Health and Disease Research is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, research integrity, transparency, and accountability. The journal adheres to the core principles and best practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and relevant recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). These principles guide the conduct of authors, editors, peer reviewers, and all other parties involved in the publication process.

The journal promotes the publication of original, accurate, scientifically sound, and ethically conducted research. Editorial decisions are based on the scientific quality, originality, relevance, and methodological rigour of submitted manuscripts, without discrimination based on authors' nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, religion, or other personal characteristics.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts present original work, report findings accurately, and comply with accepted standards of research and publication ethics. All sources must be appropriately acknowledged, and conclusions must be supported by the data presented. Authors must not fabricate, falsify, manipulate, or selectively omit data to misrepresent research findings.

Manuscripts must not have been published previously or be under consideration by another journal. Authors must disclose related publications, prior dissemination, and substantially overlapping manuscripts at submission. Where previous work is used, it must be properly cited, and the new manuscript must demonstrate a clear and meaningful contribution.

Authors are responsible for obtaining necessary permissions to reproduce copyrighted materials, including figures, tables, images, and substantial portions of previously published text. Any significant error discovered after submission or publication must be reported promptly to the editorial office.

2. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contributions to the research. Each author must have contributed to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; participated in drafting or critically revising the manuscript; approved the final version; and agreed to be accountable for the integrity of the work.

Individuals who do not meet all authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately, with their permission. Guest, gift, honorary, ghost, and purchased authorship are unacceptable. Authors must provide a clear contribution statement, preferably using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT).

The corresponding author is responsible for communicating with the journal, obtaining approval from all co-authors, ensuring the completeness of declarations, and keeping co-authors informed throughout the publication process. Changes to authorship after submission require a written justification and the agreement of all affected authors. Authorship disputes may be referred to the relevant institutions for resolution.

3. Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their research or its interpretation. These may include employment, research funding, consultancy, personal relationships, patents, honoraria, and other relevant professional or institutional interests. Where no conflicts exist, authors must provide an explicit declaration.

Reviewers must disclose potential conflicts and decline assignments where their impartiality may be compromised. Editors must recuse themselves from manuscripts involving personal, professional, institutional, or financial conflicts and ensure that such submissions receive independent editorial assessment.

Failure to disclose a material conflict may lead to further investigation and, where appropriate, correction or retraction of the published article.

4. Research Ethics and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants, identifiable human data, human tissues, or other human biological materials must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements. Authors must state the name of the approving research ethics committee or institutional review board, the approval reference number where applicable, and confirmation that the research was conducted in accordance with relevant ethical standards, including the Declaration of Helsinki where applicable.

Informed consent must be obtained from participants or their legally authorised representatives, as appropriate. Any waiver of consent must be justified and approved by the relevant ethics committee. Participation must be voluntary, and participants must be informed of their rights, including the right to withdraw where applicable.

Authors must protect participant confidentiality and avoid publishing identifiable information without appropriate consent specifically covering publication. Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional and national regulations, relevant animal welfare standards, and the principles of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement. Ethical approval and measures taken to minimise animal suffering must be reported.

Clinical trials must comply with applicable registration requirements, and the registration details should be included in the manuscript where required. Failure to obtain necessary ethical approval or consent may result in rejection or other appropriate editorial action.

5. Plagiarism, Redundant Publication, and Research Misconduct

Plagiarism, including the unattributed use of another person's words, ideas, data, images, or other intellectual contributions, is unacceptable. The journal may use similarity-detection software to screen submissions. Similarity reports are assessed in context, as a similarity percentage alone does not establish plagiarism.

Fabrication, falsification, inappropriate image manipulation, data suppression, duplicate publication, undisclosed text recycling, citation manipulation, and the manipulation of peer review are serious breaches of research integrity. Authors must not submit substantially the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously. Dividing a single study into multiple papers without sufficient independent scientific justification is also unacceptable.

All citations must be relevant and accurately represent the sources cited. Authors, reviewers, and editors must not engage in coercive or inappropriate citation practices intended to inflate citation counts.

Allegations of misconduct will be assessed fairly and confidentially. Where appropriate, authors will be given an opportunity to respond, and the matter may be referred to their institutions or relevant research integrity bodies. Depending on the findings, the journal may reject the manuscript, request corrections, issue an expression of concern, retract an article, or impose other proportionate measures.

6. Data Availability and Research Transparency

Authors must retain adequate research records and ensure that the data and methods supporting their findings are accurate and sufficiently described to permit appropriate evaluation and reproducibility. Manuscripts reporting original research should include a data availability statement explaining whether the underlying data are publicly accessible, available upon reasonable request, or restricted for ethical, legal, privacy, or contractual reasons.

