Policies & Guidelines

Policies & Guidelines

Peer Review Process & Editorial Process
Publication Frequency
Open Access Policy
Archiving
Crossmark Policy Statement
Publication Ethics and Policy Guidelines
Plagiarism Policy
Policies Related to the Use of AI in Manuscripts
Repository Policy
Data Sharing Policy
Advertisement Policy
Appeals Process
Complaint Process
Authorship Criteria
Submission of False Documents

1. PEER REVIEW PROCESS & EDITORIAL PROCESS

This policy applies to all publications submitted to the Pakistan Journal of Healthcare, which operates a peer review process. All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial evaluation (within 5 days), which includes assessment of the scope of the article and its originality. The Editorial Board of the journal is responsible for selecting reviewers based on their expertise in the relevant field. The manuscript is sent to two external reviewers (from outside the journal's organization) for peer review. Experts/reviewers are given 4 weeks to review and make decisions accordingly. In cases requiring major or minor revisions, the manuscript is returned to the authors for amendments, with resubmission expected within 5 days (extensions can be provided upon request). The revised manuscript is reviewed again by the reviewers, and a final decision on acceptance or rejection is made by the editor within 2 days. Once accepted, the manuscript undergoes final copy editing, English editing, and proofreading, and the article processing charges are confirmed. The final version of the manuscript is published within 3 days of acceptance. The entire publication process is completed within 40-45 days. In case of a conflict of interest concerning a specific manuscript, a member of the Editorial Board will oversee the peer review. Reviewers are treated anonymously, and the pre-publication history of each article is not made available online. Any falsified information regarding authors or reviewers will result in rejection of the manuscript and potential penalties according to our misconduct policy. Guest editorials submitted by authors are reviewed internally by the Editor-in-Chief or Editor and externally by another guest editor for a final verdict.

2. PUBLICATION FREQUENCY

Quarterly

3. OPEN ACCESS POLICY

All articles in the Pakistan Journal of Healthcare are open access and freely available online. The journal's contents are released under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows for unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited.

4. ARCHIVING

Long-term preservation and archiving (LPTA) of data ensures that the journal’s data is backed up within a network of libraries via a dedicated digital archiving and preservation service. Pakistan Journal of Healthcare employs PKP Private's LOCKSS network, which creates a distributed file across participating libraries, allowing them to create permanent files of the journal with the goal of preserving and restoring the digital data. Additionally, a unique DOI is assigned to each article.

5. CROSSMARK POLICY STATEMENT

DOI: 10.54393/pjh/crossmark

All articles published in the Pakistan Journal of Healthcare receive a DOI and are permanently published. This applies regardless of the peer review outcome post-publication. Authors can revise, update, and release new versions of their articles, which are added to the article’s history; however, once published, individual versions cannot be altered or withdrawn and are permanently accessible on the journal’s website. Pakistan Journal of Healthcare participates in the CrossMark scheme, a multi-publisher initiative providing a standard way for readers to locate the current version of an article. By adopting CrossMark policies, the Pakistan Journal of Healthcare commits to maintaining the integrity of the content it publishes and notifying readers of any changes when necessary.

Addendum

If critical results were accidentally omitted from the original publication, an Addendum may be submitted to include the missing information. This Addendum will be published in the current issue of the journal and hyperlinked to the original publication, without requiring an update to the original paper.

Erratum

An Erratum should be published for scientifically relevant formatting changes or errors in the author or contributor list. Minor errors, such as spelling or grammatical mistakes that do not affect the meaning or readability of the article, do not qualify for an Erratum. Authors should carefully proofread the final version of their manuscript.

Corrections

If an author wishes to change their name following publication, they can contact the Editorial Office with their request. Pakistan Journal of Healthcare will update and republish the article, with updated metadata provided to indexing services. An Erratum will not be published to protect the author's identity, and co-authors will not be notified.

Corrections should be submitted for scientifically relevant errors in published articles. Any changes may be evaluated by the academic editors. Changes that affect the scientific interpretation, such as correcting a misleading section of a reliable publication, adding missing methodological details, or errors in data not affecting conclusions, will be announced with a separate publication called a Correction. The original paper will be updated, and a note added to the Article Versions and abstract page to inform readers of the updated version.

Retractions

Retractions are necessary when articles compromise the integrity of scientific records, including inadvertent errors, ethical breaches, data fabrication, or plagiarism. Pakistan Journal of Healthcare follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for retraction. The Editorial Office investigates potential retractions, supported by the Editorial Board, with final approval from the Editor-in-Chief. The article will be marked as "RETRACTED" but will remain accessible on the journal's website. Retracted articles should not be cited or used for future research. Retractions are published separately in the current issue of the journal, with the same authorship and affiliation as the original article. Partial retractions may be issued for articles where only some results are incorrect. Complete removal of an article is rare and reserved for cases where leaving it online would be illegal or cause significant harm.

