The Journal of Community Medicine and Health Sciences (JCMHS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity. This Ethics and Malpractice Statement defines the ethical responsibilities of authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers in line with the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

Ethical integrity is central to JCMHS’s mission. All participants in the publication process—authors, reviewers, editors, and readers—are expected to adhere to the ethical principles outlined below.

1. General Principles

JCMHS values transparency, accountability, and fairness throughout its editorial and peer-review processes. The journal ensures that all publications are:

Original, evidence-based, and methodologically sound.
Reviewed impartially by qualified experts.
Free from fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism.
Published with clear authorship and funding disclosure.
Handled confidentially and respectfully by editors and reviewers.

2. Duties of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring the integrity and originality of their work. By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm the following:

Originality: The manuscript is entirely original and has not been published or under consideration elsewhere.
Plagiarism: Authors must avoid plagiarism in all forms, including self-plagiarism or reusing text from other works without attribution. JCMHS uses iThenticate to verify originality.
Authorship: All listed authors have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the research. Those who contributed but do not meet authorship criteria must be acknowledged appropriately.
Data Accuracy: Authors must present results truthfully and retain raw data for verification upon request.
Ethical Approvals: Research involving humans or animals must have institutional review board (IRB) approval and comply with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Authors must declare all financial or personal relationships that could influence their work.
Funding Disclosure: All sources of financial support must be stated clearly.
Corrections and Retractions: Authors must cooperate with editors in correcting or retracting published errors promptly.

3. Duties of Editors

Editors play a key role in safeguarding the quality, integrity, and impartiality of the journal. Their responsibilities include:

Making editorial decisions solely based on the academic merit and relevance of the manuscript.
Ensuring confidentiality during submission, review, and decision-making.
Managing peer review objectively and avoiding conflicts of interest.
Investigating and addressing allegations of misconduct following COPE flowcharts.
Issuing corrections, retractions, or clarifications when necessary.
Preventing plagiarism, redundant publication, and data manipulation.
Protecting the anonymity of reviewers and upholding editorial independence from commercial influence.

4. Duties of Reviewers

Peer reviewers are essential to maintaining scientific quality and objectivity. Reviewers agree to the following principles:

Provide objective, constructive, and unbiased feedback.
Maintain confidentiality regarding manuscripts under review.
Disclose any potential conflicts of interest.
Refrain from using unpublished materials for personal gain.
Evaluate ethical aspects such as informed consent, data integrity, and citation accuracy.

5. Duties of the Publisher

The publisher, Peertechz Publications Pvt. Ltd., ensures that JCMHS operates according to ethical publishing practices. The publisher’s role includes:

Upholding editorial independence and preventing interference in editorial decisions.
Providing technological infrastructure for transparency (via OJS platform).
Ensuring permanent archiving and DOI registration through CrossRef.
Supporting ethical investigations in collaboration with editors and institutions.
Adhering to international standards of open access and digital preservation.

6. Research Ethics and Human Rights

All research involving human participants, medical records, or identifiable data must comply with ethical standards such as:

Declaration of Helsinki (2013 revision) for human studies.
ARRIVE Guidelines for animal research reporting.
ICMJE recommendations for clinical trial registration.
WHO Good Clinical Practice (GCP) standards.

Authors must include an explicit ethics approval statement in the Methods section of their manuscript.

7. Conflict of Interest Management

JCMHS enforces a strict conflict-of-interest policy for authors, reviewers, and editors. Conflicts may arise from:

Financial relationships (e.g., funding, stock ownership).
Academic competition or collaboration.
Personal or ideological biases.

Disclosure of potential conflicts is mandatory at submission. Editors may reject or reassign manuscripts to prevent bias.

8. Data Sharing and Transparency

Authors must maintain transparency in data reporting and be willing to share raw data upon request. Datasets related to published research should be made available in recognized repositories (e.g., Zenodo, Dryad, Figshare) under FAIR principles.

9. Misconduct and Investigation Procedures

In cases of suspected misconduct—such as plagiarism, data falsification, duplicate publication, or authorship disputes—the editorial team will conduct an initial assessment following COPE’s procedural flowcharts.

Depending on the outcome, the journal may:

Request explanations from the authors.
Contact the affiliated institution for investigation.
Issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction.
Ban repeat offenders from future submissions.

10. Retractions, Corrections, and Expressions of Concern

JCMHS adheres to COPE retraction guidelines. Articles may be retracted if they contain major errors, ethical violations, or fraudulent data. Corrections or errata are issued for minor factual or formatting errors. All retractions include a clear statement explaining the reason.

11. Plagiarism Detection Policy

Every submission undergoes plagiarism screening using iThenticate. A similarity score above 15% (excluding references and common phrases) may result in rejection or resubmission after correction.

Self-plagiarism, duplicate submission, or text recycling across multiple publications without acknowledgment constitutes unethical behavior.

12. Editorial Confidentiality and Privacy

All manuscripts and reviewer communications are handled confidentially through OJS. Reviewer identities remain anonymous unless mutually agreed otherwise. Personal information collected during submission is protected under the journal’s Privacy Statement.

13. Ethical Responsibilities of the Editorial Board

The Editorial Board of JCMHS upholds ethical oversight by:

Providing policy guidance on publication ethics.
Assisting in investigations of misconduct.
Recommending updates to ethical policies annually.
Ensuring representation of diverse academic and geographic perspectives.

14. Intellectual Property and Licensing Ethics

JCMHS operates under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). All users are free to share and reuse content provided proper attribution is maintained. Authors retain copyright of their work under the journal’s Copyright Policy.

15. AI-Assisted Writing and Data Generation

Authors who use AI tools for writing assistance or data analysis must declare this transparently in the manuscript. AI cannot be listed as an author. The human authors are fully responsible for the content’s accuracy, originality, and ethical compliance.

16. Reviewer Misconduct

Reviewer misconduct, such as breach of confidentiality, biased review, or appropriation of ideas, is treated as a serious ethical violation. JCMHS may remove reviewers who fail to meet these professional standards and notify their affiliated institutions if necessary.

17. Sanctions for Ethical Breaches

Depending on the severity of the ethical breach, possible sanctions include:

Rejection or retraction of the manuscript.
Prohibition from future submissions or reviews.
Notification to authors’ institutions or funders.
Public disclosure in extreme cases of repeated misconduct.

18. Appeals and Complaints

Authors may appeal editorial decisions or raise complaints by contacting the Editor-in-Chief via the contact page. Appeals must include detailed reasoning and evidence. Complaints are reviewed by an independent ethics panel within 30 days.

19. Policy on Redundant or Duplicate Publication

Submitting the same work to multiple journals or republishing substantially similar material without citation is considered unethical. If detected, such manuscripts will be rejected, and the author may be blacklisted.

20. Policy Updates and Continuous Improvement

The Ethics and Malpractice Statement is reviewed annually to align with evolving international standards. Updates are communicated publicly on the journal’s website.

“Integrity is the backbone of scientific communication. At JCMHS, ethical publishing is not a policy — it is a practice that sustains the credibility of our research community.”