The Editorial Office of the scientific journal Medical Science of Ukraine adheres to the principles of research integrity, editorial independence, objectivity, confidentiality, transparency and responsibility for the reliability of the scholarly record.

When assessing, reviewing and publishing materials, the Editorial Office follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the current version of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki and other internationally recognised standards of research and publication ethics.

References to the recommendations of these organisations indicate that the journal uses them as a basis for its own editorial procedures. Such references must not be interpreted as a statement that the journal is a member of these organisations unless such membership has been officially confirmed.

The journal’s editorial policy is based on the following principles:

• decisions concerning manuscripts are made on the basis of their scientific quality, originality, methodological soundness, ethical acceptability and conformity with the journal’s scope;
• all scientific manuscripts are assessed impartially, irrespective of the authors’ personal characteristics, nationality, place of residence, institutional affiliation, beliefs, religion or political views;
• commercial, personal, institutional or other external interests must not influence editorial decisions;
• peer review is conducted in accordance with the journal’s separate Peer Review Policy;
• the Editorial Office takes measures to prevent plagiarism, data fabrication and falsification, image manipulation, inappropriate authorship, duplicate publication, citation manipulation and peer-review manipulation;
• after publication, the Editorial Office corrects the scholarly record where substantial errors or breaches are identified.

The journal’s policies apply to all published materials, including original articles, reviews, editorials, letters, special-issue materials and other types of publication.

Editorial Decision-Making

The final decision to accept, request revision of or reject a manuscript is made by the Editor-in-Chief or another authorised editor who has appropriate scientific expertise and no conflict of interest in relation to the manuscript.

The decision takes into account:

• the manuscript’s conformity with the journal’s aims, objectives and subject scope;
• the originality and scientific significance of the study;
• the validity of the research design and methods;
• the reliability and appropriate presentation of the findings;
• the consistency of the conclusions with the findings obtained;
• compliance with ethical, legal and editorial requirements;
• the reasoned conclusions of independent reviewers.

Reviewers’ recommendations are advisory. An editor is not required to follow a positive or negative recommendation automatically. However, a decision that differs from the reviewers’ conclusions must have an appropriate scientific, methodological or ethical justification.

Research findings must not be rejected solely because they are negative, statistically non-significant, do not confirm the research hypothesis or contradict established views, provided that the study has been properly conducted and has scientific value.

An editor may reject a manuscript at any stage before publication, including after provisional acceptance, where substantial concerns are identified regarding reliability, ethics, authorship, originality or the lawful use of materials.

An editor who has a personal, professional, financial, academic or other conflict of interest must withdraw completely from the assessment of the relevant manuscript. The subsequent editorial process is assigned to an independent editor in accordance with the journal’s Peer Review Process and Conflict of Interest Policy.

Editorial Independence

The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board exercise editorial control independently of the journal’s founder, publisher, sponsors, partner organisations, advertisers and other external parties.

Publication decisions must not depend on:

• the potential financial profit or costs associated with publication;
• the institution at which the authors are employed;
• personal or professional relationships between editors and authors;
• whether the study has received funding;
• the position of the founder, publisher or sponsor regarding the study’s findings;
• the expected citation rate, popularity or media impact of the article.

The founder and publisher may participate in the administrative and organisational support of the journal but must not interfere with the selection of reviewers, the content of peer-review reports or final decisions concerning individual manuscripts.

Confidentiality

A submitted manuscript, accompanying materials, peer-review reports, correspondence and information concerning the progress of editorial assessment are confidential.

Editors and members of the Editorial Office must not disclose information about a manuscript to persons who are not directly involved in its processing. Access to the materials may be granted only to:

• the authors;
• editors responsible for assessing the manuscript;
• appointed reviewers;
• statistical, methodological or other experts involved in the assessment;
• authorised employees of the publisher;
• representatives of institutions or competent authorities where this is necessary to investigate an alleged breach or is required by law.

Manuscripts must not be used by editors, reviewers, consultants or journal staff in their own research or for any other purpose without the authors’ written consent.

The Editorial Office must not disclose a reviewer’s identity to the authors or third parties without the reviewer’s explicit written consent, except where disclosure is required by law or is necessary for the proper investigation of a serious breach.

