Conflicts of Interest Policy

Purpose

The Journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of transparency, integrity, and objectivity in scholarly publishing. In accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), all participants in the publication process—including authors, editors, reviewers, and editorial board members—must disclose any relationships or interests that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the research, peer review, or editorial decision-making process.

Author Disclosure

Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial conflicts of interest that may have influenced the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of their research. Financial conflicts may include employment, consultancy, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patents, grants, funding, or other financial relationships. Non-financial conflicts may include personal relationships, academic competition, institutional affiliations, political or religious beliefs, or intellectual commitments that could affect the objectivity of the work.

Funding and Sponsorship

Authors must clearly identify all sources of financial support for the research, including grants, institutional funding, commercial sponsorship, or in-kind contributions. The role of the funding organization in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and publication decisions must be fully disclosed. If the funder had no involvement in the research or publication process, this should also be explicitly stated.

Editorial and Reviewer Conflicts

Editors and peer reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest before participating in the editorial or peer review process. Individuals with conflicts that may compromise impartiality must decline the assignment or recuse themselves from handling or reviewing the manuscript. Editorial decisions must be based solely on scientific merit, originality, ethical standards, and relevance to the Journal's scope.

Conflict of Interest Statement

Every submitted manuscript must include a Conflict of Interest Statement immediately before the references or in the section specified by the Journal's author guidelines. If no conflicts exist, authors should state: "The authors declare that they have no competing interests or conflicts of interest."

Editorial Assessment

The disclosure of a conflict of interest does not automatically prevent publication. The editorial office will evaluate all disclosed interests to determine whether they may affect the credibility, objectivity, or integrity of the research. Where necessary, the Journal may request additional information, publish disclosure statements, or implement appropriate measures to manage identified conflicts.

Failure to Disclose

Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest may constitute publication misconduct. If undisclosed conflicts are identified before or after publication, the Journal may take appropriate editorial action, including requesting corrections, publishing expressions of concern, retracting the article, notifying the authors' institutions or funding bodies, or applying other measures consistent with COPE recommendations.

Key Requirements

• All authors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.

• Financial and non-financial competing interests must be declared in the manuscript.

• All funding sources and the role of the funder must be transparently reported.

• Editors and reviewers must recuse themselves from manuscripts where conflicts could affect impartiality.

• Every manuscript must include a Conflict of Interest Statement.

• Disclosure of a conflict does not automatically prevent publication but enables transparent editorial assessment.

• Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in rejection, correction, retraction, or other editorial actions in accordance with COPE and ICMJE guidance.