Ethical Policy

This policy outlines the requirements for ethical conduct and reporting for all submissions to Health and Medical Discoveries (HMD). As a journal dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge and innovation in the fields of health and medicine, HMD is committed to upholding the highest standards of research integrity, particularly concerning patient welfare and clinical trial transparency.

 

1. Ethical Approval for Studies Involving Human Subjects and Animals

HMD requires that all research involving human participants, human material (e.g., tissues, data), or animals must have been conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible institutional or national research committee and with the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in 2013).

 

1.1. Human Subjects Research and Clinical Trials

•       Mandatory Approval: Authors must confirm that all procedures were approved by the appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee. The manuscript must include a statement identifying the approving body and the relevant approval number.

•       Informed Consent: Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all human participants.

•       Clinical Trial Registration: All prospective clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible database (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO ICTRP) prior to the enrollment of the first participant. The registration number must be included in the manuscript.

•       Patient Privacy: Patient anonymity and privacy must be protected. Identifying information should not be included in the manuscript unless absolutely essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or guardian) has provided written informed consent for publication.

 

1.2. Animal Research

•       Mandatory Approval: All animal experiments must comply with institutional, national, or international guidelines for the care and use of animals. Authors must state that the study was approved by the relevant institutional ethics committee or equivalent body.

•       Reporting Standards: Authors are strongly encouraged to adhere to the ARRIVE guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) for the complete reporting of animal studies.

 

2. Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Registration (PRISMA)

For systematic reviews and meta-analyses, HMD strongly encourages authors to register their protocol in a publicly accessible registry (e.g., PROSPERO) prior to commencing the review. Furthermore, authors must adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement to ensure comprehensive and transparent reporting of their methodology and findings. Adherence to PRISMA, including the use of the PRISMA checklist and flow diagram, is a mandatory requirement for submission.

 

3. Conflict of Interest and Funding

Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, including financial, personal, or other relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence their work. All sources of funding for the research must be explicitly stated in the manuscript.