Editors and reviewers must not upload manuscripts, peer-review reports, unpublished data or other confidential materials to publicly accessible artificial intelligence systems where confidentiality and data protection cannot be guaranteed and their use has not been authorised by the journal.

Materials relating to the editorial process are stored in a secure system in accordance with personal data protection legislation and the journal’s internal rules.

Conflict of Interest Policy

Unpublished materials must not be used in any research conducted by an editor, reviewer or other person without the authors’ written consent.

Editors, reviewers and scientific advisers must withdraw from the assessment of manuscripts where conflict of interest arise from competitive, collaborative or other interactions or relationships with the authors, companies or other organisations connected with the manuscript.

The Editorial Board must take appropriate measures where conflict, disputes or complaints arise in relation to submitted manuscripts or published materials.

The Editorial Office of Medical Science of Ukraine may consider allegations or concerns regarding potential research or publication misconduct raised by readers, reviewers or other persons. The publisher also reserves the right to inform readers about the resolution of such cases.

Research Data Policy

The journal supports transparency, reproducibility and the responsible sharing of research data, while respecting the rights of research participants and requirements concerning confidentiality, personal data protection, intellectual property and legal restrictions.

Every original research article must include a data availability statement specifying:

• whether the data supporting the study’s findings are available;
• where and under what conditions they may be obtained;
• whether they have been deposited in an open or controlled-access repository;
• whether they are available upon reasonable request;
• which legal, ethical, commercial or confidentiality restrictions apply;
• where data cannot be provided, the specific reason for the restriction.

Examples of acceptable statements include:

“The data supporting the findings of this study are available in [repository name] under the persistent identifier [DOI or other identifier].”

“De-identified data may be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request and subject to the conclusion of a data-use agreement.”

“The data cannot be made publicly available because of restrictions relating to personal data protection and the terms of informed consent.”

“No new datasets were generated or analysed in this study.”

The Editorial Office recommends depositing de-identified data, protocols, statistical analysis plans, software code and other materials in reliable repositories that provide long-term preservation and persistent identifiers.

Data sharing must not violate:

• the terms of informed consent;
• participants’ right to privacy;
• legislation governing personal and medical data;
• third-party rights;
• justified biosafety requirements;
• commercial or contractual confidentiality.

Where open access is not possible, controlled access may be used, subject to justification of the purpose of the request, compliance with ethical and legal requirements and, where necessary, the conclusion of a data-use agreement.

The Editorial Office may confidentially request primary or de-identified data from the authors in order to verify the reliability of the findings, consider editorial concerns or investigate potential misconduct. An unjustified refusal to provide materials that should have been retained and may lawfully be disclosed to the Editorial Office may constitute grounds for rejecting the manuscript or taking post-publication action.

Authors must retain primary data and analytical materials for the period prescribed by law, their institution or the study sponsor. For medical research, it is recommended that such materials be retained for at least ten years after publication unless a longer period is required under other applicable rules.

Clinical Trial Data

Manuscripts reporting the results of clinical trials must include a data-sharing statement specifying:

• whether de-identified individual participant data will be made available;
• which data and supplementary documents will be shared;
• when and for how long they will be available;
• to whom, for what purposes and through which procedure access may be granted.

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants, as well as studies using identifiable or potentially identifiable human biological material or personal data, must comply with:

• the current version of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki;
• applicable national and international legislation;
• the requirements of Good Clinical Practice and appropriate research practice;
• the rules of the institution at which the study was conducted.

Before commencing the study, the authors must obtain approval from an independent ethics committee, institutional review board or other competent body.

The Materials and Methods section must specify:

• the full name of the body that approved the study;
• the protocol or decision number, where one was assigned;
• the date of approval;
• confirmation of compliance with the applicable ethical standards;
• the procedure used to obtain informed consent.

Where ethical approval is not required for a particular type of study, the authors must state this in the manuscript and provide either:

• an official decision from the competent ethics body confirming exemption from review; or
• a reference to the legal or regulatory basis under which ethical approval was not required.

