Medicine and Health (ISSN: 2289-2768) is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published by the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The journal is firmly committed to upholding the highest standards of publication integrity at every stage of the editorial process. All manuscripts submitted to Medicine and Health are expected to represent original, unpublished work that is free from plagiarism and any form of scientific misconduct, in accordance with the Best Practice Guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the ICMJE’s recommendations. 

 
ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR JOURNAL PUBLICATION

Maintaining robust ethical standards in peer-reviewed publishing is essential to building a credible and respected body of scientific knowledge. Every article published in Medicine and Health is a reflection of the scientific rigour of its authors and the standards of the institutions they represent. In the field of medicine and allied health sciences, where research findings can directly influence clinical practice and patient welfare, adherence to ethical publishing principles is of paramount importance. Medicine and Health therefore holds all stakeholders (authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers) to clearly defined ethical responsibilities, as outlined below.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORS

- Accuracy in Reporting
Authors are expected to present their research findings honestly, accurately, and without bias. Manuscripts must contain sufficient methodological detail and appropriate references to allow independent replication of the work. The deliberate misrepresentation of data or the reporting of false findings is a serious breach of scientific integrity and will not be tolerated.

- Data Management
Authors should be prepared to provide underlying datasets to the editorial team upon request and, where feasible, make such data publicly accessible following publication. Raw data must be retained for a reasonable period after publication to support transparency and reproducibility.

- Originality and Avoidance of Plagiarism
All manuscripts submitted to Medicine and Health must be entirely the authors’ own original work. Where the ideas, findings, or words of others are referenced, appropriate citation must be provided. Any form of plagiarism, whether verbatim copying, substantial paraphrasing without attribution, or the misappropriation of others’ research, is considered a serious ethical violation. Manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software, and submissions found to contain plagiarised content will be rejected without review.

- Avoiding Duplicate Publication
Authors must not submit work that has been previously published, is currently under review at another journal, or substantially overlaps with other published material. The concurrent submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal is strictly prohibited and constitutes a breach of publication ethics.

- Proper Attribution of Sources
Authors are responsible for accurately acknowledging all works that have materially informed their research. Significant prior studies, methodological references, and intellectual contributions from others must be appropriately cited within the manuscript.

- Authorship Criteria
Authorship must be reserved for individuals who have made meaningful contributions to the conception, design, conduct, or interpretation of the reported research. All listed authors must have reviewed and approved the final submitted manuscript. The corresponding author bears responsibility for the accuracy of the author list and must ensure that no eligible contributor has been omitted and no unqualified individual has been included. Where others have contributed to a supporting capacity, such contributions should be acknowledged in the manuscript.

- Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
Authors must transparently disclose any financial, professional, or personal interests that may have influenced the conduct or reporting of their research. All funding sources, including grants and institutional support, must be clearly declared in the manuscript.

- Correction of Errors
Should an author identify a significant error in their published work, they are obligated to notify the editorial team without delay and to cooperate fully in issuing an appropriate correction, corrigendum, or retraction.

- Reporting of Research Hazards
Where research involves the use of hazardous substances, clinical procedures, biological materials, or equipment that pose risks to participants, researchers, or the environment, such risks must be clearly identified and described within the manuscript.

- Ethical Treatment of Human Participants
Research involving human subjects must be conducted in accordance with internationally recognised ethical standards, including the Declaration of Helsinki. Prior approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent national ethics committee is mandatory. Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants, and must clearly describe the consent process within the manuscript. The privacy, confidentiality, and dignity of all participants must be fully protected throughout the research and reporting process.

- Ethical Treatment of Animals
Studies involving animal subjects must comply with applicable national and international guidelines, including the Animal Welfare Act 2015 and the National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Institutional animal ethics committee approval must be obtained prior to the commencement of the study. Authors must demonstrate that animal welfare was prioritised and that pain, distress, and suffering were minimised throughout all experimental procedures.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF EDITORS

- Impartiality
Editors must assess all submitted manuscripts on the basis of their scientific merit alone. No consideration should be given to the authors’ race, gender, religious affiliation, nationality, institutional affiliation, or political views in the evaluation process.
 

- Confidentiality
All information pertaining to submitted manuscripts must be kept strictly confidential. Editors and editorial board members must not share manuscript content or review outcomes with any party outside the formal editorial process without explicit authorisation.

- Editorial Conflicts of Interest
Editors must not exploit unpublished material from submitted manuscripts for personal research purposes without the express written consent of the authors. In situations where an editor has a conflict of interest with respect to a submitted manuscript, they must withdraw from the editorial process for that submission.

