ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS

The following ethical guidelines are mandatory for all authors submitting manuscripts to the Journal of Medical and Multidisciplinary Healthcare Research (JMMHR). Any violation of these guidelines may result in editorial action, including but not limited to manuscript rejection, suspension, withdrawal, or other appropriate publishing restrictions.

1. Reporting Standards

Authors are responsible for ensuring that research findings, methods, analyses, and data are reported accurately, clearly, and in sufficient detail to allow readers to understand, evaluate, and replicate the work where applicable. Particular attention should be given to transparent reporting of multidisciplinary healthcare research, clinical studies, public health investigations, laboratory research, healthcare systems, and other medical and allied-health investigations. All sources must be properly cited, and fabricated, falsified, misleading, or knowingly inaccurate statements are strictly prohibited.

2. Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are original and that all ideas, data, text, figures, and other material derived from previously published or unpublished sources are appropriately acknowledged and cited. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, inappropriate text reuse, unattributed paraphrasing, and unauthorized reproduction of published material are prohibited. Any material reproduced verbatim must be clearly identified and appropriately referenced.

3. Declaration

Authors must submit a declaration confirming that the manuscript represents original work and is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal. Previous presentation of preliminary findings in abstracts, conference proceedings, institutional reports, or similar formats should be disclosed during submission. For multi-authored and multidisciplinary manuscripts, the corresponding author must confirm that all listed authors have made substantial contributions, approved the final manuscript, agreed to the authorship order, and consented to submission.

4. Multiple, Redundant, and Concurrent Publication

Authors must not submit the same or substantially similar manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously. Previously published work may only be considered for further publication where there is a legitimate scholarly justification, substantial new information, additional analysis, or another valid editorial basis and where the previous publication is fully disclosed. Any secondary publication must appropriately acknowledge the original publication and comply with applicable copyright and editorial requirements.

5. Acknowledgment of Sources

All sources of information, research findings, data, concepts, and ideas must be appropriately acknowledged, except where information constitutes established common knowledge. Contributions from individuals, institutions, healthcare professionals, research assistants, technical personnel, statisticians, language editors, or organizations that do not meet authorship requirements should be recognized appropriately. Financial, institutional, or material support should also be disclosed.

6. Authorship Credit

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual or scientific contributions to the conception, design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or preparation of the manuscript. In multidisciplinary research, each author's specific contribution should be identifiable and appropriately represented. All authors must approve the final version and agree to its submission. Honorary, guest, gift, or coercive authorship is prohibited. Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged rather than listed as authors.

7. Privacy of Participants

Authors must respect the privacy, confidentiality, dignity, and rights of patients, research participants, healthcare professionals, and other individuals involved in research. Personal or identifiable information must not be disclosed without appropriate consent. Where clinical photographs, videos, case information, medical records, or other materials could identify an individual, appropriate consent for publication must be obtained. Only information necessary for scientific and clinical understanding should be included.

8. Data Access and Retention

Authors should be prepared to provide relevant underlying data, supporting documentation, research protocols, methodological information, or other appropriate materials to the Editor when legitimate questions arise concerning the accuracy, validity, or integrity of the research. Data should be retained for a reasonable period following publication in accordance with institutional, regulatory, ethical, and funding requirements.

9. Images

Authors must ensure that all images, figures, clinical photographs, diagnostic images, laboratory images, charts, graphs, and other visual materials accurately represent the underlying research. Inappropriate manipulation, fabrication, selective alteration, or misleading enhancement of images is prohibited. Where significant image processing has been undertaken, the methods should be appropriately described and original files should be retained for verification.

10. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial, personal, professional, institutional, intellectual, or other interests that could influence the research, interpretation, or presentation of findings. Potential conflicts may include employment, consultancy, honoraria, patents, grants, sponsorship, institutional relationships, professional competition, or other relevant interests. All financial and material support must be disclosed, together with the role of the funding organization in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication.

11. Copyright

Authors must comply with the journal's copyright, licensing, and publication policies. Where required, authors may be asked to complete an appropriate publication or licensing agreement granting the journal the necessary rights to publish, distribute, archive, and reproduce the article in accordance with the applicable open-access licensing terms.

12. Prior Publication & Preprint Policy

JMMHR requires submitted manuscripts to represent original work that is not concurrently under consideration or previously published elsewhere. Posting a manuscript on a recognized, non-commercial preprint repository or institutional repository does not by itself constitute prior journal publication. Authors must disclose any preprint during submission and provide the relevant persistent identifier or repository link. Following publication in JMMHR, authors should update the preprint record, where applicable, with a link to the final published article.

13. Manuscript Acceptance, Rejection, and Editorial Timeline

Each manuscript submitted to JMMHR undergoes an initial editorial assessment followed, where appropriate, by peer review. The overall review and publication process may take several weeks or longer depending on reviewer availability, manuscript complexity, revisions, methodological requirements, and editorial considerations. Authors may contact the Editorial Office for reasonable status updates during the review process. Editorial decisions may include acceptance, minor revision, major revision, rejection, or another appropriate editorial outcome. Revised manuscripts must include a clear response to reviewers' comments and may undergo further evaluation. Authors may appeal an editorial decision by submitting a reasoned written appeal to the Editor.