An unsupported statement by the authors that ethical approval was unnecessary is insufficient.

Informed Consent to Participate

Participants must receive clear and comprehensible information about:

• the purpose and procedures of the study;
• the voluntary nature of participation;
• potential risks and expected benefits;
• how their data will be used, stored and shared;
• confidentiality safeguards;
• their right to withdraw from participation without adverse consequences.

The form of consent, whether written, electronic, oral or otherwise documented, must comply with the ethics committee’s decision, the nature of the study and applicable legal requirements.

Surveys and interviews are not automatically exempt from ethical assessment or informed consent requirements. The necessity and form of these procedures are determined by the level of risk, the nature of the data, the possibility of identifying participants and the applicable rules.

Particular attention must be given to protecting minors, persons with limited capacity to provide consent, patients in dependent relationships and other individuals or communities who may be in vulnerable situations.

Participant Confidentiality

Names, initials, medical record numbers, faces, photographs and other identifying information must not be published unless they are scientifically necessary.

Where a participant may be identified, the authors must obtain separate written consent for the publication of the relevant information or images. Consent to participate in a study does not replace consent to publish identifiable information.

Authors must inform the individual that published materials may be accessible online and disseminated through bibliographic databases.

The Editorial Office may require written confirmation that appropriate consent has been obtained and retained by the authors.

Research Involving Animals

Animal studies must comply with institutional, national and internationally recognised standards for the humane care and use of laboratory animals.

Approval must be obtained from a competent bioethics committee or animal care and use body before the study begins.

The manuscript must specify:

• the name of the body that approved the study;
• the number and date of the decision, where these were assigned;
• the animal care standards applied;
• the measures taken to minimise pain and suffering and reduce the number of animals used.

Authors must comply with the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement in the use of animals, as well as applicable reporting guidelines for animal research.

Clinical Trial Registration

The journal requires prospective registration of clinical trials in a publicly accessible registry before, or no later than at the time of, obtaining consent from the first participant for enrolment in the study.

Acceptable registration includes:

• a primary registry included in the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform;
• ClinicalTrials.gov;
• another registry that complies with internationally recognised requirements concerning the transparency and completeness of registration data.

The registration number and name of the registry must be provided at the end of the abstract and in the main text of the manuscript.

Ethics committee approval does not replace clinical trial registration.

Retrospective registration may be accepted only in exceptional and properly justified circumstances. Where such a manuscript is accepted, the article must transparently state the date of registration and the reason for the delay.

Authorship and Contributor Roles

Only a person who meets all four of the following criteria may be identified as an author:

1. they made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data;
2. they participated in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
3. they approved the final version intended for publication;
4. they agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work and to assist in appropriately resolving questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of any part of it.

All listed authors must meet all four criteria, and all persons who meet these criteria must be included as authors.

Persons whose contributions were limited to:

• administrative or technical support;
• obtaining funding;
• general supervision of a department or organisational unit;
• language editing;
• proofreading;
• collecting individual materials without participating in the intellectual work,

do not qualify for authorship solely on the basis of such contributions. They may be named in the Acknowledgements section, provided that their consent has been obtained.

Authors’ Responsibilities

Authors must:

• submit reliable, accurate and appropriately substantiated findings;
• refrain from fabricating or falsifying data;
• describe methods accurately enough to allow the work to be assessed and, where possible, reproduced;
• cite sources appropriately and obtain permission to use protected materials;
• disclose sources of funding and potential conflict of interest;
• comply with requirements concerning research involving humans and animals;
• ensure that authorship is correctly attributed;
• refrain from submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously;
• disclose related, previous or parallel publications;
• cooperate with the Editorial Office during peer review and post-publication assessment;
• retain the primary research materials;
• immediately report any substantial errors that are identified.

Authors are responsible for the content of the manuscript, including the accuracy of the data, references, quotations, statistical calculations, images and conclusions.

Editors’ Responsibilities

Editors must:

• make decisions independently, impartially and within a reasonable period;
• maintain confidentiality;
• appoint competent and independent reviewers;
• properly evaluate peer-review reports rather than merely count recommendations;
• refrain from using unpublished materials for their own benefit;
• declare conflict of interest and withdraw where appropriate;
• give authors an opportunity to respond to substantial concerns;
• consider complaints, appeals and reports of possible misconduct;
• correct the scholarly record after publication;
• prevent commercial or administrative interests from interfering with editorial decisions.