- Decision-Making
Editorial decisions regarding publication must be grounded in a thorough and objective assessment of each manuscript’s scientific significance, methodological quality, and relevance to the readership of Medicine and Health. All decisions must align with the journal’s established policies and applicable legal and ethical obligations.

- Oversight of Peer Review
Editors are responsible for ensuring that every submission undergoes a fair, transparent, and appropriately rigorous peer review process. Reviewers must be selected on the basis of relevant expertise, and those with known conflicts of interest must be excluded from the review of specific manuscripts.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF REVIEWERS

- Supporting Editorial Quality
Reviewers play a vital role in maintaining the scientific standards of Medicine and Health by providing expert, constructive assessments that assist editors in making informed publication decisions and help authors strengthen their work.
 

- Timely Response
Reviewers who are unable to complete an assigned review within the agreed timeframe, or who feel that they lack the necessary expertise to evaluate a particular manuscript, must notify the editor promptly so that an alternative reviewer can be identified.
 

- Objective and Constructive Feedback
All reviews must be conducted with scientific objectivity and professional courtesy. Critique should be directed at the work itself and supported by reasoned, evidence-based arguments. Personal remarks about the authors are inappropriate and unacceptable.
 

- Maintaining Confidentiality
Manuscripts under review are confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, discuss, or disclose the content of any manuscript with individuals outside the formal review process.
 

- Avoiding Conflicts of Interest
Reviewers must decline to evaluate manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest, whether arising from personal relationships, competitive research interests, or prior collaborative work with the authors or their institutions.

- Identification of Unattributed Sources
Reviewers should alert the editor if they identify relevant published works that have not been cited by the authors. Any awareness of substantial overlap between the manuscript under review and previously published material must be brought to the attention of the editor immediately.

POST-PUBLICATION AMENDMENTS

Medicine and Health recognises that errors may occasionally arise following publication. The journal manages post-publication amendments through the following formal mechanisms:

Erratum: Issued when a significant error attributable to the journal’s editorial or production process is identified after publication, and where such an error has the potential to affect the integrity of the published work or the reputation of the authors.
Corrigendum: Issued when a significant error made by the author(s) is identified after publication, with the potential to affect the scientific integrity of the article or the standing of those involved.
Retraction: Issued when the core findings or conclusions of a published article are determined to be unreliable, whether due to misconduct, honest error, or the emergence of new evidence. A retraction must be endorsed by all co-authors, clearly stating the nature of the problem and its implications for the published conclusions. Readers who believe that a published article warrants retraction are encouraged to contact the Editor-in-Chief, who will initiate a formal review process and provide the authors with an opportunity to respond.
Addendum: Issued when additional information or clarification is required to supplement a published article, typically in response to reader enquiries or to address aspects of the work that were insufficiently explained at the time of publication.

MISCONDUCT, PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS

Medicine and Health treats all forms of publication misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate submission, and undisclosed conflicts of interest, as serious violations of scientific integrity. All confirmed cases of misconduct will be handled in strict confidence and in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Consequences for authors found to have engaged in misconduct may include formal written notification, outright rejection of the submitted manuscript, retraction of the published article accompanied by a public notice, a prohibition on future submissions to the journal for a defined period of one to three years, and formal notification of the authors’ employing institution. Each case will be assessed individually, with the severity of the sanction proportionate to the nature of the misconduct.

Editorial board members found to have violated publication ethics will be removed from their roles and subject to equivalent sanctions.

HUMAN SUBJECTS RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS

Authors reporting research conducted with human participants must confirm the following at the point of submission:
•    Written approval has been obtained from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or a recognised national ethics committee prior to the commencement of the study.
•    A copy of the ethics approval has been submitted, with all participant-identifying information appropriately redacted.
•    The manuscript includes a clear statement confirming compliance with ethical research standards.
•    The process by which informed consent was obtained is described within the manuscript, or a clear justification is provided where consent was deemed unnecessary.
•    Written consent has been secured from any identifiable individual whose personal data, clinical information, or images appear in the manuscript.

PRIVACY PROTECTION AND CONSENT FOR PUBLICATION

Medicine and Health is strongly committed to protecting the privacy and anonymity of all research participants. Authors must avoid including any identifying information in their manuscripts unless it is scientifically necessary. Where identifiable patient data, clinical photographs, or case-specific details are essential to the manuscript, authors must confirm that written informed consent for publication has been obtained from the individual concerned, using the journal’s designated consent form.

All submissions are carefully reviewed for the presence of identifying information. Manuscripts that include identifiable patient data without documented consent will not be accepted for publication. In the event that identifying information is discovered after an article has been published, the article will be temporarily removed from the journal’s website pending the removal or appropriate anonymisation of the relevant content.