Conflict of Interest Policy

Adopted from Conflict of Interest in Peer-Reviewed Medical Journals which is prepared by WAME Editorial Policy and Publication Ethics Committees.

Articles would be published with statements or supporting documents declaring:

  • Authors’ conflicts of interest; and
     
  • Sources of support for the work, including sponsor names along with explanations of the role of those sources if any in study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing of the report; the decision to submit the report for publication; or a statement declaring that the supporting source had no such involvement; and
     
  • Whether the authors had access to the study data, with an explanation of the nature and extent of access, including whether access is on-going.

To support the above statements, editors may request that authors of a study sponsored by a funder with a proprietary or financial interest in the outcome sign a statement, such as “I had full access to all of the data in this study and I take complete responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.”

The journal does not arbitrate authorship disputes between researchers. These disputes must be resolved by the authors’ institution(s), research organization(s), or ethics committee(s).

However, if an authorship dispute is reported, the journal may take the following actions:

  • Request written clarification from all authors.

  • Temporarily suspend editorial processing of the manuscript.

  • Contact the authors’ institutions for investigation.

  • Issue corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions if necessary

If a complaint regarding authorship, plagiarism, or research misconduct is received after publication, the editorial office will follow the ethical procedures recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics.

Possible outcomes include:

  • Article correction

  • Expression of concern

  • Article retraction

  • Article withdrawal from the journal archive

The journal publishes manuscripts provided by the authors. Responsibility for the authenticity, authorship, and ethical compliance of submitted research remains with the authors.The journal and its editorial board shall not be held legally responsible for disputes arising from authorship conflicts or institutional disagreements among researchers.