Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement

Ethics Statement

Al-Hayah: Journal of Medical and Health Sciences is committed to upholding high standards of publication ethics, research integrity and responsible scholarly publishing. The journal takes all reasonable measures to prevent publication misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, inappropriate authorship, duplicate submission, undisclosed conflicts of interest and unethical research practices.

All parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers and the publisher, are expected to adhere to recognised ethical principles and best practices in scholarly publishing, including relevant international guidelines on publication ethics, research involving human and animal subjects, informed consent, privacy and confidentiality.

 

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted work is original, accurate and has not been published or submitted elsewhere for consideration. Manuscripts must present research findings honestly and transparently, with sufficient detail and references to allow verification where appropriate.

Authors must properly acknowledge the work and ideas of others through accurate citation. Plagiarism, including unattributed copying, paraphrasing, or use of another person’s work as one’s own, is unacceptable. The journal may conduct similarity checks on submitted manuscripts.

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or writing of the study. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed authors have approved the final manuscript and agreed to its submission.

Authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest, sources of funding and any financial or non-financial relationships that may influence the research or its interpretation. Where applicable, authors must also provide statements on ethical approval, informed consent, clinical trial registration, data availability and the use of hazardous materials, procedures, or devices.

For studies involving human participants, patients, identifiable data, or biological samples, authors must ensure that appropriate approval has been obtained from a recognised ethics committee or institutional review board. Written informed consent must be obtained where required, particularly when identifiable patient information, clinical images, or case details are included.

For studies involving animals, authors must ensure that the research complies with institutional, national and international guidelines for the ethical care and use of animals in research.

If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly inform the journal and cooperate with the editorial team to issue a correction, retraction, or other appropriate notice.

 

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for ensuring a fair, transparent and unbiased editorial process. Manuscripts are evaluated based on academic merit, originality, relevance, methodological quality, ethical compliance and contribution to the field, without discrimination based on authors’ gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, institutional affiliation, or political views.

Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not disclose information about a manuscript to anyone other than those involved in the editorial and peer-review process. Editors should avoid handling manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest and ensure that appropriate reviewers are selected based on expertise and independence.

The Editor-in-Chief and editorial team are responsible for making publication decisions based on reviewers’ recommendations, editorial assessment, journal policy and ethical considerations.

 

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play an important role in maintaining the quality, credibility and academic integrity of the journal. Reviewers are expected to provide objective, constructive and timely evaluations of manuscripts within their area of expertise.

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, copy, discuss, distribute or disclose any part of the manuscript to others or use any information from the manuscript for personal advantage.

Reviewers should declare any conflicts of interest, including financial, institutional, professional, academic or personal relationships that may affect their impartiality. They should decline the review if they are unable to provide an unbiased and impartial assessment or if the manuscript falls outside their area of expertise.

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors and inform the editors of any suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication or falsification, ethical concerns, inappropriate research conduct or substantial overlap with other published work.

Reviewers should complete their reviews within the agreed timeframe. If they are unable to meet the deadline, they should promptly inform the editorial office so that alternative arrangements can be made.

 

Research Ethics

Research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with recognised ethical standards, including the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and other applicable national or institutional guidelines. Where applicable, studies must receive approval from an institutional review board or research ethics committee or equivalent authorised body before the research is conducted. Authors should clearly state the name of the approving body, the approval reference number and whether informed consent was obtained.

Research involving human participants, patients, case reports, clinical images, biological samples, personal health data or identifiable personal information, authors must ensure that the  privacy, dignity, rights and confidentiality of individuals are fully protected. Identifying information should not be published unless it is essential and written consent for publication has been obtained from the individual concerned or, where appropriate, from a legally authorised representative.

Authors should take particular care when reporting research involving vulnerable populations, including children, older adults, individuals with impaired decision-making capacity and socially or economically disadvantaged groups. In such cases, appropriate ethical safeguards, consent procedures and where applicable, assent procedures must be described.

Clinical trials and interventional studies involving human participants should be prospectively registered in a recognised clinical trial registry, where applicable. Authors should provide the trial registration number and registry name in the manuscript.

