global health security frameworks for emergency preparedness.
Out of Scope: Explicit Exclusions
Rationale: We focus on systems and policy, not clinical practice. Studies on specific treatments, diagnostic approaches, or therapeutic interventions for individual patients are outside our scope. This includes clinical trials, case series, and treatment guidelines.
Rationale: Research on cellular mechanisms, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, physiology, immunology, or molecular biology does not align with our health services focus, even if related to emergency or critical care conditions.
Rationale: Descriptions of surgical procedures, operative techniques, or procedural innovations (e.g., intubation methods, resuscitation techniques) are clinical in nature and not systems-focused.
Rationale: Studies focused on specific diseases (sepsis, cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, trauma, burns) from a clinical perspective are outside our scope unless they examine system-level delivery, policy, or organizational aspects.
Rationale: Case reports and small case series describe individual patient experiences and do not contribute to systems-level understanding of emergency or critical care delivery.
Article Types & Editorial Priorities
Preferred Article Types
Considered Article Types
Low Priority Types
Note: Case reports are not considered under any circumstances.
Editorial Standards & Requirements
All submissions must adhere to established reporting guidelines and ethical standards. We require transparent reporting of methods, data availability, and potential conflicts of interest.
Reporting Guidelines
- STROBE for observational studies
- CONSORT for randomized trials
- PRISMA for systematic reviews
- SQUIRE for quality improvement
- CHEERS for economic evaluations
Data & Transparency
- Data availability statement required
- Code sharing encouraged
- Protocol registration for reviews
- Raw data deposition preferred
- Supplementary materials supported
Ethics & Compliance
- IRB/ethics approval documentation
- Informed consent procedures
- Patient privacy protection
- Conflict of interest disclosure
- Funding source transparency
Preprint Policy
- Preprints accepted and encouraged
- Must disclose preprint location
- No impact on peer review
- Version control maintained
- Final version linked to preprint
Publication Metrics & Timeline
Ready to Submit?
If your research aligns with our systems-focused scope in emergency and critical care services, we invite you to submit your manuscript for consideration.
