Position Statements

ACPM position statements provide College viewpoints on critical preventive medicine issues to exert a positive influence on policy, practice, and research dealing with the subject of the statement.

If you are interested in suggesting an ACPM position statement topic or contributing to a position statement, please contact Andrea Lowe, Policy and Practice Manager at alowe@acpm.org.

Specific Requirements

Format—The manuscript should be typed, double-spaced and submitted by e-mail (Microsoft Word file preferred) to alowe@acpm.org. The writing should be concise and in the traditional style of medical journals. Citations should be numbered in the sequence they appear in the text and should conform with the style used by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM).

ACPM submits its position statements for publication by AJPM in a brief, one-to-two published page format. The intent is to utilize this format to emphasize ACPM positions in a succinct manner, making them more accessible and user-friendly for the AJPM audience. Authors are expected to submit ACPM position statements to the Prevention Practice Committee for review in both the full manuscript and the shorter format. Once published, the full position statement will be available on the ACPM website.

Authorship—Credit for authorship requires substantial contributions to conception of the paper or analysis and interpretation of the data and evidence being considered; and to the drafting of the article or critical revision of important intellectual content. The lead author of the policy must be an ACPM member and should be the physician with overall responsibility for the paper.

Title Page—The title of the position statement should be limited to the preventive medicine intervention. "Colorectal Cancer Screening" or "Interventions to Improve Vaccination Coverage" are appropriate titles. "Controversies in Colorectal Cancer Screening" or "A Critical Review of Interventions to Improve Vaccination Coverage" are not. The subtitle should be: "American College of Preventive Medicine Position Statement." The authors and their affiliations should be listed on the title page.

Introduction—1-2 paragraph discussion of the magnitude (e.g., morbidity, mortality, quality of life, economic cost) of the disease or public health problem that was a subject of the evidence review, analysis, and recommendations.

Background—Description of the evidence review, analysis, and recommendations that are the focus of the position statement. Describe: 1) who conducted the process that led to recommendations; 2) what methods they used; and 3) what recommendations were produced.

Statement—Summary of the ACPM recommendations regarding the issue. Compare and contrast with the recommendations of the entity (or entities) that conducted the evidence review and analysis.

Rationale—Explanation of the ACPM statement with special attention to differences in the College position from the recommendations of the entity that conducted the evidence review and analysis, and reasons for those differences.