6. PUBLICATION ETHICS AND POLICY GUIDELINES

AUTHORSHIP DISPUTES

Acknowledgments

This journal advocates acknowledging contributions to a scientific work where authorship is not claimed. All individuals who contributed to the study but are not part of the authorship should be credited, detailing their contributions according to ICMJE criteria. Authors must ensure that all contributors are acknowledged, including those offering technical assistance, data collection, writing support, or departmental head services. Funding support and access to scientific instrumentation should also be acknowledged.

Number and Order of Authors

There is no limit to the number of authors, but it should reflect the actual amount of work produced. The contribution to the work should determine the order of authorship, and all authors should agree on this.

Principal and Corresponding Authors

The author with the most significant contribution should be ranked as the principal/first author. The principal author may, with the consent of all authors, either act as the corresponding author or nominate another author for this role.

Informed Consent & Confidentiality of Research Participants

Authors must obtain written consent from research participants (or their legal guardians) before including personal details or images in their work, in compliance with data protection and privacy laws. For minors or individuals with learning difficulties, special care must be taken, and images should not be used if parents or legal guardians do not provide consent. Identifying information should be omitted unless essential for the study, even with consent. Editors may request to see the written consent. For fully anonymized images, such as X-rays or pathology slides, formal consent is not required as long as no identifying marks are present.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST / FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES

Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest, including financial or personal ties that might influence their work. Financial conflicts include paid consultancy, stock ownership, honoraria, expert testimony, patents, and travel grants, among others, within three years of the work’s submission. Authors should declare no conflict of interest if none exists. Reviewers also have a duty to disclose any conflicts of interest with the work they are assigned to review. Conflicts of interest, grant support, and financial disclosures are published alongside all items in the Pakistan Journal of Healthcare.

PROTECTION OF RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

Ethical Approval / Human and Animal Studies / Helsinki Declaration

Authors submitting to the Pakistan Journal of Healthcare must provide an ethical approval certificate for research involving humans or animals. Human studies must adhere to the latest version of the Helsinki Declaration, and animal studies must comply with the WMA’s Declaration on Animal Use in Biomedical Research and other relevant animal ethics guidelines. The 3Rs principle—Replacement, Reduction, Refinement—should guide research involving humans or animals.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

This policy aligns with the ICMJE’s requirements for clinical trial registration. Clinical trials, defined as research projects prospectively assigning human subjects to interventions to study health outcomes, must be registered in a public, open-access trial registry. This registry must meet specific criteria and be maintained by a recognized organization. Authors submitting clinical trials to the Pakistan Journal of Healthcare must provide registry information and adhere to international standards for reporting clinical research.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
Pakistan Journal of Healthcare follows the highest ethical standards to ensure the integrity of the academic content it publishes. The journal upholds principles in line with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines.

1. Duties of Editors

Fair Play: Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on academic merit and their relevance to the journal’s scope, without regard to the author’s race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnicity, or political philosophy.
Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and editorial advisors.
Conflict of Interest: Editors must recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest due to competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors.
Publication Decisions: Editors are responsible for deciding which of the submitted manuscripts should be published, guided by the journal’s policies and constrained by legal requirements such as defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

2. Duties of Reviewers

Confidentiality: All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the Editor.
Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation or argument has been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation.
Objectivity Standards: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
Conflict of Interest: Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

3. Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards: Authors of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its significance. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
Originality and Plagiarism: The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if they have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.
Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: Authors should not submit manuscripts describing essentially the same research to more than one journal or primary publication.
Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made substantial contributions should be listed as co-authors.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.
Fundamental Errors in Published Works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate to retract or correct the paper.

4. Plagiarism Policy

Pakistan Journal of Healthcare has a strict plagiarism policy and employs software tools to detect plagiarism. Articles found to contain plagiarized material will be automatically rejected or retracted. Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of their work, and any instance of plagiarism will be taken seriously and may result in penalties, including a ban on future submissions to the journal.

5. Data Access and Retention

Authors may be asked to provide raw data in connection with their paper for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), if possible, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

6. Ethical Approval of Research

For research involving human subjects, the authors should ensure the research complies with the Helsinki Declaration and has received approval from an appropriate ethics committee. For animal research, authors must follow institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of animals.

7. Misconduct

In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism, the editors will take all appropriate measures to clarify the situation and amend the article. This includes the prompt publication of an erratum or, in the most severe cases, the retraction of the affected work.

By adhering to these ethical guidelines, Pakistan Journal of Healthcare aims to ensure that all published content meets the highest standards of integrity and academic rigor.