Ethics and Permissions

This journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity. The policies outlined below are informed by the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to adhere to these standards throughout the research and publication process. For full transparency, a summary of this policy is also available in the journal’s Author Guidelines.

Publication Ethics

The journal follows the Core Principles articulated by COPE, which underpin responsible, transparent, and fair scholarly publishing practices. These principles include accountability, fairness and equity, integrity, rigour and accuracy, stewardship, and transparency. All parties involved in the publication process—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to act in accordance with these values. The journal is committed to ensuring that ethical standards are maintained from submission through to post-publication correction, and that decisions are made impartially and without discrimination.

Research Integrity

Authors must present their research clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation. Submitted work must be original, must not be plagiarised, and must not have been published elsewhere. Any form of citation manipulation—including excessive self-citation, excessive citation to the publishing journal, or coordinated citation between journals—is unacceptable. The journal expects all research to have been conducted in a fair and ethical manner, and authors may be asked to provide underlying data or evidence of compliance upon request.

Authorship

Authorship must be based on the four criteria established by the ICMJE: substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published; and agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work. All individuals who meet these criteria should be listed as authors, and those who do not should be acknowledged as contributors. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have approved the manuscript and its submission. Any changes to authorship after submission must be agreed upon by all authors and approved by the editor.

Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial and non-financial interests that could be perceived to influence the research, its interpretation, or the decision to publish. This includes relationships with commercial entities, patent applications, and personal or professional connections that may constitute a competing interest. Disclosures should be made at the point of submission using the journal’s disclosure form. Reviewers and editors must also declare any conflicts of interest that could compromise the integrity of the review or editorial process. Undisclosed conflicts of interest may result in the rejection of a manuscript or, if discovered after publication, in a correction or retraction.

Human Research

Research involving human participants must comply with the ethical standards set out in the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable national regulations. Authors must obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee prior to commencing the study and must provide written informed consent from all participants (or their legal guardians for minors or incapacitated individuals). The privacy and confidentiality of participants must be protected, and identifiable personal information, photographs, or quotations should not be published without explicit consent for publication. Manuscripts reporting human research must include a statement of ethical approval in the Methods section.

Animal Research

Studies involving animals must be conducted in accordance with relevant institutional, national, and international standards for animal welfare. Authors must obtain approval from the relevant institutional ethics committee or animal care and use committee and must report the name of the approving committee in the manuscript. Research should be designed to minimise suffering and to use alternatives to animal testing where possible. The journal may request evidence of ethical approval or a statement explaining why approval was not required.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials must be registered prospectively in a public trials registry that is acceptable to the ICMJE, such as those listed on the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform or ClinicalTrials.gov, before the enrolment of the first participant. The trial registration number must be included in the abstract and at the end of the manuscript. Authors reporting randomised controlled trials should follow the CONSORT reporting guidelines, and the CONSORT checklist and flow diagram should be submitted with the manuscript. The journal encourages adherence to relevant reporting guidelines for other study designs, such as STROBE for observational studies and PRISMA for systematic reviews.

Misconduct

The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, image manipulation, inappropriate authorship, or any other form of research or publication misconduct. Suspected misconduct will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidance and, where appropriate, in consultation with the authors’ institutions. The journal reserves the right to reject a manuscript, retract a published article, or take other corrective action if misconduct is established. Authors are expected to cooperate fully with any investigation.

Corrections and Retractions

The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record. Corrections (errata or corrigenda) will be issued when an error does not invalidate the main conclusions of a published article but requires explicit correction. Retractions will be issued when a publication is seriously flawed and cannot be relied upon, or when research misconduct has been established. An expression of concern may be published when serious concerns exist but conclusive evidence is not yet available. All post-publication notices will be freely accessible, clearly linked to the original article, and will state the reason for the correction, retraction, or expression of concern.

Complaints

Complaints regarding the editorial process, editorial decisions, or the conduct of editors, reviewers, or authors should be submitted in writing to the journal’s editorial office. Complaints will be handled promptly, transparently, and objectively, in accordance with COPE guidance. The complainant should provide sufficient detail, including the manuscript identifier and a clear description of the issue, to allow for a thorough investigation. If a complaint cannot be resolved satisfactorily by the journal, it may be escalated to the publisher or, where appropriate, to COPE.