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Publication Ethics Statement

The Journal of Health Research is fully committed to upholding the highest standards concerning ethical publication practices from authors, editors and reviewers and follows guidance produced by bodies that include the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The Journal of Health Research also follows the ICMJE's Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals.

For Authors

Authors must take full responsibility for declaring that:

  1. Their article is original (no plagiarism and self-plagiarism), not published (or under consideration) in other journals (no dual publication), contains constructive criticism, if necessary, but without false, unsubstantiated, emotive and offensive statements (no defamation), genuinely written by all authors who significantly contributed to the research (no ghost authors) and is accompanied by a financial/personal ‘conflicts of interest’ declaration.
  2. Their research is genuine and not based on fabricated data, has obtained all relevant authorizations, has followed appropriate ethical procedures (including but not limited to data protection, rights to privacy, child protection and medical testing), is supported by documented clearance from a recognized ethical review board (ERB) and written consent from participants. Consent can be oral when so approved by the ERB.
  3. If English is not their first language, it is highly recommended that the author(s) have their paper edited for language prior to submitting their manuscript. This is an important step that will help to ensure that the academic content of the paper is fully understood by the editors and reviewers. However, there is no guaranteed acceptance for publication after language editing and authors are liable for all costs associated with language editing services.

Editorial team

The J Health Res editorial team will act professionally fairly and objectively by assessing each submitted article's contribution to new knowledge, quality of articulation and strength of evidence provided. The team will:

  1. Subject the article to ‘Correction notices’ according to COPE guidelines, if the above principles for authors are not adhered to.
  2. Notify a party/author subject to accusation and ask them to explain their position, within a sufficient time frame, before taking a decision that will be shared with relevant copyright owners, reviewers and authors.
  3. Decisions may include withdrawing acceptance should a case of ethical misconduct, including fabricated data, be discovered prior to publication. If misconduct is discovered after the publication J Health Res will publish a retraction notice, if legally required, will withdraw the publication from online version and publish an apology in the subsequent issue.
  4. Report evidence of ethical misconducts to the researchers’ Institution(s) for their consideration.
  5. Address written grievances by authors whose articles are rejected for publication, or have concerns about the way their paper has been processed. The grievances will be resolved within 30 days. The decision will be in writing and final.
  6. Keep confidential and not use for personal gains information obtained during the publication process. Information disclosed in a manuscript under review could, however, be quoted if express written consent is obtained from the author.
  7. Declare all conflicts of interest and recuse to be involved in processing papers when they have a personal stake in the publication.

Reviewers

J Health Res reviewers will act professionally, fairly and objectively as specified by the editorial team and in the context of the reviewer's expertise in the subject. They will adhere to the basic principles and standards of peer review and will:

  1. Be subject to a "double-blind" peer review process (neither the authors nor the reviewers know each other's identity)
  2. Keep confidential and not use for personal gains information obtained through peer review. Information could, however, be quoted if express written consent is obtained from the author and when consent is requested through the JHR editor.
  3. Suggest that authors read and cite papers that may clarify or improve their article, but will not force the authors to include a citation (no coercive citation) in their article without academic justification and as a condition of acceptance.
  4. Draw the editor's attention to substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript and other published papers of which they have knowledge.
  5. Declare all conflicts of interest and recuse to be involved in processing papers when they have a personal stake in the publication.