COI, Grant and Financial Disclosure

Conflicts of Interest, Grant Support, and Financial Disclosure Policy

Journal of Health and Rehabilitation Research (JHRR)

The Journal of Health and Rehabilitation Research (JHRR) upholds the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and accountability in scientific research. This policy ensures that potential conflicts of interest, financial disclosures, and grant support are disclosed and managed effectively to safeguard the trust of the scientific community and the public.

1. Conflicts of Interest

Author Disclosure Requirements

Authors must disclose any relationships or circumstances that could pose a conflict of interest related to their manuscript. This includes:

  • Financial Conflicts: Employment, consultancy roles, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patents or pending patent applications, travel grants, or other financial interests within the past three years.
  • Non-Financial Conflicts: Ideological stances, institutional affiliations, personal relationships, or other circumstances that could unduly influence or appear to influence the research.

If authors believe they have no conflicts of interest, they must explicitly state:
"The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest."

Pre-Publication Disclosures

  • All conflicts of interest must be disclosed at the time of submission.
  • Failure to disclose relevant conflicts may result in rejection of the manuscript or retraction of a published article, in line with COPE guidelines.

2. Grant Support and Financial Disclosure

  • Funding Sources:
    Authors must disclose all financial contributions to the research, including funding, grants, equipment, and other resources.
  • Statement of Data Access and Responsibility:
    Authors must certify:
    • Unrestricted Access: That they had full access to all study data.
    • Integrity: That they take full responsibility for the integrity of the data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
  • This statement ensures the credibility and transparency of the research and must accompany the manuscript submission.

3. Reviewer Disclosure

  • Disclosure of Conflicts:
    Reviewers must disclose any financial, non-financial, or personal conflicts of interest that could affect their impartial assessment of a manuscript.
  • Declining Reviews:
    If reviewers identify a conflict of interest, they are required to decline the review assignment. Examples of conflicts include:
    • Recent collaborations with the authors.
    • Shared institutional affiliations.
    • Competing research interests.

By disclosing conflicts and declining reviews where necessary, reviewers maintain the integrity of the peer-review process.

4. Publication of Disclosures

JHRR is committed to full transparency. All disclosures of conflicts of interest, grant support, and financial contributions will be published alongside the relevant article. This ensures that readers are fully informed of any factors that might influence the research or its interpretation.

5. Accountability and Adherence

This policy aligns with the standards of COPE, ICMJE, and DOAJ to ensure ethical and transparent publishing practices. Authors and reviewers are expected to adhere to these guidelines.

  • Authors: Failure to disclose conflicts of interest or financial support can result in manuscript rejection, retraction, or other corrective actions as outlined by COPE.
  • Reviewers: Reviewers are expected to uphold impartiality and disclose any potential biases before or during the review process.