Publication Ethics and Malpractice Policy

The Medical Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health (MJPM&PH) is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethics in publishing. The journal follows the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

This policy applies to authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers, ensuring that all parties involved in the publication process maintain integrity, transparency, and accountability.

1. Duties of Authors

Authors submitting to MJPM&PH must:

Ensure their work is original, not plagiarized, and not under consideration elsewhere.
Properly acknowledge all sources, data, and references.
Disclose conflicts of interest, financial support, or funding.
Obtain ethical approval for studies involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data, and include details in the manuscript.
Report findings honestly and transparently, avoiding fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.
Provide access to raw data when requested by the Editorial Board.
Promptly notify the editor of significant errors or inaccuracies and cooperate with retraction or correction if necessary.

2. Duties of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

Making decisions based solely on a manuscript’s academic quality, originality, and relevance to preventive medicine and public health.
Ensuring a fair and unbiased review process.
Maintaining confidentiality of submissions and not using unpublished material for personal research.
Declaring conflicts of interest and recusing themselves from handling affected manuscripts.
Taking necessary action in cases of ethical concerns, misconduct, or disputes, in line with COPE flowcharts.

3. Duties of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

Provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback.
Respect the confidentiality of the review process.
Avoid personal criticism and ensure evaluations are based on scientific merit.
Declare conflicts of interest and decline reviews where such conflicts exist.
Report suspected cases of plagiarism, duplicate submission, or ethical misconduct to the editor.

4. Publisher’s Responsibilities

The publisher of MJPM&PH ensures that:

The journal operates with editorial independence.
Policies align with ethical publishing standards.
Allegations of misconduct are investigated and addressed transparently.
Corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern are issued when necessary.

5. Ethical Misconduct Handling

Cases of plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate publication, authorship disputes, or unethical research will be thoroughly investigated.
If confirmed, actions may include:
- Rejection of the manuscript.
- Retraction of the published article.
- Notification of the author’s institution or funding agency.
The journal will follow COPE’s flowcharts for handling all ethical concerns.

6. Malpractice Policy

The journal considers the following as serious violations:

Plagiarism (including self-plagiarism).
Data falsification or fabrication.
Unethical research involving humans or animals.
Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
Gift, ghost, or fraudulent authorship.
Manipulation of the peer review process.

Confirmed malpractice may result in blacklisting of authors, institutional notification, and permanent rejection of future submissions.

7. Transparency and Accountability

MJPM&PH is committed to:

Publishing corrections for minor errors.
Issuing retractions for unreliable or unethical research.
Maintaining public trust by ensuring research integrity.