Policies on Conflict

JHNR Publication Ethics

Policies on Conflict of Interest, Human and Animal Rights, and Informed Consent

Protecting impartial editorial judgment, research integrity, participant autonomy, privacy, and the humane treatment of animals.

Ethical Commitment

The Journal of Health and Nutrition Research (JHNR) requires all research and editorial activities to respect scientific integrity, impartiality, human dignity, participant autonomy, privacy, and animal welfare. These requirements apply to authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members throughout submission, peer review, publication, and post-publication evaluation.

Key Requirements

  • All relevant conflicts of interest must be disclosed.
  • Ethics approval must be obtained before research involving human participants or animals begins.
  • Informed consent must be obtained and documented unless an authorized ethics committee has approved a waiver.
  • The manuscript must report the approving committee, approval or protocol number, and relevant consent information.

1. Conflict of Interest Policy

Authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members must disclose any relationship, interest, activity, or circumstance that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the objectivity, interpretation, review, or editorial handling of a manuscript. The existence of a conflict does not automatically disqualify a submission, but transparent disclosure is mandatory.

Potential Conflicts May Include

  • Financial interests: employment, grants, consultancies, honoraria, patents, stock ownership, paid expert testimony, or other financial relationships.
  • Personal or professional relationships: close personal relationships, institutional affiliations, supervisory relationships, collaborations, or professional competition.
  • Academic or intellectual interests: strongly held positions, prior involvement in the work, or circumstances that may compromise impartial judgment.

Responsibilities

Authors: Include a conflict-of-interest statement in the manuscript, even when no conflict exists, and disclose relevant funding or sponsor involvement separately where applicable.
Reviewers: Declare any actual or potential conflict before accepting the review assignment and decline the review when impartial evaluation cannot be assured.
Editors and Editorial Board Members: Disclose relevant conflicts during their tenure and for each manuscript they handle. They must recuse themselves whenever a conflict could affect, or appear to affect, editorial judgment.
Journal Management: The editorial team will assess disclosed conflicts and may require additional disclosure, assign another reviewer or editor, request recusal, publish an appropriate statement, or take other measures necessary to preserve fair and unbiased evaluation.

2. Human Participant Rights Policy

Research involving human participants, identifiable human material, or identifiable human data must be conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the current World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki, applicable national and local regulations, and relevant institutional requirements.

Required Ethical Information

  • The study protocol must receive approval from an appropriate and independent institutional review board or research ethics committee before the research begins.
  • The manuscript must state the full name of the approving committee and the approval number or reference code. The approval date should be provided when required by the journal or local regulations.
  • If the study was exempt from review or received a waiver, the manuscript must identify the committee or authorized body that issued the exemption or waiver and explain its basis.
  • Authors must protect participant dignity, safety, autonomy, privacy, and confidentiality throughout the research and publication process.
  • Ethical approval does not remove the authors' responsibility to comply with applicable laws, professional standards, and the approved protocol.
JHNR will not consider research that was conducted without required ethical review or that violates fundamental protections for human participants. Suspected ethical violations may be investigated before or after publication.

3. Animal Rights and Welfare Policy

Studies involving animals must comply with applicable national and institutional regulations and internationally recognized animal-welfare standards, such as the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals: Eighth Edition. Animal welfare must be considered throughout study design, housing, handling, procedures, monitoring, and euthanasia.

Required Animal Ethics Information

  • Approval must be obtained from an appropriate institutional animal care and use committee, animal ethics committee, or equivalent authorized body before the study begins.
  • The manuscript must identify the approving committee and provide the protocol or approval number.
  • Authors must describe relevant measures used to minimize pain, distress, and unnecessary animal use, including anesthesia, analgesia, humane endpoints, and euthanasia methods where applicable.
  • The species, strain, sex, age or developmental stage, source, housing, and husbandry information should be reported when relevant to interpretation and reproducibility.
  • Research must follow the approved protocol and any applicable reporting standards.
JHNR will not consider manuscripts describing animal research that lacks required ethical approval or demonstrates unacceptable disregard for animal welfare.

4. Informed Consent Policy

Authors must ensure that participation in research is voluntary and based on adequate information. Informed consent must be obtained and documented from human participants before enrollment unless an authorized ethics committee has approved a waiver or modification of consent.

Consent Requirements

  • The manuscript must explain whether consent was written, electronic, or verbal and how it was documented.
  • Participants must receive understandable information about the study and be free to refuse participation or withdraw without inappropriate pressure or penalty.
  • For minors or participants who cannot provide legally valid consent, permission must be obtained from a parent, guardian, or legally authorized representative. Assent should also be obtained from the participant when appropriate.
  • Special safeguards are required for individuals or communities in situations of vulnerability or dependent relationships.
  • When identifiable personal information, photographs, case details, audio, or video are included, authors must obtain explicit consent for publication from the person concerned or their legally authorized representative.
  • Consent for participation and consent for publication are distinct requirements and should be reported separately when both apply.
Failure to obtain or adequately document required informed consent may result in rejection, correction, removal of identifying material, or retraction of the article, depending on the circumstances.

5. Suggested Statements for Manuscripts

Authors should adapt the relevant statement to reflect the study accurately. Replace all bracketed text and do not use a template that does not apply.

A. No Conflict of Interest

“The author(s) declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to the research, authorship, or publication of this article.”

B. Conflict of Interest Disclosed

“The author(s) disclose the following potential conflict(s) of interest: [DESCRIBE THE FINANCIAL, PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL, OR OTHER RELATIONSHIP]. The role of the related organization or individual in the study was [DESCRIBE ROLE OR STATE THAT THERE WAS NO ROLE].”

C. Human Research Ethics and Informed Consent

“The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by [FULL NAME OF ETHICS COMMITTEE/INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD] under approval number [NUMBER] on [DATE, IF REQUIRED]. [WRITTEN/ELECTRONIC/VERBAL] informed consent was obtained from all participants or their legally authorized representatives.”

D. Consent for Publication of Identifiable Information

“Explicit consent for publication of the identifiable information included in this article was obtained from the participant(s) or their legally authorized representative(s).”

E. Animal Research Ethics

“All animal procedures were reviewed and approved by [FULL NAME OF ANIMAL ETHICS COMMITTEE/INSTITUTIONAL ANIMAL CARE AND USE COMMITTEE] under protocol number [NUMBER]. The study was conducted in accordance with [APPLICABLE NATIONAL, INSTITUTIONAL, OR INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINE], with appropriate measures to protect animal welfare and minimize pain and distress.”
Editorial Action: Missing, incomplete, inconsistent, or misleading ethical declarations may delay review and publication. JHNR may request ethics approval documents, consent documentation, protocol information, or further clarification. Confirmed violations may result in rejection, correction, retraction, notification of relevant institutions, or other action consistent with publication-ethics procedures.