The International Journal of Medical and All Body Health Research upholds the highest ethical standards in the publication of research, ensuring that all articles are conducted with integrity and transparency. The following policies outline the expectations for authors, reviewers, and editors in relation to conflict of interest, human and animal rights, and informed consent.

1. Conflict of Interest

• Definition: A conflict of interest exists when personal, financial, or professional factors could influence or appear to influence the impartiality of research or its publication.
• Author Disclosure: Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could potentially influence the interpretation of their research findings. This includes but is not limited to:
  • Financial relationships with organizations that have an interest in the subject matter of the article (e.g., funding, grants, employment, advisory roles).
  • Personal relationships, academic commitments, or professional affiliations that may create a bias.
  • Ownership of patents or proprietary rights related to the study or its results.
• Reviewers and Editors: Reviewers and editors must also disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may affect their impartiality in reviewing or making editorial decisions about a manuscript.
• Failure to Disclose: Failure to disclose conflicts of interest may result in the rejection of the manuscript or other appropriate actions by the editorial board.

2. Human Rights and Ethical Considerations in Human Research

• Ethical Approval: All studies involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with the ethical principles set out in the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by a recognized institutional ethics committee or review board. Authors are required to provide the name of the ethics committee that approved their study, along with the approval number and date.
• Informed Consent: Authors must ensure that informed consent is obtained from all human participants involved in the research. This means that participants should be fully informed about the nature, purpose, potential risks, and benefits of the study and voluntarily agree to participate.
  • Informed consent must be documented in writing and must include the participant's understanding of their rights, including the right to withdraw from the study at any time without consequence.
  • If the study involves vulnerable populations (e.g., minors, persons with cognitive impairments), additional safeguards must be in place to protect their rights.
• Confidentiality: Researchers must take steps to protect the confidentiality and privacy of study participants. Personal identifying information should not be disclosed in any manuscript without the explicit consent of the participants, except in cases where disclosure is required by law or ethical standards.
• Data Protection: Authors must ensure that all personal data collected from participants is stored securely and used only for the purposes of the research.

3. Animal Rights and Ethical Considerations in Animal Research

• Ethical Approval for Animal Studies: All research involving animals must comply with the ethical guidelines for the use of animals in research as defined by international standards, such as the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Research Council), and must be approved by an institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC) or equivalent body.
• Humane Treatment: Authors must ensure that animals are treated humanely and that all procedures are designed to minimize suffering and distress. The use of animals should be justified by the potential scientific value of the research.
• Alternatives to Animal Testing: Researchers should make every effort to use alternative methods that do not involve animal testing, such as in vitro methods or computer modeling, when appropriate. When animal testing is necessary, researchers must follow the principle of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement).
• Reporting of Animal Research: Authors must provide detailed information about the species, strain, number of animals, and procedures used in the study. This information is critical for evaluating the ethical and scientific validity of the research.

4. Author Responsibilities

• Statement of Compliance: Authors must explicitly state in their manuscript that the study complies with the ethical standards outlined in the policies above. Any failure to comply with these policies may result in the manuscript being rejected.
• Ethical Reporting: Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscript includes all necessary details regarding ethical approvals, consent procedures, and the treatment of human and animal subjects.

5. Review and Editorial Responsibilities

• Ethical Evaluation: Reviewers and editors are responsible for evaluating whether authors have adhered to ethical standards regarding human and animal research. If concerns arise regarding ethical violations, the manuscript may be returned to the author for clarification or rejection.
• Monitoring and Enforcement: The editorial board will monitor compliance with these ethical policies. In cases of suspected ethical violations, such as failure to obtain informed consent, misuse of animal subjects, or unreported conflicts of interest, the board will take appropriate actions, which may include retraction of published papers or banning authors from future submissions.