Conflict of Interest Policy

The Medical Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health (MJPM&PH) is committed to ensuring transparency and integrity in scholarly publishing. To maintain trust between authors, reviewers, editors, and readers, all potential conflicts of interest (COIs) must be disclosed and managed appropriately.

A conflict of interest exists when an individual’s personal, financial, or professional relationships could inappropriately influence, or appear to influence, their judgment, objectivity, or actions during the research and publication process.

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1. Author Responsibilities

• All authors must declare any financial or non-financial interests that may influence their work. Examples include:

  • Funding sources (grants, institutional support, sponsorship).

  • Employment, consultancies, or advisory roles.

  • Stock ownership or equity interests.

  • Patents, royalties, or licenses.

  • Personal, political, or academic relationships that may bias interpretation.

• Authors must provide a Conflict of Interest Statement at the time of submission. If none exist, authors should state: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

• Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in manuscript rejection, correction, or retraction.

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2. Reviewer Responsibilities

• Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest that may affect their ability to provide a fair and objective review.

• If a reviewer has a COI (e.g., collaboration with the authors, financial interest, or personal relationship), they must decline the review invitation.

• Reviewers must not use unpublished data from manuscripts for personal research or advantage.

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3. Editor and Editorial Board Responsibilities

• Editors must disclose any conflicts (financial, institutional, or personal) that could affect their editorial decisions.

• If an editor has a COI regarding a manuscript, the submission will be reassigned to an independent editor.

• Editors must avoid decisions that could be influenced by political, institutional, or commercial interests.

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4. Institutional and Funding Transparency

• Authors must clearly identify the role of sponsors or funding agencies in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and manuscript preparation.

• Any influence of funders on the research process must be explicitly acknowledged.

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5. Public Disclosure

• All disclosed conflicts of interest will be published within the article to ensure transparency for readers.

• If new conflicts arise after publication, the journal will issue a correction or addendum.

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6. Non-Compliance

• Undisclosed conflicts discovered after publication may result in:

  • Publication of a correction or statement of concern.

  • Retraction of the article in severe cases.

  • Notification to the author’s institution or funding body.