Ethical Policies of Nursing and Midwifery Studies (NMS)

1. Conflict of Interest Policy

Nursing and Midwifery Studies (NMS) requires all participants in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, and editors, to disclose any potential conflicts of interest (COI) that could influence their work. A conflict of interest may arise when an individual’s financial, professional, or personal relationships could inappropriately affect (or appear to affect) their research, review, or editorial decisions.

1.1. Author Responsibilities

• Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could be perceived as influencing their manuscript.
• Common conflicts include funding sources, employment, stock ownership, consulting fees, or personal relationships with individuals involved in the study.
• The corresponding author must submit a Conflict of Interest Statement at the time of manuscript submission.

1.2. Reviewer and Editor Responsibilities

• Reviewers and editors must disclose any conflicts that could affect their judgment and must recuse themselves if necessary.
• Editors must ensure that a manuscript’s evaluation is not influenced by commercial, political, or personal biases.
• If a COI is discovered after publication, appropriate corrective action, including a correction or retraction, will be taken.

 

2. Human and Animal Rights Policy

Nursing and Midwifery Studies adheres to the highest ethical standards regarding research involving human participants and animals. All submitted manuscripts must comply with international ethical guidelines, including the Declaration of Helsinki for human studies and the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) Guidelines for animal studies.

2.1. Human Research Ethics

• Studies involving human subjects must have been approved by an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee.
• The name of the approving institution and the ethics approval number must be stated in the manuscript.
• Researchers must follow ethical guidelines ensuring participant safety, confidentiality, and respect for human dignity.
• Vulnerable populations (e.g., pregnant women, neonates, elderly individuals, or individuals with cognitive impairments) must be given special ethical consideration.

2.2. Animal Research Ethics

• Studies involving animals must adhere to internationally accepted ethical guidelines, such as the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
• Justification for the use of animals and efforts to minimize harm must be clearly stated.
• The manuscript must include a statement confirming adherence to ethical animal research standards and approval from an institutional animal care committee.

 

3. Informed Consent Policy

Informed consent is a fundamental ethical requirement for research involving human participants.

3.1. General Requirements

• Authors must confirm that written informed consent was obtained from all study participants, including for clinical trials, interviews, surveys, or case reports.
• If a participant is unable to provide consent (e.g., minors, cognitively impaired individuals), consent must be obtained from a legal guardian.
• The manuscript must include a statement confirming that informed consent was obtained.

3.2. Privacy and Confidentiality

• Authors must protect participant confidentiality and ensure that identifying information (e.g., names, images, hospital records) is not published unless explicit consent is obtained.
• If images, videos, or personal details are included in a study, additional signed consent for publication must be provided.
• All data should be anonymized unless necessary for the integrity of the study, in which case written justification should be included.

3.3. Retrospective Studies and Exemptions

• For retrospective studies using de-identified data or publicly available datasets, formal consent may not be required, but authors must provide an ethics exemption statement from their institution.
• Studies using publicly available data must cite the source and confirm compliance with data-sharing policies.

By enforcing these policies, Nursing and Midwifery Studies ensures the ethical integrity of published research while protecting the rights of participants and maintaining transparency in the editorial process.