Where applicable, authors are encouraged to deposit supporting data, research materials, and analytical code in recognised repositories. Data sharing must respect participant confidentiality, informed consent, intellectual property rights, and applicable data protection requirements. Editors may request supporting data or documentation when necessary to assess the validity of a manuscript or investigate a concern.

7. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools

Authors may use generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted tools responsibly, provided that their use is disclosed where applicable. Authors must identify the tool used, its purpose, and the relevant part of the research or manuscript in an appropriate disclosure statement. AI tools must not be listed as authors or cited as substitutes for original scientific evidence.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and validity of all submitted content, including AI-assisted text, images, code, analyses, and references. AI tools must not be used to fabricate data, generate misleading images, falsify citations, or manipulate the publication process.

Editors and reviewers must protect manuscript confidentiality and must not upload unpublished manuscripts, review reports, or confidential editorial correspondence to AI systems in ways that compromise confidentiality or violate applicable data protection requirements.

8. Responsibilities of Editors and Peer Reviewers

Editors must handle manuscripts fairly, impartially, and confidentially. Publication decisions must be based on scholarly merit, relevance, originality, methodological soundness, and compliance with ethical requirements. Editorial decisions must remain independent of commercial considerations, authors' ability to pay publication charges, and external pressure.

Peer reviewers must provide objective, constructive, evidence-based assessments within agreed timelines. They must treat manuscripts as confidential documents, declare conflicts of interest, avoid personal criticism, and refrain from using unpublished information for personal or professional advantage. Reviewers must not contact authors directly about a manuscript without editorial permission.

Editors and reviewers must not manipulate peer review, fabricate reviewer identities, or disclose confidential information. Suspected ethical violations must be reported to the appropriate editor or editorial office.

9. Confidentiality, Fairness, and Editorial Independence

All submitted manuscripts and associated editorial correspondence are treated as confidential until publication. Access to manuscript information must be limited to individuals involved in its evaluation and handling, except where disclosure is authorised or legally required.

The journal is committed to fair treatment, transparency, and non-discrimination throughout the publication process. Editors must manage conflicts of interest appropriately and ensure that editorial decisions are not influenced by personal relationships, institutional interests, commercial considerations, or external interference.

10. Allegations of Misconduct, Complaints, and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, editors, readers, institutions, and other concerned parties may report suspected publication misconduct or ethical violations to the journal's editorial office, providing relevant details and supporting evidence where available.

The journal will assess allegations impartially, give affected parties an appropriate opportunity to respond, and refer matters to the relevant institutions or authorities when necessary. The journal will take appropriate steps to protect the confidentiality of complainants and the integrity of any investigation.

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a reasoned explanation identifying factual errors, procedural irregularities, or other substantive grounds, together with supporting evidence. Complaints concerning editorial conduct, publication procedures, or the handling of a manuscript should be directed to the editorial office for independent consideration where appropriate.

11. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

Corrections: The journal will publish corrections when errors in a published article require amendment but do not invalidate its principal findings. Corrections may address errors in data, figures, tables, references, author information, funding statements, or conflict of interest declarations.

Retractions: Articles may be retracted when their findings are unreliable or publication is seriously compromised by misconduct, major errors, plagiarism, duplicate publication, unethical research, or other substantial breaches of publication ethics. Retraction notices will explain the reasons for the action and be linked to the original article to preserve the transparency of the scholarly record.

Expressions of concern: Where credible concerns exist but an investigation remains inconclusive, the journal may publish an expression of concern to alert readers. The notice may be updated or replaced when the matter is resolved.

The journal will follow applicable COPE guidance when determining and implementing these actions.

12. Editorial Sanctions and Enforcement

Breaches of publication ethics may result in manuscript rejection, requests for correction, withdrawal of a submission, publication of a correction or retraction notice, notification of relevant institutions or funders, or restrictions on future submissions where justified by serious misconduct.

Actions will be proportionate to the nature and severity of the breach and the available evidence. Honest errors will be distinguished from deliberate misconduct. Authors will be given an appropriate opportunity to respond before adverse action is taken, except where immediate action is necessary to protect participants, readers, or the integrity of the scholarly record.

13. Commitment to Ethical Publishing

Health and Disease Research is committed to continuously upholding responsible research practices, protecting the rights and welfare of research participants, promoting transparency, and preserving the accuracy of the scientific record. The journal will review and update its publication ethics policies as necessary to reflect evolving ethical standards and best practices in scholarly publishing.

Questions, complaints, appeals, and reports of suspected misconduct should be directed to the Ethics Committee through [email protected]