Editorial processing must not alter the scientific content, findings or conclusions without the authors’ approval. Authors must be given an opportunity to review the final text following substantial scientific or language editing.

The Editorial Office nevertheless has the right to correct technical, stylistic and formatting deficiencies in accordance with the journal’s standards, provided that such changes do not distort the authors’ position.

Reviewers’ Responsibilities

Reviewers must:

• agree to review a manuscript only where they have the appropriate expertise;
• promptly inform the Editorial Office if they are unable to prepare a review;
• declare potential conflict of interest;
• treat the manuscript as a confidential document;
• refrain from sharing materials with other persons without the Editorial Office’s permission;
• refrain from contacting the authors directly;
• provide an objective, reasoned and professional assessment;
• avoid personal, offensive or discriminatory remarks;
• refrain from using unpublished data and ideas for their own benefit;
• refrain from requiring unjustified citation of their own work or publications in the journal;
• confidentially inform the Editorial Office of potential plagiarism, data fabrication, image manipulation or other breaches.

Reviewers must not independently accuse authors of misconduct or conduct investigations outside the journal’s editorial procedures.

Manuscript Submission Declaration

Submission of a manuscript confirms that:

• the work has not previously been published as a full journal article;
• the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another publication;
• all authors have approved the submission and the submitted version of the manuscript;
• all listed authors meet the authorship criteria;
• persons named in the acknowledgements have agreed to be mentioned;
• all necessary ethical approvals, permissions and consents have been obtained;
• the use of third-party materials does not infringe copyright or other rights;
• the authors have disclosed related publications, preprints, conference materials and other versions of the work.

Posting a manuscript on a preprint server, presenting it as a conference paper, publishing an abstract or including it in a dissertation does not in itself constitute duplicate journal publication, provided that this is transparently disclosed at the time of submission and does not violate the journal’s other rules.

Republication of an article in another language or another publication is permitted only as a properly identified secondary publication, subject to the prior agreement of the editors of both publications, a clear reference to the primary publication and notification to readers of its secondary status.

Research Funding

All authors must disclose financial support received for the research and preparation of the publication.

The funding statement must specify:

• the full name of the organisation that provided the funding;
• the grant, contract or project number, where applicable;
• the author or researcher who received the funding;
• the sponsor’s role in developing the study design;
• the sponsor’s involvement in collecting, analysing and interpreting the data;
• the sponsor’s involvement in preparing the manuscript;
• the presence or absence of restrictions on the submission and publication of the findings.

Where the sponsor was not involved in conducting the study or preparing the publication, this must be stated explicitly.

Where no funding was received, the following statement must be provided:

“This research received no specific funding from any public, commercial or not-for-profit organisation.”

Authors must not enter into agreements that unjustifiably restrict their access to the data, independent analysis of the findings or right to publish scientifically valid conclusions.

The funding statement is published with the article and does not replace a separate conflict of interest declaration.

Post-Publication Discussion

The journal supports professional and reasoned discussion of published materials.

Readers may submit the following to the journal’s official email address:

• comments;
• questions;
• critical observations;
• letters to the editor;
• reports of possible errors or breaches.

Comments must relate to the content, methodology, data or conclusions of the publication and must not contain insults, discriminatory statements, unsubstantiated personal allegations or disclosures of confidential information.

The Editorial Office may invite the authors to provide a response, primary materials or additional explanations. Authors must respond appropriately to substantiated post-publication enquiries.

Discussion of articles may also take place on external moderated platforms, including PubPeer. The presence of a DOI facilitates the unambiguous identification of an article but does not imply the automatic indexing of all articles published by the journal or an official partnership between the journal and PubPeer.

Comments published on external platforms are considered by the Editorial Office under the standard procedure where they are submitted to the journal or identified by the Editorial Office.

Advertising Policy

Medical Science of Ukraine does not publish commercial advertising in either the print or electronic version of the journal.