Editorial Policies

Archives of Community Medicine and Public Health (ACMPH) follows a strict and transparent editorial policy to ensure the highest standards of academic integrity, research ethics, and publication quality. Our policies are designed to uphold scientific rigor, peer review transparency, and ethical publishing practices.

Editorial Oversight and Responsibilities

The Editorial Board of ACMPH is responsible for maintaining the integrity and quality of all published content. Our editorial team:

  • Ensures Fair Peer Review: All submitted manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review process.
  • Upholds Ethical Standards: Follows guidelines from COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors).
  • Maintains Confidentiality: Protects the privacy of authors, reviewers, and submitted content.
  • Prevents Conflicts of Interest: Editors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest before handling manuscripts.
  • Ensures Timely Processing: Aims to provide authors with prompt decisions and constructive feedback.

Peer Review Policy

ACMPH follows a rigorous double-blind peer review system where:

  • Authors and reviewers remain anonymous to ensure unbiased evaluations.
  • Each manuscript is evaluated based on originality, significance, clarity, and methodology.
  • Reviewers provide constructive feedback to improve manuscript quality.
  • Decisions are based on reviewer recommendations and editorial judgment.
  • Authors have the right to appeal editorial decisions with justifications.

Authorship Criteria

To ensure authorship integrity, ACMPH follows the ICMJE guidelines for authorship eligibility:

  • Significant Contribution: Authors must have made substantial contributions to the research.
  • Drafting and Revising: Authors must be actively involved in manuscript drafting and revision.
  • Approval of Final Version: All listed authors must approve the final manuscript before submission.
  • Agreement to Accountability: Authors must be willing to take responsibility for the accuracy of the work.

Plagiarism and Research Integrity

All manuscripts submitted to ACMPH are screened for plagiarism using iThenticate. Plagiarism, data fabrication, and research misconduct will result in:

  • Immediate rejection of the manuscript.
  • Notification to authors’ institutions in cases of severe violations.
  • Blacklisting of authors involved in unethical practices.
  • Retraction of published articles if plagiarism is detected post-publication.

Conflict of Interest Policy

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect their judgment, including:

  • Financial interests (grants, funding, or employment).
  • Personal relationships that may create bias.
  • Competing affiliations or political considerations.

Retraction and Corrections Policy

To maintain academic integrity, ACMPH reserves the right to:

  • Issue corrections: If errors do not affect research findings.
  • Retract articles: If serious ethical violations or data manipulations are found.
  • Blacklist authors: In cases of repeated or severe ethical misconduct.

Ensuring Quality, Integrity, and Ethical Publishing Standards!