Research involving animals must comply with relevant institutional, national and international guidelines and regulations for animal care and welfare. Authors should provide details of ethical approval, including the name of the approving body and approval reference number, where applicable. The manuscript should also describe measures taken to minimise pain, distress and harm and to ensure humane treatment of animals throughout the study.

 

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Al-Hayah: Journal of Medical and Health Sciences recognises that artificial intelligence tools may be used to support scholarly work, such as language editing, formatting, grammar checking, data analysis, literature searching, reference management or other technical aspects of manuscript preparation.

Authors must disclose the use of AI tools where applicable, in the manuscript. The disclosure should include the name of the tool, the purpose for which it was used and the extent of its contribution to the preparation of the manuscript.

AI tools must not be listed as authors as they cannot take responsibility for the integrity, originality, accuracy, validity or ethical accountability of scholarly work. The use of artificial intelligence must not replace the intellectual contribution, critical analysis, interpretation, accountability and responsibility of human authors.

Authors must carefully review, verify and validate any content generated or assisted by artificial intelligence tools to ensure accuracy, originality, transparency and compliance with ethical and publication standards. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity and validity of all submitted content.

Authors should not use artificial intelligence tools to generate fabricated data, falsify results, create misleading images, produce unsupported claims, or generate inaccurate or non-existent references. Any inappropriate or undisclosed use of artificial intelligence tools may be considered a breach of publication ethics.

 

Post-Publication Corrections and Retractions

Al-Hayah: Journal of Medical and Health Sciences is committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability and integrity of the scholarly record. When errors, concerns, or ethical issues are identified after publication, the journal may issue post-publication notices, including:

Erratum: A correction for an error introduced during the editorial, copyediting, typesetting or production process.

Corrigendum: A correction for an error made by the author that does not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions of the article.

Addendum: Additional information, clarification or update related to a published article that is necessary for the completeness or interpretation of the scholarly record.

Expression of Concern: A notice issued by the journal when there are serious concerns about the integrity, reliability, or ethical conduct of a published article, but the outcome of an investigation is not yet available or remains inconclusive.

Retraction: A formal notice to withdraw a published article from the scholarly record when its findings or integrity are seriously compromised.

 

Retractions may be considered in cases involving plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, unethical research, major methodological or analytical errors, duplicate or redundant publication, undisclosed conflicts of interest, lack of required ethical approval or other forms of serious publication misconduct.

 

All post-publication notices should clearly state the reason for the action and remain linked to the original article. Retracted articles will be clearly identified as retracted to preserve the transparency and integrity of the scholarly record.

 

Publication Misconduct

Al-Hayah takes all allegations of publication misconduct seriously. Suspected misconduct may include plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, inappropriate image manipulation, duplicate or redundant publication, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, ethical approval concerns, breach of confidentiality, compromised peer review or other breaches of publication ethics.

All allegations will be handled confidentially, fairly and in accordance with recognised publication ethics principles. The journal may conduct an initial assessment, request clarification or supporting evidence and seek responses from the authors or relevant parties, including the editorial board, ethics advisers, reviewers, institutions or relevant authorities, before reaching a decision.

If misconduct is confirmed, the journal may take appropriate action, including rejection or withdrawal of the manuscript, publication of a correction, expression of concern or retraction, notification to the authors’ institution, funder or relevant authority or restriction from future submission for a specified period.

 

Privacy and Informed Consent

The journal respects the privacy, dignity, rights and confidentiality of research participants, patients and individuals whose information appears in submitted manuscripts.

Authors must ensure that identifying information is removed from text, tables, figures, images, supplementary materials and other submitted content unless it is essential for scientific or clinical reporting and written consent for publication has been obtained. Identifying information may include names, initials, identification numbers, facial images, dates, locations, or clinical details that could reasonably identify an individual.

Where identifiable information is necessary, authors must obtain written informed consent for publication from the individual concerned or, where appropriate, from a parent, guardian, next of kin or legally authorised representative. This requirement applies to case reports, clinical images, photographs, radiological images, pathological images, genetic information and other potentially identifiable materials.

If identifying information is discovered after publication without appropriate consent, the journal may take corrective action, including article amendment, temporary removal, correction, expression of concern or retraction, depending on the seriousness of the issue and potential risk of harm.